Friends,

I have heard people say about their worlds - academia, big corporations, churches, family-owned businesses, unions, even families - that they're just "too political."  Well, you don't have to say that about politics, right?  Because politics is literally and by definition:  political.  So, in this week before general elections across the United States what do we think of politics and political leadership?

Joe Ohren, a professor of political science at Eastern Michigan University, runs a fun-packed simulation that gives people a chance to play at political leadership.  He invites a table of eight people to play roles as mayor, city council members, and financial advisor and invites them to resolve a typical municipal budget issue, with options like: merging public safety with a regional entity, cutting recreation, cutting economic development efforts, or calling for a popular vote on a tax increase.  Players learn that they represent constituencies and even have political aspirations (these, as in real life, are a secret that others only guess at), and he says, "let the games begin."   A small fraction of groups get the job done.  But everyone learns a lot.

In these simulations, they see what I have seen over the past decade or so:  being in political leadership is like becoming a parent (of an adolescent) or a supervisor or manager in business.  You find yourself saying, "Geez this is a little more complicated than it looked like ‘from below.'"  All a sudden one ideal - like innovation - stands in contrast to another - like speed!  And inevitably one person's great idea seems to conflict with another person's great idea - and that's just among your own party members!  Sometimes ideals give way to strange horse-trading and logic gives way to name-calling.  Sound familiar?

Professor Ohren always says, "What's the alternative?"  And answers whimsically, "Make me king!"  We don't want that!  A participatory democracy is the best system we have for voicing our values and deciding how to spend shared resources.  I love Ohren's exercise as he turns idealists, skeptics, and even a few cynics into realists. . . with some fighting to hold to their ideals.

I invite you in the next 32 hours to participate in politics, the for-real-game in which social animals get a voice in who they will be and how they will have themselves governed.  Imagine the moves of a governor or legislator or judge were yours to make;  talk about the issues, share your values and your hopes for how we should be as a people.

The better we engage each other and the smarter we vote, the better our leaders will be.  You can help our system work if you will get involved and...

Lead with your best self,

Dan
Daniel Granholm Mulhern
First Gentleman
Office of the Governor
State of Michigan
(517) 241-0534

"Seeing the magnificence in all people -- dedicated to their fullest success."

Copyright 2006 Daniel Mulhern.  I distribute RFL without charge to people with an interest in leadership, and grant permission to these recipients to distribute copies of these works to personal contacts for non-commercial purposes only.  All other rights are reserved, and requests for copying and distribution of these works may be made to FirstGentleman@Michigan.gov.  The views of this and other RFLs reflect my personal beliefs and may or may not reflect the views of my wife, Jennifer Granholm, or any other officials of the State government. 
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