I’ve written here before about the marvels of the HUMANE Winter School which is a week-long intensive training course for up-and-coming senior administrators. Started in 2003, it has become one of the best and most in-demand programmes around for developing the leadership potential of outstanding professional services leaders from across Europe.

The Winter School is one of the signature events in the HUMANE calendar and is intended to develop the leadership potential of talented senior managers by making them fully aware of the concepts and practices of strategic management in a European context, and the importance of integrating academic matters, finances, human resources, governance, leadership and communication strategy in the development and articulation of university strategy.

The programme is highly intensive and includes plenary sessions and practical work in small groups based on international case studies. Observing the participants engaging with the material and working very hard in their teams to respond to one of two case studies and then present to another team who play different roles as part of a university executive board is always stimulating. The case study submissions and presentations are each assessed by a selection of senior leaders, including former Winter School participants, and feedback on these is then provided directly to them on their work and pointers offered for future development.

As part of the conclusion to the event, including the award of certificates, for the past few years I’ve been providing participants with some additional advice and tips about dealing with a real university executive board. This set of pointers has drawn heavily on a blog written many years ago by a former director of the Winter School, Ian Creagh. Ian was also for many years the Registrar at King’s College London and has vast experience in senior leadership, strategy and governance issues in higher education. The blog he wrote (now sadly no longer available online) was entitled, rather ominously, The Dark Arts of Managing the C-suite.

The overwhelming majority of the points he made in the piece are as valid today as they were back when he wrote it and, given it is no longer available, I thought it made sense to offer an updated version. I hope this might offer some help to future generations of Winter School participants and others with some advice for that all-important engagement with the executive board.

So, no more role-playing then, what are the things you really need to consider when you are preparing to be called in to present to the university executive?

What to expect

Winter School participants all learn a great deal from working on their case study in a team, developing a clear and concise paper and then presenting it to a mock university executive board. It can be a pretty testing experience. But, however challenging this process is, it is as nothing compared to the experience of a first engagement with a real university executive. So, what should you expect? 

Prepare, plan and prepare some more

In terms of the paper or case you are submitting, make sure you have thoroughly checked and proof-read it. Read and re-read it and get someone else to sense check it and do a last scan for typos too. You need to know the case inside out too and be ready for questions from any angle. The team can prepare by trying to ask each other the hardest questions they can think of. You need to make sure that a presentation is expected and how long you have got. Everyone needs to know their place and what they are going to lead on in the presentation or in response to questions and be ready for any eventuality. Rehearse, practice and rehearse again. And make sure you are dressed appropriately too. It’s not a wedding so don’t go overboard but if you look like you have just returned from a camping trip that is probably not going to engender confidence in the team’s professionalism.

Getting the right place on the agenda

First off, you need to know where you are on the agenda. And you need to know what else is up there for consideration too. The first step in this is having a good relationship with the Secretary of the board – make them your friend so you can get as much background as possible on the meeting and what is scheduled. If there are other big items on the agenda which are all looking for substantial investment then your chances of securing approval for your proposals are likely to be greatly reduced. Either that or all of them, including yours, will be referred back for more information or to be brought back with comparators. Better therefore to come up with an excuse about why you need to defer for another time. And you really want to avoid being first on the agenda – when no-one will have warmed up or be paying proper attention and some members will be late and miss your presentation – or the last item before Any Other Business, when half of the board will already be moving for the exit or thinking about lunch.

The Secretary will also be able to tell you what to expect once you get into the room and where you should sit. You need to make sure with them that there are going to be enough chairs for your team too.

Engaging with the key players before the meeting 

It’s not so much lobbying as background preparation. You need to ensure that you talk to the key players well before the meeting. Your aim is to get some input on your draft – they will know what will fly and what will sink – but also to ensure that their thoughts can be incorporated into the paper and your presentation. Using language, phrases and particular suggestions they have made is a smart move. You also want to ask them what they think the objections might be from others on the board. While you are on this it is worth trying to explore any other significant bits of gossip they might find it irresistible to share about what other deals are going on and who is supporting what – this may prove invaluable when you are trying to build support for your proposal. And do make absolutely sure that you flatter them by stressing how incredibly helpful their input has been to the development of the proposal, no matter how limited the contribution. 

