Finding renewal and rejuvenation in the face of intense challenges
By Travis Tazelaar, VoteVets
Rejuvenate is the theme of the week. But how does one rejuvenate after such an intense experience in 2024? And how can we feel rejuvenated and ready when we know some very difficult challenges lie ahead?
In this post, I offer a take on preparing yourself for the next phase that’s likely different from what you’ve heard before. It’s an approach that’s based in history, culture, purpose, and team. This framework is not often what we’re taught in the campaign world, but it’s what we need to hear, and, more importantly, it’s what we need to do – for ourselves and each other.
After Marine Corps bootcamp, I joined my unit expecting more of what I had just experienced: training, exercise, and a lot of time in the field. I got something else I never expected: history. I learned that my unit fought at Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Okinawa. We learned about the Marines who came before us, the places they fought, and the sacrifices they made. The watchful eyes of the past gave us perspective on who we were, who we are, and what we must bestow to those who come after us.
Owen Eastwood’s thought-provoking book Belonging helped me wrap these Marine Corps historical traditions in an intellectual framework. Eastwood describes learning of his Māori heritage and an idea known as whakapapa (far-ka-pa-pa). In Owens’ words “each of us are part of an unbreakable chain of people going back and forward in time… The experiences and wisdom of those who walked in the light before our time are passed on to us.” Whakapapa “tells us you will not be judged by your money or celebrity or sense of self pride… you will be judged by what you did for the tribe.”
Today, as you think about springing forward from this time of reflection into the next phase of your work, I invite you to consider ideas and concepts that are more communal in nature – not just tools that bring along your own renewal and rejuvenation, but tools that can help you better establish a more resilient tribe.
For example, consider togetherness as a long-term competitive advantage. Here’s how to cultivate it:
Know your teammates and their purpose. When purpose is greater than pain, purpose wins. Discovering why your team members engage in politics and not another industry can have long-range implications for relationships and culture. This isn’t a passive, one-off exercise; it’s an ongoing understanding of the people with whom you work. Knowing their origin story gleans a treasure of information, which can often be borne from vulnerability or trauma, on how to coach someone back to their purpose and by extension back to a place where pain can be subordinated.
Know what’s in your control and be intentional about planning for it. Almost every time we approach campaign planning, we start with things that are out of our control or only within our influence (raising money, moving voters), rather than those we can fully control: the culture we want to build, the types of people we want on our team, how we respond to setbacks, etc. Design this part of your campaign plan with as much care as you would an organizing program.
Treat values as verbs. Leadership coach Simon Sinek writes: “By its very nature, scale creates distance, and at distance, human concepts start losing their meaning.” As you begin to take your personal values exercise to scale, you have to think about ways to connect these simple ideas to a group of individuals with different backgrounds, experiences and DNA. In this context, don’t think about what values are, think about what values do. They’re verbs. They translate to concrete behaviors.
The practices above are typically utilized at scale, and they should be. But they also apply on an individual basis, as well. Our daily interactions with any person can either fill them up or leave them empty and stressed. Below are some ideas for how you can fill people up when you interact with them on a daily basis:
Reciprocate. Reciprocation is an often-overlooked bit of ancient wisdom. It fills the whole world and should be regarded as a fundamental truth in human relations, from the animal kingdom to Newton’s Third Law of Motion. It governs so much of our social and physical world it’s no surprise that nearly every society that’s ever existed has had some form of the Golden Rule.
Prevent negative ruminations. The human brain is so sensitive it can ruminate for hours or days on a sentence that took you four seconds to utter: a bad mood, a bad joke, thoughtless feedback. The Marines have a saying that we engage our brain before we engage our weapon. Be careful you don’t send someone, who may already be stressed, down the dark path of rumination: it leads to lost time, ambiguity, and confusion.
Show gratitude. If rumination is a lead weight, gratitude is buoyancy. While I encourage this practice with yourself, extend it to others. Be genuine. Be specific. Be public about it. Don’t show it just for a job well done, show it when someone reifies values and purpose.
The Marines imbued in me what Napoleon so eloquently said when giving a speech to his troops: “40 centuries look down upon you.” My sense of awe is constantly renewed when I think about being part of something so much bigger than I am. This has sustained me in nearly 20 years of political campaigns. Every time I find an awe-inspiring way of working with other humans, I follow Angela Duckworth’s model: I model it, I celebrate it, and I enable it. Let’s be worthy descendants.
Reflection Questions:
How am I creating a trusting, cohesive environment and breaking the cycle of antiquated leadership patterns?
Does the path I am forging for myself and others have a heart?
Is the pursuit of my emotional development as disciplined as my physical or intellectual development?
What is the performance benefit of the environments I create and the leadership I offer?
Additional Resources:
The Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod
Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
Belonging by Owen Eastwood
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
Travis Tazelaar is a fourth generation military veteran. Immediately after graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. As a sergeant, the Marines took him from the Adriatic Sea to the Sea of Japan on missions for the United States. After the Marines, Travis studied Chinese philosophy, politics and warfare at the University of Hawaii and the University of Maryland. Like many of his peers, Travis began a career in politics largely based on a volunteer opportunity for a local campaign. Since 2004, Travis has worked on various levels of campaigns, from gubernatorial to city council, to issue and legislative campaigns, as well as inside nonprofits and government. Travis blends his military experience and his political career through the insight that military strategy and political strategy are based on the same principles.