Eileen Dooley is a Calgary-based talent and leadership development specialist and leadership coach
Picture a teenager who decides they want to be prime minister someday. They join the party that best represents their views and start gaining experience in party politics and volunteering in election campaigns. Their network expands and doors start to open.
As quickly as possible, likely not long after finishing college or university, they run for federal or provincial office, win (if they play their cards right) and their political career is launched. Their first “real” job is as a member of parliament (MP), member of provincial parliament (MPP) or member of the legislative assembly (MLA).
How did MP, MPP or MLA become an entry-level job?
Instead of pursuing politics mid or late career after gaining some work and life experience, a growing number of young Canadian are making politician their first step.
A few notable examples include Pierre-Luc Dusseault (elected MP in 2011 at 19), Andrew Scheer (elected MP in 2004 at 25) and the “McGill Four” – Charmaine Borg, Matthew Dubé, Mylène Freeman and Laurin Liu, all in their early 20s when they were elected as MPs in 2011, three of which were current students and one had just recently graduated at the time of the election. In the most recent election, Jake Sawatzky, 25, a psychology student in B.C. and Fares Al Soud, 25, were elected as MPs.
Pierre Poilievre was elected at 24, before graduating from university. He rose through the elected ranks of the Reform and then the Conservative Party to become leader of the opposition and almost prime minister.
A career as a politician can be fascinating and exhilarating. You can learn lessons not taught in school or in other work environments, not to mention exposure to decisions and situations that shape our country and our world.
However, work experiences have significant value and can arguably better prepare someone for elected office, shaping how you engage others, navigate change and ambiguity – all critical skills to become an effective leader.
For example, to be a good leader you need to understand what it means to drive change and foster innovation. You also need to know how to hire good people, execute on projects, influence others, delegate, take calculated risks, coordinate resources and drive performance.
Building these key competencies and learning from your mistakes along the way, can help prepare someone for elected office – a role where displaying confidence, overcoming adversity and maintaining a high level of professionalism is essential and heavily scrutinized.
Even just having 10 years of work experience exposes people to different ways of strategic thinking, conflict management and business communication, among other key leadership competencies that are critical in being a well-rounded elected official, not to mention the prime minister, with professional conduct that sets an example for those around them.
It’s hard to imagine not having these skills honed when you enter politics. This isn’t to say these skills can’t be developed in government, but keep in mind the problems to deal with and the decisions to make. During the last election, we saw serious, life-altering issues, most notably a highly volatile, complex and threatening relationship with the United States. Not many of us would want an inexperienced leader negotiating at this table.
Deciding at an early age that you want to run the country is admirable – and it’s always better to take positive action rather than complaining about it. However, to best represent the people and serve in elected office, it’s probably a good idea to first gain experience and hone skills in areas such as strategy, execution, conflict management and stakeholder relations. Fulfill the ultimate role of public trust by choosing politics as a second or third career.
Editor’s note: This version has been updated to state that Pierre Poilievre was first elected as an MP before graduating from university.