A Working Definition of Government Relations

We live in a society where the decisions that politicians and government officials make affect virtually every aspect of our lives. It’s also a society where more and more people feel powerless to influence those decisions.

Leonard Domino & Associates rejects the idea that individuals and organizations are powerless: we believe you can make a difference; you can help government get it right.

“Government relations” are about how you make that happen. It’s what we do for a living. Here’s our working definition:

“Government relations are your systematic effort to influence the actions and policies of government to help achieve particular objectives or protect particular interests … in public and in a way that reflects well on you and the decision-makers involved.”

A Working Definition of “Good Influence”

The word “influence” is tricky: it has more meanings – and more contradictory meanings – than almost any other word you can find. So, as we talk about the way Leonard Domino & Associates works with our clients to help influence government, it’s important that we make it clear precisely which meaning of the word applies.

We want our clients – and the people we deal with in government – to know that our favorite dictionary definition for the word “influence” is “…producing an effect without the direct exercise of command…”

The key words are “without direct exercise of command”. In government relations, you can’t force the outcomes you want; you can’t “command” the government; you can’t buy or borrow the influence you need to achieve your goals.

In government relations, meaningful influence depends on trust, and it has to be earned. And you earn the trust and influence you’ll need to achieve your goals through your behaviour – by what you do as well as what you say:

by building relationships – with all those involved in the government’s policies and decisions from both the political and bureaucratic sides of government
by showing respect, by listening and learning and by respecting confidences and point of view
by searching for ways to reach your goals while reaching other government goals, too – serving the public interest as well as your own interests
by helping those in government to achieve political gains based on good public policy and by taking your share of the “political heat” when decisions are tough
by telling the truth and doing it openly
by engaging the broadest possible group – your Board, the wider membership, the client groups of your organization, the media, the members of other political parties, the community at large and your own family and friends – in a shared effort to make things better.

That may sound naïve, but it’s not. It’s just the way it works: it’s how you build influence today, and it’s how today’s government relations efforts can succeed – by treating the process and everyone involved in it with respect.

That’s how you build the ability to get results “without… direct exercise of command…” It’s a recipe for government relations that works.

Beware the “Influence Trap”

Remember our working definition of government relations:

The kind of influence Leonard Domino & Associates helps our clients to earn in their dealings with government passes the test at the end of the definition: it is widely seen as a good thing and will reflect well on you and the decision-makers involved. We help our people to become “influential” in the sense of being trusted and respected.

But the word “influence” has many shades of meaning – some of them quite unpleasant. And there are two ways the many meanings of influence can become a trap:

One face of the “influence trap” occurs when people fail to understand that influence – like trust – has to be earned; if you make that mistake, your government relations effort will be less successful than they could be, and you’ll be placing the reputation of your organization at risk.
The other face of the “influence trap” occurs when people forget that, like beauty, whether the influence you’re pursuing is good or bad, beauty exists in the eye of the beholder. Whether the influence you’re striving for is seen as legitimate or not can often depend on the interpretation others put on your statements and actions. It’s important to address that reality.

“Influence Trap” Number One Occurs if you Forget that Influence Can’t Be Bought or Borrowed: Real Influence has to be Earned.

We’ve talked about the kind of influence you earn – influence that reflects trust and respect. But there are a lot of other meanings for the word “influence”, and some of them are pretty unsavory.

For example, one dictionary meaning for the word “influence” is: “… corrupt interference with authority for personal gain…”; another is “… power to sway or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability, or position: used her parent's influence to get the job...”

Think of phases like “influence peddling” or cynical aphorisms like “It’s not what you know… it's who you know…” or nods to “the old boys’ network”.

They all suggest getting something that is unearned or undeserved – jumping the queue or getting an unfair advantage. This group of meanings for the word “influence” can all be summed up in one simple phrase: “Influence is something you buy”.

There’s no denying that sometimes government relations has worked like that, with so-called consultants supposedly calling in political “favours” on behalf of their clients – regardless of the public interest.

There are still people using the language and ideas of that old kind of influence – attempting to sell contracts on the basis of their personal or political “connections”, excusing efforts to get an unfair advantage with a wink and a nod that says “everybody does it”… as though influence really were something you can buy.

But our argument is that it doesn’t work that way any longer: there are too many honest people in the process to let that happen; for example, if political staff feel they’re being pressured to do special favours, it’s their job to dig in their heels to protect the Minister and the government; if the public service perceives any organization to be trying to use political influence to get around the proper decision-making processes of government, they’ll almost always push back. That’s truer now than ever before with so many alert watchers among the media and opposition parties. There are so many examples of careers and reputations ruined by forgetting the rules.

And yet, sometimes people still fall into the “trap” of forgetting that influence can’t be bought or borrowed – it has to be earned. Those who appear to pursuing that old kind of influence will suffer – with reduced trust, damaged reputations and declining effectiveness.

“Influence Trap” number two can occur if you fail to manage the ways others will interpret your efforts.

