Opinion/Sasse: A voters' primer on how to elect effective and pragmatic leaders
Gary Sasse served as Rhode Island’s director of administration, executive director of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, and is the founding director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University.
Candidates for statewide and federal offices should be crisscrossing Rhode Island, focusing on their vision to address the state’s economic, social and fiscal challenges. Instead, too many campaigns are being overwhelmed by negative advertisements pummeling their opponents, stereotyping the opposition, and driven by outdated crony politics.
What has been missing are candidates demonstrating that they are more interested in governing than politics.
There is still time in the next several weeks for candidates to denote the leadership skills needed to be problem solvers. Here are factors to consider when evaluating each candidate’s leadership potential.
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Five attributes have characterized successful public leadership: placing principles first, focusing, pragmatically leading from the center, getting the right people on the team, and using the bully pulpit to build public confidence.
Does the candidate’s fealty to party, politicians and special interests obscure a commitment to the highest ethical standards? Principles anchor an official’s performance to core values and provide a blueprint for how an elected officer can be expected to do his or her job. These principles include not only integrity, transparency and accountability. They also encompass the rule of law, promoting equality of opportunity, not outcomes; stewarding resources for future generations; building strong communities; and fiscal responsibility.
Has the office-seeker identified one or two specific things to make your life better that he or she really cares about and can achieve? For example, the National Governors Association says that success in the governorship depends first and foremost on the ability to focus. Voters should beware of politicians trying to be all things to all people.
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Does the candidate have a track record of bringing diverse interests together to solve problems? In judging each candidate, ask if their agenda will lift everybody, not only cronies and politically connected groups. The effectiveness of any executive depends on the goodwill of others. Differences are inevitable in a partisan system built on checks and balances. Effective leadership is enhanced when a governor, senator or congressman can get people to “yes” by moderating the extreme positions of both the left and right.
Who are the candidate’s senior staff and key advisers? What groups have the candidate’s ear? Peter Drucker, the famed business consultant, noted that “no executive has ever suffered because his subordinates were strong and effective.” Elected officials are only as effective and efficient as their teams. This does not mean only appointing yes-men and women.
As Cyrus the Great advised, “diversity in counsel, unity in command.” An illustration of the importance of personnel decisions can be found by contrasting the first and second Dukakis Administrations. Confrontational in his first term, the Massachusetts Democrat emphasized consensus building in his second term. Many believe this resulted from key personnel decisions. The new chief of staff proved to be an able negotiator and strategist with friends on Beacon Hill.
Has the candidate effectively explained where the state or nation is, where it needs to be, and when it gets there. Strong, decisive elected officials lead public opinion; they do not only react to it or base their decisions on polling results. Governors who fail to mold public opinion inevitably lose influence and the ability to lead.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: A voters' primer on how to elect effective and pragmatic leaders
