Surviving Tourism Office Politics
February 2006
Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVB) in the United States and national and local tourism offices around the world are notorious for office politics and for rapid changes in leadership. In fact, many cities and nations change tourism CEOs at such a rapid rate that programs often never get off the ground. In the United States, CVB directors are often the first to go. They are blamed when things go wrong and rarely praised when marketing campaigns are successful. Chief executive officers (CEOs) often complain of feeling powerless or without the proper authority to do their job. Below are several ideas on how CEOs, presidents, and officers of CVBs can obtain needed ”authority” and some further suggestions on how CVB executives can protect themselves from organizational adversaries, and how they can increase their power base and maintain their authority.
-Make sure that your job description and lines of authority are clearly defined. To have authority, the CEO must have a specific and clearly defined position within the CVB/Tourist Office. All too often managers or executives in the world of tourism, and especially in CVBs, accept positions in which the lines of power are either not delineated or so poorly delineated that no one in the organization need respect their authority. Before accepting a position, tourism executives should insist on knowing exactly what authority they have and do not have, who controls the agency’s vital organizational resources, and what are the consequences to the organization if the guidelines are not met. Ideally these guidelines should be established before to moving into a new position. Once a CEO has come to a new community his or her ability to delineate the lines of authority often decreases. Moreover, no executive ever has authoritative power if he or she does not control at least one vital tourism organizational resource from the beginning of the administration. Such “resources” may include the authority to set the budget, determine pay raises, or choose who gets which office. An executive without resource control runs the risk of becoming either irrelevant or of being replaced. The CVB/Tourism Director or Minister must make it where his/her authority lies, what resources back that authority and what policies he/she controls.
- Develop clear success guidelines and update these guidelines twice a year. What constitutes success in an informal and composite business is often hard to determine. Each part of the tourism industry may believe success to be something to unique to its particular needs. It is essential that success guidelines be established and reviewed or a periodic basis. As situations change so will these guidelines.
- Utilize other’s expertise but be weary of it. CEO positions in the tourism industry traditionally are open to challenge not only from below, but also from above. If a lower ranking member of the staff has a special expertise, the CEO needs to use that expertise carefully. Lack of both technical and academic knowledge can be extremely damaging. For example, not knowing where a secretary may file the agency’s items or being able to follow a research project can damage the CEO’s authority. To protect him or herself, a CEO should never go into a public meeting without a personal prior briefing. CEOs who have not done their prior-homework are allowing themselves to be open to office politics and loss of power.
- Never pretend to be what you are not or to know what you do not know. Nothing gets a CEO in trouble faster than loss of credibility. No CEO is expected to know everything. Instead develop a group of loyal supporters in a variety of fields who can provide the needed information. It is essential to pick these people wisely. They should be people who are not seeking gain purely for their own sake, who can be trusted and with whom the CEO can have a good working relationship.
- Run a lean agency. Often, CEOs make the mistake of believing that the bigger the staff the more power they have. Nothing could be further from the truth. As staff sizes increase so do the politics and personality problems also increase. It is best to keep staffs to a functional minimal, and as a check on the office staff use outside specialists directly responsible to the CEO be consulted on a periodic basis.
- It is the nature of power and power bases that they either increase in scope or they cease to exist. To increase a power base the CVB/Tourism office executives need to network not only within the field, but also with allied fields. Governments tend to respect those CEOs who have developed a great deal of “social and political capital” and have a many networking ties. A CEO/President should never be afraid to do someone a legal and moral favor, and to let others know that they will be called upon when needed. Furthermore, the smart executive never forgets that when using social capital, be polite, write a thank-you note, and extend a luncheon or dinner invitation.
Finally, once secure in an authority position, the CEO must begin to build coalitions to other agencies. Smart CVB/Tourism office presidents make sure that everyone in his or her geographic region knows how critical they are to the success of the operation. It is essential not to forget that everyone needs his or her ego stroked from time to time. While bragging is never helpful, too much modesty can also de-legitimatize a position and undercut the CEO’s value. Instead take credit for what you deserve and credit those who have helped you accomplish these goals. When possible, an executive should use subtle messages, make sure to be around powerful and influential people, and always increase legitimacy by stressing personal expertise.