We always advise our clients to be discreet and to respect confidences, but we also tell them that it’s never a mistake to assume that there are no secrets. That means that everything we do or say in our dealings with government should be able to stand the light of public scrutiny.

In today’s political and media climate, you should never assume that you’ll be given the benefit of the doubt. Consider:

Politics have become so bitterly partisan that parties stalk each other, ready and anxious to launch accusations of “conflict of interest” or worse
Today’s media is ever-alert for any sign of “scandal” and seems all-too-willing to put the worse interpretation on events and accusations
Competing interests – the people running their government relations programs to achieve outcomes different from the ones you’re hoping for – will be constantly tempted to “go public” with accusations or hints of wrongdoing.

Not surprisingly, this is all helping to create widespread public skepticism – and even cynicism – about the political process. That’s the environment you’ll be working in as you work to influence government policies and decisions; it’s also the environment the government people you’re working with have to cope with – day after day.

That means there’s almost always a chance that you or the people you’re working with in government may be accused of some sort of impropriety.

There’s no silver bullet that will make sure that never happens, but there are a number of common sense steps you should be taking that will not only reduce the risk that you’ll fall prey to this particular “influence trap”, but will also help to enhance your reputation, and help your organization build more of the trust and respect that translates into the good, effective kind of influence we’ve been talking about:

Always tell the truth and do it openly.
Build your relationships in government widely, making sure you include all of the parts of the government that should play a role in the decision or policy you’re concerned about – from the Premier’s Office and Ministers and their staff to the policy analysts who work on these files in all the Ministries involved. Rumours, leaks and innuendo get started when people who believe they should know what’s going on but feel shut out of the process.
Wherever possible, keep the opposition parties briefed. Make sure they at least know the public policy basis for the decisions or policies you’re working towards. If you’ve been straight and open with them, they’ll be less likely to want to embarrass you. You can’t prevent excessive partisanship on your own, but you can try to make sure it doesn’t involve your organization and your issues.
Engage and communicate with as broad a group as possible – your Board, the wider membership and client groups of your organization, the media, members of other political parties, the community at large and your own family and friends; couch your communications in terms of the public interest and make it clear you’re hoping to engage them all in a shared effort to make things better. The more people know about what you’re trying to achieve, the less likely they’ll be to put a negative interpretation on things.")
If a political controversy does arise, don’t leave your government “partners” hanging out to dry. If the government has “done the right thing”, i.e., made a decision or adopted a policy that you believe is in the public interest, stand up and say so in public. Over the years, we’ve heard literally dozens of Ministers who are being urged to make tough decisions ask the questions “Who’s going to be my partner on this?” If you think the decision is the right one, your answer should be “We will”. That will help to protect all the reputations involved – yours, those of the people you’re dealing with in government, and of the political process as a whole.
If you find yourself in a public confrontation with the government, speak to the issues. Questioning the character of the men and women in the government might help to get a few day’s headlines or fire up your particular constituency in the short term; in the not-very-much-longer term it will do nothing but harm all the reputations involved – yours, those of your opponents in the government and of the political process as whole.

There is nothing illegitimate about working to earn the trust and respect you’ll need to influence government decisions and policies. But in today’s environment, it makes very good sense to beware of the “influence traps” that can harm your effectiveness and damage the reputations of everyone involved.

Influence and Ethics in Government Relations

The field of government relations has been evolving rapidly – and for the better – in recent years. Above all, it is becoming more open.

Legal reforms like the Lobbyist Registry and clearer conflict of interest laws and guidelines for politicians and other government officials have brought many formerly hidden relationships out into the light of day dramatically reducing the scope of the old “it’s who you know” style of influence.

Today, more and more people within government agree: that old style of influence – and organizations or individuals who try to use it – no place in the decision and policy-making processes of government. Increasingly the commitment now is to ethical relationship, and ethical behaviour in government.

As part of that change, people throughout government at both the political and bureaucratic levels increasingly see open interaction with groups and organizations from across the society as a normal and proper aspect of the government’s decision and policy-making processes; at all levels of and parts of government, there is greater receptivity and more willingness to listen to representatives from the community than ever before.

Ironically, at the same time the processes have become more open, they have also become more complex. As government programs have multiplied, society has become more diverse and communications have expanded, organizations of all kinds are placing a higher priority on government relations. As they do so, more and more are also feeling the need to develop more sophisticated understandings of the way governments work so as to be able to influence government policies and decisions more effectively.

Leonard Domino and Associates help organizations approach government in a way that makes it clear that their aim is not to obtain “favours” or special considerations; instead, we help our clients become equipped to play an effective role in the increasingly open processes of government decision and policy-making, with the objective of contributing to better public policy outcomes.

The objective is to get results, to “influence” government, in the sense of the ability “produce an effect without… direct exercise of command…” – the kind of influence that can only be earned.

That’s the only kind of influence that is truly effective in government relations today and we also believe the search for that kind of positive influence – based on earned trust and respect – contributes to higher ethical standards in the field of government relations and in the overall processes of government.

Levius Fiddler

Sandy Lake Board of Education