Joe Sabado – Higher Education & Technology Leadership

I read a blog post recently advocating end-users to have full admin rights to their work computers and have the ability to install softwares for efficiency and productivity. I agree that end-users (of which I am also) need to be provided the tools required to do our jobs, which includes researching new technologies. These tools include the software we need installed on our desktop that may not be provided by IT. I hear and read frustrations from end-users who seem to constantly hear “no” from IT when a request for a software or service is requested. I feel the same way sometimes. However,those software on the desktop are useless when the network or some other critical services used by the entire organization (e.g. email, student information systems) are not available as a result of disruptions caused by malicious software. I will admit that there have been a couple of times when I have had to re-image my personal machine because of a virus that I had unknowingly downloaded from an infected site. My point in sharing my experience is that even the most careful end-user with the best intention can still introduce malicious code to the network.
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How many of what others say about us do we believe? Worse, how many of the negative labels others give us do we internalize and limit us? On the other hand, how many of the labels given to us do we use to our advantage?

I interviewed for a web development manager position once and was asked the question “What is your weakness?” For some reason, my answer was “I am not a very good programmer.” As soon as I uttered that response, I was so disappointed in myself because at that moment, I realized I had subconsciously accepted a negative label, someone who wasn’t too nice, had given me and had spread to others behind my back. At that point, it didn’t matter to me that I’ve proven my competence with the numerous web and database applications I have successfully developed throughout the years. It didn’t matter to me that my customers and my superiors, throughout the years, had told me over and over that I had done a great job and they were happy with what I had produced. It took me a couple of years after this incident to come to terms that I had to stop believing in that limiting label and to stop justifying my abilities.

When I was in 6th grade, I was sometimes made fun of by my classmates because of my “fresh off the boat” (FOB) Pilipino accent. It became so bad that I thought I had no choice but to fight back. There was one time when we were at the playground and I was finally fed up with the bullying. I challenged one of the bullies to a fight and while I did not know karate at all, I assumed a “karate” stance with my fists up, ready to fight. Before we were able to fight however, our teacher saw us and stopped the fight. Later that day, I overheard some students talking about how I must have known martial arts because I’m Asian. Needless to say, I was never bullied again the rest of the year.

Labels are placed upon us, for better or worse, and it’s up to us to interpret them for our gains or to limit ourselves. In our positions of privilege, we must also be conscious on whether the labels we are placing on others are used to lift them up or demote them.

What labels have been assigned to you and how have they hurt/helped you?

I was at a meeting with a campus network administrator and other technical staff once to discuss whether e-vite is allowed to be used by student affairs staff as an event planning tool. The person leading the meeting introduced others in the room by their official titles and responsibilities  and when that person introduced me, he referred to me in a dismissive tone including a smirk as someone who was ” just at the meeting invited to represent the users”. The introduction set the negative tone as to how my input was received , dismissed as words coming from someone technically incompetent. I personally felt devalued and had to prove my competence throughout the meeting.

I’ve also been to meetings where our Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs introduces me as a “tech wizard/magician/expert” and seemingly, the room took my words as authority. It also provided me some boost of confidence knowing such a person of significance held me with high regards.

I don’t think I’m neither technically incompetent nor a technical expert. The point is perception matters and words can either be used to bless or curse others.

Institutional support is necessary for social media to thrive in higher education.  Individuals and grassroots efforts have opened the door for social media to be accepted at universities and have proven the values of it.  To further the use of social media,  institutional support is required for it to be embraced, to be sustained and to explore further uses. While the mention of policies and guidelines and even having committees that represent the different factions of the university including marketing, IT, legal, business unit reps could be seen as overly bureaucratic, it is my opinion, based on experience, that it is necessary for social media to be embraced as part of official university business. If a group, representing the different functions of your organization, does not clearly define the use and boundaries of social media, some individual(s) will improperly define it for the organization based on limited and biased perspectives.

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I lead a team of 20 software/web developers and managers. When I ask my team to do something collectively or as individuals,  the answer I expect from them is “no”.  It is because of this expectation that when I am delegating a task to any of my staff, I make sure that there’s a good reason behind my requests and that I am ready to offer the reasoning if asked.  It’s not like my team does not do what I ask them to do, as they are all amazing people to work with and they are very cooperative and  they actually do what I ask them do with no resistance. Most of the time, while it’s not necessary for me to offer any explanations since they willingly accept the task, I make the conscious effort to take the time to provide them with the explanation behind my request.
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