If you’re a content designer, stakeholder management IS the job

Over the years, I’ve heard and read a lot of comments from content designers who feel that the job is just too hard - because of stakeholders. And that if only they would be ‘allowed’ to do their job by their stakeholder(s), things would be better.

I hear you - it is hard.

But I’ve been working as a content editor for my entire career - starting in print before moving into digital. And I can tell you this - it’s never been easy. Because at the heart of every editorial role is people. And people can be hard work!

Very early in my career, I worked for the University of London External Programme as its first ever editor of distance learning study guides. Nobody really knew what that meant (one guy thought I was just there to do the photocopying). They just knew the fail rate for their students was way too high, and that maybe the unedited printed study guides (in the days before online learning, the main support for these students) had something to do with it. So they hired me.

The first guide I edited was a law guide, written by the director of the law programme, whom I hadn’t yet met. I sat down, and went through his guide with a fine-toothed comb. And then sent the author my edited draft and my suggested revisions.

One day later, he was in my office, shaking with rage. He slammed the amended guide on my desk, and told me to put the guide back to the way it was and to never speak to him again.

Of course, I was upset.

So I asked my manager for advice. And she told me that I had to apologise to the law director and do what he said. Why? Not because she doubted my abilities or the need for these guides to be edited. In fact, she had full faith in me and really wanted me to succeed.

She just understood the politics in a way I didn’t. And she knew we had a long way to go, and we needed as much buy-in and support as we could get if we were to achieve our ambitions of editing all of the study guides that our distance learning students so desperately needed. We couldn’t afford to be derailed at the start of the process by an influential director with contacts. And, as the editor for the programme, I needed to build relationships and get the trust of our authors - starting with him.

This was a really important lesson for me - and I am so grateful that I received it so early in my career.

As a content designer, you will always work on something that someone else has either written or revised. That means they have spent time and thought on it, and they care about it. And they probably don’t care about you. (Or at least, not yet.)

Editing someone else’s words is a privilege. Making sure these words work for all kinds of users by applying your skills is a fantastic thrill - I used to pinch myself that I was making a living this way.

But unless you get the buy-in and trust of your authors (and whatever else you might call them, if they’ve written something, then that’s what they are), you may not be able to do your job well - because they can probably block you. And while you might find that something to complain about, your digital users - yours and the author’s, that is - won’t have that luxury. They might fail to do the thing they need to do. Which means that you’ll have failed to do your job.

If you’re a content designer, stakeholder management IS the job. And being able to transform the content to meet a user need? That’s your reward for a job well done.

p.s. Whatever happened with the angry Director? I apologised beautifully - and asked to start again. By the time I left, we had his full buy-in for what we were doing - and all of the law guides had been edited, including his.

About me

Hi. I’m Jane Van de Ban. After decades of working in the UK public sector, I now work for myself, so I can spend time on what I love. Right now, that means 2 things:

• Stakeholder management training for content designers: I was a union activist and content design lead for years, and that meant that managing stakeholders was the key to getting things done. So I’m good at it, and want to help you.

• Coaching for content designers: Before I was a content designer, I was a web editor. Before that, I was a print editor. Content is something I know a lot about - and as a former team lead, I understand the challenges you face. If you’re struggling with an aspect of your work, I’d like to help.

Let’s have a chat! Contact me to find out more.