To: Christina Santana, Professor

From: Lisa Godfrin-Saulnier

Date: August 8, 2017
Subject: Interview with Karen Sharpe, Assistant Vice President of WSU Institutional Advancement

I interviewed the Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Worcester State
University. Ms. Sharpe has been at Worcester State over 6 years and had previously held another
similar position in Fitchburg State Universitys Advancement division for approximately five years.
Besides the decade of experience in fundraising, Ms. Sharpe also is an accomplished poet and
former newspaper writer. The interview took approximately 20 minutes as we discussed the many
different channels of communication used within the Advancement office.

Communication

I started the interview by asking about the internal communication within the University
Advancement division. With a directive from the Vice President, the office staff has made a large
effort to have more verbal communication with colleagues. This has opened up a better line of
internal communication, as they are able to see expressions and body language that is missing
from an email. It has allowed for better understanding within the division, but still has a way to go.
She felt that there were still too many closed meetings, hallway discussions and email which kept
the division from being fully aware of the goings on. This is something she strives to improve
during her time at Worcester State. When asked if there were any written policies on how internal
communication should be handled, she explained that although there is a verbal directive from the
Vice President, there is currently no written policy regarding internal communication. They are still
working on having a better internal communication process. She felt that many used email too
much in communicating with colleagues. Messages were often misunderstood and created issues
with the team. This came from the need to put everything in writing, which in itself gave the
wrong impression. Email is not forbidden, however it is not the preferred method of communication
within the department.

I asked Ms. Sharpe to explain the difference type of communication they use externally. Due to
the many diverse constituents that the Advancement office sends written communications to, it is
important to them that they are able to rise above language or culture differences. They have
utilized a segmented approach in some of their communications so they can direct messages to
specific groups. When asked what was the best communication method she explained that there
is no one type that works universally. The most important part of their job is to know their
audience. By segmenting the mailings, they can focus their message in a way that is not possible
with large mailings. This helps with their rate of return in their fundraising efforts. She suggested it
was one of the most important steps they have taken in recent years. Another was creating
processes and procedures within the office. One of the processes they have in place within the
department is proofreading all mailed materials. Before any mailing is released, it must be
proofread by the Communications Director, the Assistant Vice President and the Assistant to the
Vice President of Advancement.

We discussed how she handles explaining complex matters to colleagues and donors. Ms. Sharpe
is responsible for presenting the outcomes of the division to various management and donors.
This can be very complex information and she has always felt that creating an outline of what
needed to be said was the best first step. From that she was able to create engaging
presentations both orally and visually. She said that it often takes her days to create a single
presentation, as she will often read through and edit several times. There have been times where
she has been asked to present with little notice or preparation. Having practiced other
presentations so often, it has become easier to handle those types of situations, but she stressed
that if possible practice was crucial in having a clear and precise message for your audience.

I asked her if there was any one place staff can put forward issues to management. She explained
that there are individual project meeting and one divisional meeting each month that feedback is
accepted and encouraged.

Persuasion

As we started to discuss the aspects of Persuasion in her own job, she gave a small smile. Ms.
Sharpe leads a team of nine and is constantly being giving new ideas. In fundraising, new ideas
are essential. There is however a feeling of dont change what is not broken. This attitude, along
with budgetary restraints makes persuasion very important in getting change through within the
division. Persuasion is very important in the office so they can continue to move forward and grow.
The best practice within the office is to present these ideas during the divisional monthly meeting.
Her approach is often to show the benefits to resources within the department, any cost savings
associated, and how this impacts donor engagement. If she is able to eloquently state these facts,
she generally will find that the majority will often support the suggested change.

When asked how persuasion is utilized with alumni and other constituents, she explained it is done
at an emotional level. A message is pushed with images and wording that invokes an emotional
response from the reader. This goes back to the earlier comments about segmented mailings.
The images and wording can be changed to reflect the individuals, such as athletes, particular
decades or majors. Again this is based on the audience, so no one particular style works better
than another.

Leadership

When I spoke to Ms. Sharpe about her own management style, she stated her hope was that she
led her team by example. She does so by always showing respect and understanding of her
colleagues, no matter what level of management. When asked how she thought a leader could fail,
she said one important aspect is to understand that your team is made up of very different people.
You cannot expect them all to fit into the same box. She stated that being self-aware and self-
regulated allows for you to receive the messages being given both verbally and nonverbally. When
asked what makes a good leader, her answer was simple. to be a leader you must rise above
insecurity to be able to hear the information being shared to you and around you. For her, the
number one attribute of a good leader is emotional intelligence, followed by an understanding of
systems thinking and organizational communication. This is what she tries to model.

Summary

During the entire interview the importance of internal communication was stressed just as much as
external. The years of experience that Ms. Sharpe has in fundraising makes her very
knowledgeable in all of the areas we have discussed in our Business Communications course.
This interview allowed for insight into the struggles of management with internal communication. I
also came to realize that not every type of communication is a good fit for every situation. Part of
being a leader is realizing what to use and when to use it.