Are your political hang ups holding you – and your cause – back?
This week I was reminded of a very important lesson in politics and advocacy: the ability to leave the past in the past is a genuine superpower – one that helps us recognize the opportunities in front of us instead of dwelling on what we can no longer change.
As advocates, our missions continue even when we fail. Our causes demand a continuous churn. Occasionally, that means WE must return to those who’ve voted against us in the past, and re-engage with them.
If a decision maker hasn’t voted your way in the past, the most harmful thing you can do is to write them off for the future.
Here’s what I mean.
When I was a congressional staffer, before becoming a lobbyist here in Ohio, I met with a lot of people. Over nearly a decade in that work, it was inevitable. And a lot of those meetings were with people whose agenda didn’t necessarily align with my boss’s voting record. That’s also inevitable.
But those groups could be split into two camps. In one, a dedicated advocacy team would evaluate results and strategize how to keep the conversation moving in the future. Often times, that required them to help their volunteer advocates understand the importance of moving on. These folks were the tireless professionals who understood the value of perpetuating relationships.
The other camp goes a different direction.
Sometimes our issues seem so consequential to us that a wrong action by an elected official almost seems like a personal affront. In those moments, it’s the easiest – and the laziest – thing in the world to write them off and say we’ll never engage with them again.
That’s right. This type of thinking is lazy.
Worse yet, it only harms YOUR agenda by allowing those who do show up to crowd out your agenda.
I’ve met a lot of advocates like this. Folks who, because of a party affiliation or even a single issue, refuse to engage with those they’ve written off. It’s a terrible waste.
As I do my own work, I know I have to check this tendency myself – and it’s not easy. But because it’s my profession, I’ve had to develop those skills.
For volunteer advocates that personal nature of the cause could mean you’re too close to the issue and need to take a step back. But if we want to overcome this barrier for advocates in the long term, it has to be a part of the culture we push within the industry.
If I’m being honest, I think it’s one of the first big steps we have to take if we are SERIOUS about making our public debate more civil. We have to own that challenge. No one else can, or will, do it for us.
So, as you prepare to jump back in the ring for your cause I want you to think about the decision makers you’ve written off. Maybe it’s because they voted against you. Maybe it’s because the last meeting was contentious. Maybe it’s as simple as they’re registered in the other party.
Start by recognizing their humanity, and that humans change, grow and learn. We constantly have opportunities to deal with each other differently. And if you can learn to leave the past where it belongs, you may just stumble on a new way to change the world.
Part of the Possible 