Can You Ever Lead by Leaving?

Today is Election Day, but I’m not going to try to influence your vote.

Attend Safe’s helps keep people from getting sick. We don’t ask their party affiliation. We just try to make sure they’re not bringing viruses into events or schools or offices or resorts or … you know what we do (if you don’t, check out attendsafe.com).

Tuesday Tutor is about leadership. A friend of mine is a board member for an organization that, among other civic-minded activities, hopes to restore a once-popular program for teenagers that used to bring them into regular contact with government officials. It’s politics-adjacent, but not political in nature—many of the teens were chosen by winning essay contests, not for political dogma. The program boosted many into government-service careers: military officers, park rangers, many social services, a few even got elected to Congress.

When I say “restore,” it’s because leaders from both parties agreed to end the program a decade ago.

At the time, they paid lip service to the program being outdated, but anyone who has dealt with a government office knows that “cutting edge” rarely is what comes to mind.

Some said it was too expensive, but the whole program cost about as much each year as a single precision-guided missile. If government were a car, curtailing the program was like taking a pass on a license plate frame for a Rolls-Royce.

My friend suspects a big factor was officials getting “too interested” in the teenagers they were supposed to inspire. There were a few scandals—and remember, it was a two-party agreement to pull the plug. Long before “Me Too,” taking a program away from teenage victims of lusty officials didn’t seem so abhorrent to them, I suppose.

So let’s get back to my friend’s leadership crisis.

His fellow board member has ties to a lobbying firm that offered their services for free several years ago. That lobbying firm has ties to one major party, currently in the minority in the area in question. The lobbyist-friendly board member obstructs every effort to push for restoration while the “other party” holds control. The elections involved are close.

If the lobbyist’s party fails to win a majority, my friend feels like another election cycle will be wasted “waiting for the right time,” while officials who remember the program—especially its best aspects—become fewer and fewer. Behind the scenes, my friend hears that most board members feel the same way, but many fear “losing the influence” of the lobbyist-friendly member.

My friend feels like years of “waiting for the right time” squandered opportunities and shows (1) the lobbyists don’t have the influence they claim, and (2) allowed memories of the valuable aspects of the program to fade, while “scandalous recollections” grow beyond what really happened.

What should he do? Let things play out? Try to force a vote? Resign from the board and walk away?

I think similar question arise for a lot of event planners. There’s a large percentage of people who want no risk mitigation efforts. They act like it’s time to move past COVID-19, even though it remains a leading cause of death, and we’ve proven again and again that mitigation techniques like pre-event testing, can minimize risks. What are your thoughts (for my friend or for the events space)?

Share your idea in a comment. Thanks!