Advancement Leaders Love Development Presidents
Who Scored? Who Assisted? Who Cares?
3 Reasons Your Advancement VP Loves the Way You Lead.
This week I had the pleasure of visiting with my friend, mentor and 3-time boss. He was the first true Development President I knew and worked for. The next day I had the opportunity to meet with a senior development officer who had the same level of devotion to his former dean that I feel about my former president. “I’d take a bullet for her,” he said.
Hopefully no VP will ever have to take a bullet for the president, but every president needs someone to stand between the office and the negative projections (if not projectiles) cast by disgruntled constituents. As another mentor of mine told me when I was a new development officer, ”sometimes we have to be the ones to draw off the venom.”
It takes a great deal of devotion and good will to stand between the president and negativity while also trying to garner support for the institution’s mission. The best Advancement VPs are dedicated to making your life easier and they are more willing to do it when you make their job easier.
Here are the 3 things that Development Presidents do that their VPs love:
Development Presidents make reasonable requests. I once left a message on Jane Fonda’s answering machine. This was before I worked for a Development President. Some presidents draw a straight line, through an indirect affinity, between the college’s needs and a wealthy individual. Development Presidents have a slow steady approach to growing donors and growing dollars over time and aren’t constantly looking for a miracle bailout. But a VP who loves you will go the extra mile when she or he understands how much it means on those rare occasions you ask for it.
Development Presidents make strategic asks themselves. The best vice presidents want to maximize the opportunity for top donors to say yes every time. At the highest levels of giving, this means there is no substitute for the CEO. Sorry. Some president feel like this is the VP trying to delegate up, but it really is the VP doing her or his job well. When you are ready to jump in at the right moment, while trusting your VP to tell you when that right moment is, your VP will love you for it.
Development Presidents recognize advancement success. Perhaps the best thing about being a Development President is that you know what to measure and what not to manage. The more a president knows and understands development, the more easily he or she can quickly assess progress and recognize problems. Comfort level with the processes, timelines and metrics keeps your eyes on bigger prizes while letting your advancement team press forward unencumbered by your well-meaning “great ideas.” A well-informed trust of your advancement team will inspire the devotion you need and depend on as a Development President.
Presidents are under enormous pressure. And there is almost no problem on campus that more money wouldn’t fix. Training that pressure on your advancement team and your donors is not the answer. They can and will help, but as part of a strategic approach that demonstrates personal respect and institutional stewardship. As a Development President, you show both. Your VP sees it; your team knows it, and your donors feel it.
Jane, you have my number. Let’s do lunch.
Will your Advancement VP “take a bullet” for you? If not, call me.
In the meantime, Download: 3 Things Every College President Should Know About Fundraising.
With over 25 years of senior-level education leadership experience, including as president and vice president for advancement, David Rowe is a senior consultant with the Association of Governing Boards, executive coaching and mentoring practice lead for Registry Advisory Services and the CEO of The Development President.