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Election school lessons: How political tactics can make you a winner at life
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Living successfully is like winning an election: both take organization, vision, determination and guts. So where better to learn how to live the life you want than at a campaign school?
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By Allison Lawlor
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My car turns off Nova Scotia's busy Bedford Highway, the winding road leading through the hilly campus of Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax. It's a brisk Friday afternoon and I'm headed to a three-day workshop billed as Atlantic Canada's first ever campaign school for women.
I was intrigued to discover the lessons and skills aspiring female politicians would learn at the three-day campaign school, coordinated by the university and the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. But I was also curious to see if these "rules for winning" could apply to everyday life -- to achieving one's dreams, political or not.
Workshop #1: Why are you running -- and what for?
Sitting at a long table at the front of a big-windowed room overlooking the Halifax harbour is a panel of current and retired Nova Scotia politicians. They're here to discuss their decisions to run for political office.
"It wasn't made easily," says Debbie Hum, a councillor in the Halifax Regional Municipality. A stay-at-home mom in her mid-40s, she had tossed the notion around for several years, questioning whether anyone would vote for her. But with the help of a political mentor and a supportive family, she began to see that her volunteer work, which had become a full-time commitment, was an ideal training ground for politics.
The question of why people decide to run politically is one of the hardest to answer, says Eleanor Norrie, a former provincial cabinet minister. Is it public recognition, she asks? Is it public responsibility, or the need to help others? Whatever the reason, she urges, "If this is what you want to do with your life, don't give up."
Lesson 1: Identify the values most important to you, set goals consistent with those values, then commit yourself to them.
In other words, it's important for us all to do a little soul searching: to reflect on what we really believe in and what we're willing to stand up for.
Workshop #2: Put together a winning team
Lisa Manninger, a communications coordinator with Nova Scotia's government caucus office, makes it clear that the more people you can recruit, the merrier. This means reaching out and drawing in as many different people as possible.
Sure, it's a lot of work, says Tracey Preeper, a Dartmouth, N.S., resident who has worked on several election campaigns over the past 20 years. Preeper's list of the types of people you need includes the visionary, the pragmatist, the bean counter and the cheerleader. "The first mistake people make is to think that all you have to do is bring family and friends together and the campaign will fall into place," says Preeper. "Usually this doesn't work. You have to take a businesslike approach."
Lesson 2: To get what you want in life, you need to equip yourself with the necessary resources.
You can't do it alone. If you're going to see your dream become a reality -- whether it's to create your own business, go back to school or save for a cottage -- you're going to need a team of dedicated, talented people behind you.
Ask yourself: Do I need a mentor? Who among my friends and family has the expertise that I lack -- be it something practical such as financial savvy or something esoteric such as courage and risk-taking? Who could teach me? Do I know like-minded women who are at the same crossroads in life and who would be up for an exchange of support and advice?
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