5 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢

𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 1️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. Politicians tend to care about the community, the issues faced and the constituencies they serve. They may try to influence you and twist your arm into doing something you won’t have considered so far…! think about where their motivation comes from?

𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 2️⃣ 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. If they suggest initiatives or actions – it usually comes from good intentions, even if there are better solutions. You should try to understand why they want this solution or initiative, what it’s there to solve, and then you can suggest better options.

𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 3️⃣ 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀. Suggest better solutions once you have understood the context, the challenges they are concerned about, and the resources required. This usually goes down well – “you can do something even better? great!”

𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 4️⃣ 𝗧𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆. Where as mistake 1 advises you to consider that its not all about political manoevering, of course this will happen at times – they are politicians! Politicians like to be visible and they will sometimes say things to keep themselves newsworthy and credible. Just don’t take it to heart. It’s not usually about you, it’s about them. What they want is a solution, don’t forget it. If you give them opportunities to do worthy things that create photo ops, they’ll also become allies.

𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 5️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.
If you actually pay them attention and do something with and for them (usually an improvement on their ideas) they will be pleased! use it as an opportunity to infuence them for worthwhile initiatives or causes!

🔎 In sum – I always work to understand the real motivations behind what local politicians say, what their priorities want, and why they think certain delivery solutions are the way forward. You are the expert on local economic development, and you should use this to improve the knowledge and understanding of options and potential solutions in your community.