Remember that other things are in play

As Ian put it in his original piece, many executive board members are “competitive, politically astute individuals with big egos.“  There are an awful lot of other things going on in the Monday morning executive board meeting and the discussion, debate and dispute is only partly about what is on the agenda – there are other arguments and deals underway which are invisible to anyone not in the know. Your chances of success then depend at least in part on how your proposal sits within this broader context. You therefore need to find out as much about this as you can in advance and work out who is supporting who in relation to other matters and what this might mean for your pitch. It is never just about the logic and the brilliance of your idea. It’s also about the politics and the fit with all the other things going on in the room full of clashing egos.

Teams need a captain when presenting

If you are presenting as a team then you do need to be clear about who is in charge for the purposes of the pitch. One of the team needs to orchestrate the presentation, manage the session and field the questions, directing them to the right team member for a response (and talking in generalities to buy time for everyone to think of an answer for the really difficult ones). This is not about everyone having a say, it is all about getting the approval for the project. All team members need to be there for a reason – and executive boards will want to know they aren’t just paying lots of people lots of money to sit on their hands in meetings – but not everyone needs to be involved in presenting.

Persuasion and the killer fact

University executives don’t want to feel they are wasting time in meetings more than you do. If you think you are busy, that’s nothing – these people will be spending pretty much all day, every day in one meeting or another. Do think about them and their perspective when you are honing your presentation – make every word and every second count. When presenting do ensure you name check those who you asked for advice and thank them for their input. Flattery is rarely wasted. You also want to align your proposal to everything you can that makes the board members feel good about themselves and the university. Linking your pitch to other positive decisions the board has made or notable university achievements will make it harder to object to it as it reinforces their prior wisdom.

You also need to leave them with a killer fact – one thing you want them to remember. Do make sure you answer the ‘why?’ question – what is the fundamental reason they should absolutely support this idea rather than something else. Don’t try to overwhelm them with the facts that support your case, the essence will be lost if you aren’t careful. In these scenarios, less is usually more, and you need to ensure there is one thing you leave in their heads after you have left the room – the killer fact. As Ian put it: “Flattering their authority, appealing to their prior wisdom and assaulting them with a killer fact: it’s a deadly combination.” 

Keep your eyes on the chair

Watch the chair and take your cues from them – if they look like they are nodding positively to what their exec colleagues say or cutting them dead then respond accordingly. Note who is asked to speak first and last and gauge what this says about where the support for your case. But also scope out the others in the room, who is making positive noises and whose attention is drifting and intervene as best you can to reinforce or engage.

A few other key pointers

• Be early for your slot at the meeting but be prepared to wait. Agendas often overrun, extended waiting can be agonising and you might still end up being bumped to the next meeting. There’s nothing you can do about any of this apart from prepare yourself for the possibility.

• Timing – if you are asked to speak for 10 minutes, prepare for and aim for 8 but also be ready to do it in just 2 minutes if you have to. 

• Get the tech right in advance- any time spent messing about trying to get the slideshow up and running is very frustrating for the board and, however unfair this might seem, will undermine the power of your case.

• Slides – keep your presentations short, simple and snappy. Executive board members will see lots of presentations and hundreds of slides every week and there really has to be a good reason for every single slide you show them. The fewer words and more pictures the better.

• Evidence – be clear that you have evidence which leads to the recommendations you are making. You can’t just pluck assertions out of thin air.

• Money, money, money – you need to be crystal clear on the full cost of your proposals which have been checked in advance and support by the finance department. You do not want the CFO questioning the background or accuracy of the numbers in the meeting.

• ROI – the board needs to know what the return on investment is – what will they get in terms of concrete outputs for allocating this resource.

• ‘I don’t know’ is a legitimate response or is the least bad answer when you genuinely don’t know. It is better to say this and that you will get back to them right after the meeting rather than just making something up – you will be found out.

• Watch your body language and do try to remain positive and alert. Signs of distress or any eye-rolling are likely to be pounced on – it’s a jungle in there.

• When you are presenting a SWOT analysis make sure you get the expression of weaknesses right and aim to strike a balance between frankness and sensitivity. Telling execs they are failing rarely goes down well, no matter how accurate the analysis.

And finally…

So, whether you are new to presenting to university executive boards or a seasoned campaigner I do hope there is something in here for you. I am sure it will be a walk in the park next time you are presenting. And again I want to stress grateful acknowledgement and huge thanks to Ian Creagh whose contributions over many years to the Winter School, HUMANE and higher education more generally are immense. Most of the best points made above are his and any misrepresentations or errors are mine. 

Have you got any other top tips for those entering the university executive board room for the first time?