[CAUT] School Politics (Re: LSU SOM position)

[Fred Sturm]

On Jun 26, 2008, at 2:04 PM, Evan Bingham wrote:

> I have been trying to cover as much as possible, from the negatives  
> like vandalism, to the positives like benefits, and it is just to  
> show the other students in my school this particular career path.  I  
> have come to a bump in the road to my project, and I'm trying to  
> figure out what exactly entails school politics (in a negative sense).
>
> So Far I am hearing things like,
>
> conflicting orders from above
> lack of appreciation
> not enough of a budget to work with
> administration's lack of understanding
> scheduling conflicts
>
> Is there anything I'm missing?  Can anyone sum up the politics of  
> institutional management for me?

Hi Evan,
	You say you want to figure out school politics "in a negative sense,"  
I guess meaning that you want to get at the potential drawbacks. I  
tend to look at it from a different point of view: how to make the  
situation work, whatever it may be.
	What are the challenges? And how can one cope/react/improve?
1) Not enough time. I think that is almost universal. We have far more  
to do than we have time to accomplish it. Two answers: set priorities  
and communicate. With priorities, we make the best use of the time we  
have, put it where it matters the most. Often this means neglecting  
some areas (individual pianos, particular procedures), sometimes  
woefully. But I think that we all have to create a system, whether  
defined or fuzzy, concerning where we put our very best efforts, where  
we just do the minimum, and in between those extremes. And we need to  
communicate to let those in charge know, not necessarily in an  
adversarial way, that the job needs more human hours than are  
available to achieve the standards we would want to meet. The  
communication is most effective if we have set those priorities: look  
at X piano, we can say. If I had time to do that kind of work on all  
the pianos, you can easily see what the improvement would be.
	Another aspect of this is to develop a high level of efficiency,  
techniques that get the job done fast and in a way that will last.  
Meaning work smart, not necessarily "hard." Get the most out the  
energy expended. Hone those skills, constantly question what little  
change might make it a little faster and easier to do whatever you are  
doing.

2) Personal relationships. When we get right down to it, personalities  
and how they mesh matter a whole lot more than hierarchical  
structures. And we need to start by looking very closely in the  
mirror. Our own attitudes, the way in which we react to others, our  
approaches and manners are by far the biggest determinant in what our  
relationship will be with others. It is very much a tightrope walk. We  
need to be self-assured, yet not arrogant. We need to be anxious to  
please, but not a doormat/slave. We need to be approachable, but also  
somewhat aloof (so we can actually get our work done).
	Obviously there are two people in any relationship, and we are bound  
to come in contact with those we don't get along with very well, with  
whom it is difficult to communicate and work. Sometimes that can be  
pretty painful. But I think that with an open mind (one that tries to  
see the other's point of view), and a willingness to go the extra mile  
in keeping lines of communication open, it is usually possible to come  
to some sort of a position where one can work with just about anybody.

	Yes, there are other challenges, and you named a few. The conflicting  
orders from above one can be troublesome, depending on the people you  
work with. There should be at least some sort of hierarchy which means  
that the decisions are made by somebody specific. Sometimes that  
somebody is wishy washy and leaves you hanging - not a nice thing.  
And, OTOH, in reality one is working for as many bosses as there are  
faculty members, and to some extent students as well. One has a sort  
of employer/employee relationship with each, and one has to set limits  
in some manner. As Rick Florence said, you should concentrate on  
pleasing the keyboard area, faculty and students. They are your real  
employers, the ones who matter the most, the ones who depend on you,  
and on whose good opinion your reputation rests.
	Administration's lack of understanding? Well, I'd put some of that  
responsibility on the shoulder of the caut. We have to make it part of  
our job to communicate, to convey to the administration what it needs  
to know.
	
	I'll list some positives:
Autonomy: ability to decide what to do on what piano. Obviously this  
varies with situation, but in the end we have a good deal of  
individual choice, more so than in dealing with individual customers.  
I don't have to sell the job, I just do it, as long as I can budget  
the time. And then I get to see how long it took, how much difference  
it made, how it held up over time. Over the years, you can build up a  
wealth of successful procedures and skills that would be very  
difficult to acquire otherwise.
Your work matters. I don't care how much more I can make as a private  
tuner, the job satisfaction is far, far lower except with a very small  
percentage of my private clients. I like to ply the trade where it  
makes a difference, among people for whom making music and playing the  
piano is a passion and obsession (as it is with me). Money can't begin  
to compare with the feeling that one's work actually makes a  
difference (as opposed to walking in the door and hearing the customer  
say, "I'm afraid it hasn't been played since you were here last, but I  
guess it needs to be done.") Well, as long as there is enough money to  
live on <G>. One can't eat job satisfaction.
	Good luck with your job search!

Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu