Wonkhe SUs · The 2026 webinar box set
Essentials #5: How to be an influential and effective SU officer
What makes an officer influential and effective – with reflections from officers on what made them powerful, what they wish they’d known when they started, and advice for incoming officers.
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What actually makes an SU officer influential and effective. Hosts and former officers reflect on what made them powerful, what they wish they'd known starting out, and their advice for incoming officers – from being authentic but strategic, to shifting perspectives rather than just shouting them, to understanding context, power and how to get things done.
What we cover
- Be yourself, but strategic – authenticity matters; bring your full self into the room, but understand the context, speak student not jargon, and build relationships early to influence in formal spaces
- Shift perspectives, don’t just shout them – effective officers don’t just push their manifestos; they listen, empathise and adapt, balancing what students want with what the institution needs to hear
- Ignorance is a superpower – it’s okay not to know everything; asking “silly” questions reveals hidden assumptions and brings others along, especially on finances, governance and processes
- Create “water cooler” moments – strong officers shape discourse, not just decisions, telling powerful stories and making people talk about students even when they’re not in the room
- Be thankful and build allies – kindness is influence; thanking people, especially those behind the scenes, builds trust and shared ownership of wins
- Stay connected to students – you can’t represent who you don’t speak to; hear real student voices through socials, societies, student leaders, or even listening on buses
- Play politics, play nicely – understand motivations, build alliances (especially with administrators), and know when to push and when to pause; escalate only once you’ve tried diplomacy
- Be a main character, not a cameo – reliability builds recognition; show up consistently, stay curious, and be remembered as a central contributor
- Wins come in all shapes and sizes – influence isn’t just instant change; planting seeds, shifting mindsets and setting up successors counts as much as public-facing victories
- Sustain yourself and support each other – the role is intense; practise self-care, find peer support, and remember you were elected for who you are, not to be anyone else
Things to read
- Blogs on and from SUs on Wonkhe
- The sixteen secrets of being an effective and influential SU officer
- Aren't we all influencers now?
- The secret life of watercoolers
- How to lose friends and alienate politicians
- On influence inside universities
- HE policy influence – an emerging profession
- Our students are ambitious. They need an SU that channels that
- Why being a disengaged student turned student officer was beneficial
- It's OK to be unreasonable
- Enabling students to succeed isn't mollycoddling
- What makes a powerful SU officer, team or organisation?
- Live players, dead players and influencing tactics and skills
- How to be "positively pushy" to get things done for students
- What factors make student representatives more effective?
- How to speak on a panel or deliver a keynote with confidence and impact
- What is "storming fortnight" and can officer teams survive it?
- Now that's what I call great officer comms
- How to make students more powerful – eight secrets of the Money Saving Expert