Two weeks ago, you heard from Tyler Fehrman with his first post on Part of the Possible. This week, he’s back with observations on why working with his rivals has made all the difference. Enjoy! – LC
Some of the best advocates I have ever met have been folks from the other side.
President Abraham Lincoln famously assembled his group of top advisors as a “team of rivals” – highlighted in the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin by the same name. Lincoln’s team consisted of three men who had challenged his bid for the Presidency, called him terrible things, and attempted to ruin his chances at ever taking office – along with countless others who had “beef” with one another in the same vein.
Abraham Lincoln’s focus was on delivering results for the nation, and he knew that if he simply operated within an echo chamber he wouldn’t be able to achieve those changes. So, he diversified the voices that surrounded him – and, when they inevitably disagreed, he would make time to interact with them individually and iron things out. Keeping a team of this type together was a feat that nary a politician in today’s world could accomplish – even though it arguably should be one of our top goals.
In my own experience within the field of advocacy, I have often encountered people who work for the “other side” – they have the viewpoint opposite mine and, in some cases are working directly against me – who have been some of the strongest and best advocates for a cause I have ever encountered. The natural human reaction to these individuals is typically to detest them – to hope for their failure, and never to engage with them. After all, they’re the enemy – aren’t they?
I took this approach for a long time. I’d encounter my opposition, set my sights on the failure of their mission, and refuse to personally engage with them. My focus would shift away from my cause – and, instead, onto theirs. This made me a poor advocate. After all, advocacy demands attention and dedication – especially in the turbulent political environment many of us work in today. By shifting my focus onto anything other than what I was working to achieve I was doing myself, my cause, and the people who depended on me to champion that cause a great disservice – I made myself a poor advocate, and made my opponent a better one.
When faced with a formidable opponent it is easy to write them off as “the enemy” – and, I will tell you that, sometimes, they are. During the House Bill 6 Repeal campaign, our opponents were – quite literally in some instances – violent towards us, threatened us, and had no intention of ever letting up – sometimes, the opposition really is “the enemy,” but only when they’ve chosen to do what I’m talking about today and refuse to stay focused on their cause. In advocacy it is not uncommon to encounter those who – even when extended an olive branch – refuse to interact with us and they, just as I used to, set their sights on our failure instead of their own success. We make the mistake of assuming that our success depends on someone else’s failure – something that is very much not true.
Throughout my career I have been given the opportunity to befriend my opponents on numerous occasions – and those individuals have consisted of everyone from those who I disagree with on foundational issues to those I have relatively small political disagreements with. The times I’ve chosen not to take this opportunity are the ones I regret most – as I mentioned before, they made me a poor advocate. However, in the instances where I’ve taken the opportunity to engage with my colleagues on the other side of an issue, I’ve not only become a stronger advocate of my cause – but, I’ve also made quite a few friends.
Currently, I work in the renewable energy industry – handling public affairs and community engagement for a wind and solar power developer. There is a lot of noise around renewable energy – somehow the idea of economic development, job creation, sustainability, and stewarding the planet have become hot-button political talking points by the blowhards in ivory towers.
This attitude has trickled down into people’s daily lives – right out of the television set in the living room that’s tuned to whatever preferred 24-hour news channel is spewing vitriol in any particular home. It creates animosity and division – and, in a lot of instances, has caused some folks that I – honestly – probably agree with on about ninety-five percent of issues to think that I’m the bogeyman from the big city, working to industrialize rural America. In reality, I’m a kid from Knox County – still mostly clad in jeans, boots, a flannel shirt, and an old ball cap – who just happens to believe that renewable energy can save communities in need.
Just recently I was in a very contentious meeting where some folks from the opposite side showed up to voice their concerns about a project I’m working on. The conversation (if it can be called that) was heated – and I realized that we weren’t going to get anywhere by simply yelling our talking points back and forth. The people first mantra popped into my mind – and, instead of continuing to go back and forth, I simply took a seat next to one of the folks who was very upset with my work.
What started as a heated exchange turned into a calm, meaningful discussion – questions were asked and answered from both sides, dialogue was respectful, and everyone seemed to feel much better – though we largely still disagreed. I realized that I had been given misinformation about some of them, and – I hope – they realized they had been given some about me as well. At the end of our conversation I told the group that my goal, when I leave any room, is to be able to call any of the folks who disagree with me and ask them to sit down for a cup of coffee, a midweek lunch, or an evening pint – so we can get to know each other. We may never agree on one particular issue – but, chances are, we agree on something – and that’s a catalyst for creating change together.
I regularly talk about my dedication to the idea of “people first” – it is my guiding mantra for everything I do. When I’ve chosen people first over pettiness and viewing my opponents negatively, allowing myself to become distracted from my charge to keep, I’ve been given opportunities to make larger progress than I ever would have imagined.
This has opened doors, both personally and professionally, and I’ve found myself sitting in conversation with folks who I would likely never have engaged with. I’ve had lunch appointments, strategy sessions, beer summits, and lengthy conversations with individuals who I didn’t think I had anything in common with and, hell, I now count some of these folks as close friends and allies. I’ve even found myself working alongside some of the folks I have previously worked against – and those alliances have been the most effective ones.
Abraham Lincoln was a great man – not only because of what he accomplished for a nation teetering on the edge of destruction from within – but because he accomplished it by working with a group of people that had once seen their personal mission as being to destroy the other. I struggle on a daily basis with the temptation to write my opponents off – to consider them as nothing more than opposition – and I imagine that’s something that I’ll always be prone to falling into because of the way I was programmed (coming up in Ohio politics is a hell of a ride, y’all). But, if we all chose to fight that urge and – instead – actively look for opportunities to engage with our counterparts who have differing views, I think we can accomplish amazing things.
When we seek to understand other perspectives, engage with one another, and build a culture of dialogue – then and only then will we see real progress achieved. It really is all about building a team of rivals – and putting people first.
Part of the Possible 