If I were designing an intense coaching programme for a young lobbyist, what should I put in?
I’ve come up with a list of some process expertise and skills that would would benefit a young lobbyist at the start of their career.
- How to prepare, draft and write clear: 1. Issue notes, 2. Debate summaries, 3. Proposal summaries, 4. Position papers, 4. Letters to officials and politicians, 5. Inter-Service Consultation Letters.
- How to prepare, draft and write clear continued: 6. Public Consultation comments, 7. Elevator pitch, 8. Handover briefing/leave behind for a meeting with the Commission/Member State/Politician, 9. Briefing for your client for a meeting with the Commission/Member State official/Politician, 10. Policy memo, 11. Letter in support of a position, 12. Impact Assessements.
- How and when to engage with the Commission .
- How and when to engage with the European Parliament.
- How and when to engage with Member States/Council.
- How and when to engage with Regulatory Agencies.
- How to deal with Ordinary legislation.
- How to deal with secondary legislation (Implementing Acts, Delegated Acts, and RPS Measures).
- How to speak & listen with officials & politicians.
- How to speak and listen with clients.
- How to work with experts.
- How to engage with the Media.
- Managing expectations with clients & colleagues
- How to explain Euro English in plain English to your clients – deconstructing Euro-gibberish and thinking clearly
- How to prepare a lobby plan.
- How to plan your work – planning your work day & week and match your energy, Time tracking and billing.
- Mastering your communication – clear emails and In Box Zero.
- Focusing on deep work & having focused meetings
- Knowledge Management & Project Management – harnessing tools.
- Creating leverage & Systemising your knowledge – via SOPs, checklists and Process Maps.
- How to think objectively & learn.
What would add or subtract?
You’ll see no focus on issue expertise. That can come later. I have a minority view that propcess expertise and some core professional and personal skills are more important on getting right first before moving on to learning a new issue in depth.
Would You Take The Bootcamp?
If I offered this bootcamp, 21 weeks of intense on the job training, would anyone take it?
First, I suspect most people would never want to go through the work involved. It would involve a lot of learning. It requires learning on your own time.
Second, what follows is selective. It is directed at political consultancy. Many doing Public Affairs won’t need to practice many of these areas. No fixation on PowerPoints! Maybe in time, working with AI.
Third, it would require a lot of immediate feedback and tracking of delivering. Many people would not like that.
It would involve a lot of videos, process charts, checklists, SOPs, templates and good examples.