Hope for Civic Leadership with MAP

Recently I witnessed state legislators, Republicans and Democrats alike, working together to better the country. Shocking, I know. 

I had the great pleasure of participating in a panel to speak with these young changemakers about leadership at Millennial Action Project (MAP)’s Future Summit. It is the nation’s largest bipartisan gathering of young state legislators. Like so many other events this year that have had to adapt, it was held virtually. But change isn’t a bad thing: it is by definition transformational. When MAP asked me to speak, I agreed because this turbulent time can be fruitful for us all, whether we’re in business or civic life, as long as we guide ourselves with principle. And the opportunity to speak directly to bipartisan legislators from across the country—to share a message to young decision-makers—was not one to pass up.

Hopefully, this group of civic leaders can utilize the 3P Framework that has served me in my work with many business and nonprofit organizations. They were already halfway there: they came to the Future Summit with the purpose to bridge their divides, with the principle of at least an open mind, all with the priority to get things done in their legislatures. But I thought it would be helpful to explore my framework and process so they could apply it with energy and vigor to enhance the leadership of a generation engaged in the daily work of public service and committed to bipartisan cooperation.

Purpose

If these young legislators want to be successful, they have to find their purpose. What is their north star that describes what they are trying to do? I recommended they even write it down and make it short and sweet, no longer than one sentence. This can help in the fray of politics in our country. The forces that escalate partisan division—whether they be media, other politicians, or lesser instinct—are quick to obscure and confound. You need a declarative, aspirational, yet achievable purpose to keep a clear head. To get America back to a healthy place, those in civic life need endurance, vision, and a solid grounding. Clearly these legislators cared, because they attended Future Summit: clarifying their purpose will simply strengthen their leadership on their other days. 

Principles

The political arena is infamously thought of as a place without principles. The thing is, that is a perfectly predictable circumstance: cutting corners and going the easy route, which can result in disconnected policies created in their backroom partisan corners, where their work becomes a zero sum game. How many times have we seen that? In truth, I don’t think we will get anywhere in healing and securing our democracy unless we have people with principles in the arena. These legislators clearly want to make democracy work—that’s why they showed up to the Future Summit with MAP in the first place. It’s important for them to examine their principles. What guides them? Why did they run for office in the first place? What unites them as colleagues? I encouraged each legislator to identify no more than five guiding principles for the way they will conduct themselves. With a principled generation of up-and-coming leaders, I think there can be real progress in solving this country’s problems.

Priorities

What I liked about the Future Summit is that it brought legislators together to talk about common goals in democracy reform, renewable energy, criminal justice reform, and the future of work. These priority subjects were clear, but there are different problems affecting different communities in different states. Legislators should identify where they can direct their purpose and principles in no more than five priorities that they can work on in their states.  

Reading the news, there seems to be a million and one issues in need of our attention: Coronavirus, racial injustice, the economy, our immigration system, Supreme Court nominations, even democracy itself. It feels like there is always a new fire to put out. I urged them to remain disciplined in applying their purpose and principles to their priorities, so that instead of feeling aimless, they can find successful, measured accomplishments. That could make a big impact. I think we would all like to see lawmakers go beyond reacting to the crisis of the day by proactively tackling the longer-term structural challenges we facet.

Scaling the Civic Movement

When I was given 18 months to build a team of 2,000 people and create the trendsetting Xbox video game console, I did not have the tools to be the best leader I could be. The truth is, I didn’t get it right the first time around. The only reason the product shipped was because the individuals on the team were great at what they did, but the sum was less than its parts. It was only when we discovered and then embraced the 3P model in creating the Xbox 360 that we found our rhythm. I think that’s a lesson easily translatable to our legislators and government leaders.

Looking at the civic sector today, I see thousands of incredible individuals and organizations at work with truly innovative and groundbreaking ideas in play. I also see a challenge worthy of our mettle: forging healthier politics and mending our political divides. In this era of transformation in our society, now is the time to scale that movement.

But this work of building bridges and finding common ground is difficult...and complicated. It will involve two steps forward and one step back. If there is one thing I’ve learned in my work at Microsoft, nonprofit organizations, and in my own personal life, it’s this: If you are doing something complicated, something really challenging, you have to have a really simple strategy. That’s why I use the 3P Framework, and that’s why I introduced it to all these young legislators. MAP brought them together, knowing that the younger generations will have to address the current and unknown issues of the coming century.

In a difficult and challenging environment—one that seems to come unglued every day, I still believe these leaders can overcome our divisions by building a movement based on introspection and collaboration—that’s the sure way to a brighter future.