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Political Leadership Advantage

From Outsider to Insider

If I had been asked twenty years earlier to guess what department I would be leading in my late 40s, I would have said Gender and Women’s Studies or Anthropology – not a $6 billion provincial health department!

Similarly, my bucket list never included me:

  • Getting elected in two impossible-to-win elections
  • Creating and passing two first-in-Canada laws
  • Holding two cabinet portfolios – including the one with the largest portion of the provincial budget (46%), daily media scrums and issues management

Yet, that’s what happened. All because I took a break from grading papers to answer a call from someone alleging to be Premier Gary Doer’s Chief of Staff. Turns out he really was. Rather than being pranked, I was being asked to run in the upcoming election!

I know what it’s like to go from political outsider to finding crucial issues where I could make significant contributions, and then sitting at the key decision-making tables for provincial programs, policy, legislation, and investments.

I help others realize their potential to do the same, without sacrificing their mental health and well-being.

Finding Your Why and Your Way

Many great people with the personal experience and professional expertise to enrich the political world and government ecosystems don’t run for office because they don’t know who to ask for guidance, preparation and insight, or to find out what to expect in political life. (That would have been me if I hadn’t taken that call.)

Others make plans and investments to get elected. Not all of them achieve that goal for a variety of reasons within and beyond their control. (But did anyone explain this to them before they put their name on a ballot?)

Regardless of how or why candidates were motivated to run, the newly elected often find themselves in a new, foreign, complex, and fast-paced environment – usually feeling completely out of their element and overwhelmed. That feeling lasts a year for most or their entire term for others!

To succeed in office, you need to find Your Why and Your Way:

  • Your Why: What change do I want to make, and what is my unique skill set to achieve it?
  • Your Way: How do I navigate this new organizational culture’s process, procedure, legislation, and jurisdiction to make it happen?

The first tends to be straightforward, and what drives us.

I wish I could say the same for the second.

This is the home of blood, sweat, tears, and where many a policy, program, or legislative change dies on the vine, along with our mental health and sense of well-being.

I help refine Your Why; to get you successfully on Your Way, with the necessary roadmaps and travel advice for a rewarding and productive political and legislative journey.

Strategic Advantage

My political outsider status means I learned everything from the ground up. There were no shortcuts or easy passes –  it was all hard work and hard knocks to learn the ropes and succeed in places where others failed, or failed to try.

I took nothing for granted, and I took notes along the way. I share that notebook providing strategic political insight and advantage.

For those seeking office, I provide candidate preparation, training, and mentorship. I work with individual candidates, candidate slates, and those considering candidacy. This includes working with groups whose members wish to increase their political engagement.

I especially enjoy working with academics, scientific researchers, medical, healthcare, and social work professionals who are interested in learning more about elected life. These and other professions are underrepresented in elected office, and their insight and experience would enrich our current policy, programming, legislative, and political landscape.

For the newly elected, I provide orientation and mentoring to take you through the many aspects of political life: from policy, legislation, and organizational culture, to media, messaging, and issues management.

For those already in office, I help you identify the gaps between Your Why and Your Way. Often, the mentorship and guidance provided to those in elected office are fraught with complexities (and often agendas) that leave many with great potential unable to access the support and insight needed to succeed. I fill that gap to help you successfully navigate ever-changing political waters.

From newly elected to newly appointed, I provide insight and mentorship to ensure your success at the decision-making tables you currently sit at – or seek to join.

I work with your political teams and volunteers to ensure you have comprehensive and cohesive support.

All my political mentees learn about the unique work-life challenges associated with the various phases of political life, and how to successfully manage their specific circumstances. These may include family, party, and transitional dynamics, and also help to prepare you for life after politics.