Donal Blaney: Give 'em a title and get 'em involved

Every week the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Young Britons' Foundation, Donal Blaney, explains one of Morton Blackwell's Laws of the Public Policy Process. Morton Blackwell is the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Political activists are volunteers. Most have busy lives - juggling an increasingly hectic work/life balance. The time that volunteers spend working for their church, a favoured charity or a particular political party is precious. Volunteers are the most prized resource in politics and yet all too often, volunteers are ignored and their efforts are denigrated.

This week's maxim is based on the premise that anyone who volunteers should be given a role (ideally with a title) and they should become actively involved in the organisation or campaign.

While the class system may be increasingly a concept of the past, it is a truism that human beings need to feel wanted and need some form of status. Wise candidates or association chairman recognise this motivating factor and look for ways to involve activists so that they feel that they have ownership of the campaign or organisation, even in some small way.

David Cameron has understood this at parliamentary level: those who have been out in the cold (either by choice, such as Ken Clarke and John Gummer, or forceably, such as John Redwood or Iain Duncan Smith) have been given titles and asked to become more heavily involved. They now feel a sense of ownership as regards "Project Cameron" such that they are likely to direct their efforts and talents towards helping that project succeed. It is a similar concept to Lyndon Johnson's maxim that he would rather have a particular politician inside the tent pissing out rather than outside the tent pissing in.

However at a non-parliamentary level, David Cameron has come in for considerable criticism. Many hundreds of activists who have given hour after hour of their time (and considerable sums of money too, often keeping some associations afloat single-handedly) now find themselves without any realistic hope of being selected to fight a winnable seat at the next election. As those activists are, ultimately, volunteers with many other demands on their time, there is a strong risk that many will simply give up and dedicate their talents elsewhere.

Some Conservative Associations are similarly inept. Instead of giving activists, particularly younger activists, particular functions or tasks (with an accompanying title to make it seem worthwhile) those activists are all too often simply given a bundle of leaflets to deliver. Few activists join a political party simply to fulfill the role of an unpaid and unthanked postman but I can think of a number of horror stories where association officers have forgotten the importance of treating their activists in a manner in which they would like to be treated themselves.

All activists are volunteers. We all need to feel welcomed and appreciated. Giving activists specific tasks, accompanied by a title, results in those activists having a sense of ownership of a campaign or project. It is the best way to keep someone motivated and involved. And yet from the top to the bottom of the Party, too many people forget this basic rule - and they do so at their peril.

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Previous entry in this series: Don't fully trust anyone until he has stuck with a good cause which he saw was losing

Comments

[moralz]

Good comment, Donal, I too remember the despair of turning up to a local association event to introduce myself and hearing nothing more until a bunch of leaflets was left on my doorstep with a letter (admittedly a polite one) asking me to deliver my neighbouring streets. What a way to guarantee resentment!

That said I take issue with your view that the Priority List contradicts this. The fact someone gives their time to promote local Tories does not mean they will be good MPs or wider ambassadors of the conservative movement, what's more the suggestion that their financial backing means they ought to have access to winnable seats is not that different from party donors buying peerages!

[Donal Blaney]

Fair point, Moralz. Many activists or indeed good local councillors would make appalling MPs. However at least they have served their time, unlike some on the A-List who have been parachuted in from Wetherfield, another political party or CCO!

[David Sergeant]

I remember when on retireing from a substantial public sector job I approached a local Conservative councilor about joining the ward committee (not association committee). He was polite "yes, we always need people to deliver leaflets." I ignored the off hand treatment and joined up and slowly I realised that leaflets canvasing and money were all it was assumed Conservative councilors needed to think about. Any talk of politics, particularly national, was greeted with polite bewilderment. Perhaps there needs to be a definition of specifice jobs for people to do.

[Donal Blaney]

A resurgence of political discussion groups in associations (modelled on the old CPC Discussion Groups) would be very welcome.

[Deputy Editor]

Offering young people titles is particularly effective - we're suckers for CV material. Of course, this has to be accompanied with some kind of accountability so that if they want to keep it they have to put the work in.

[SimonNewman]

"Offering young people titles is particularly effective - we're suckers for CV material."

Heh, in my line of work at University this is almost the last thing I'd want on my CV... :)
I actually found this article a bit patronising. I didn't join the party to get a title(!), I was delighted to deliver leaflets, canvass (well, canvassing is a bit scary), knock-up and tell at the local election because I _wanted to get Conservatives elected_. Which we succeeded in doing, getting 2 Conservative councillors in my ward, Tooting in Wandsworth, until 4th May a Labour bastion. I'm delighted because they (Alex Jacob & Susan Richards) should be excellent councillors. It didn't hurt that they, the third candidate Matt Maxwell Scott, and everyone else I met were extremely friendly and welcoming (and bought me lots of beer!). I think a volunteer who will drop off if he doesn't get some semi-meaningless title isn't worth much. Just be welcoming, make us feel appreciated (beer is good), and put up great candidates, and we'll be there...

[Donal Blaney]

People need to be feel appreciated, Simon. That is exactly my point. Some want beer or pizza. Some welcome a formal role or title. All want to be thanked as we are all volunteers. That was my point - sorry if in makng it, it came across as patronising.

[SimonNewman]

Hi Donal - And I think that's a good point, yup. Don't take volunteers for granted, make them feel appreciated. And after saying all that above, I was just offered a title last night... :)

[James Maskell]

Simon, you were offered a title...how much did you give the Labour Party? I thought you were a Tory! Traitor!

[SimonNewman]

Not that kind of title. ;)

[Donal Blaney]

How on EARTH did I miss out on the chance to have a dig at Labour over cash for peerages when I wrote my platform piece? Shame on you, Blaney - shame on you!!!

[James Maskell]

Post a dig now Donal...we'll let you off this time, but dont make it a frequent thing!

[malcolm]

I would agree with Simon.Beer is indeed very good!