Yesterday, someone inquired via our Twitter account, "Who's the most innovative & forward-looking person in your web communications department?" I do not know this individual, or why in particular they asked this question, but I thought it was an interesting one -- because I didn't have an answer. That, however, is the way it should be.
Our department was built to not be centered around application development, or creating content, or web project management. Rather, it is ideally a melding of all three, working in concert toward the university's communications goals. It's not something you find at every university -- I've heard a lot of war stories of content people warring with the IT department over getting content posted, or application developers hoarding ownership of the university web presence to the exclusion of a useful communications strategy, or content people having no clue of how to work with a web team. It's rough stuff.
I'm happy to say our department is different. By bringing together members of these three groups in strategic synergy, the walls are down. Our goals are shared. No one prong trumps another, and one cannot truly succeed without the other three.
Of course, in our line of work, the key to success is staying ahead of the curve. I like to think that we all push each other to innovate, think big, be a little crazy now and then.
So, to answer the original question, I think that we're all more forward-thinking and innovative by virtue of working together. Sitting alone in my office, I could some up with a lot of great ideas, but they won't mean much if I can't bounce them off somebody -- particularly somebody coming from a different perspective -- and tear them apart a bit. And I sure as heck wouldn't be able to implement them by myself.
The Boston Celtics have superstars on their roster in the "Big Three" of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, sure, but the motto that got them a title last year was ubuntu, an African term meaning the emphasis of collective success over individual achievement. As Garnett said, "Anything is possible!"
(By the way, if you want to join the team, here's your opportunity.)