It’s election season once again in the United States, and many leaders seem unaware they play an important role in the outcome. As it turns out, it matters when you role model voting, when you ask others if they have a voting plan and provide time off for your team members to vote.
Why? According to Pew Research Center research on voter turnout in U.S. elections, “While sizable shares of the public vote either consistently or not at all, many people vote intermittently. Given how closely divided the U.S. is politically, these intermittent voters often determine the outcome of elections and how the balance of support for the two major political parties swings between elections.”
Regardless of which candidates or ballot initiatives you plan to support with your vote, you impact your team members when you share with them you are planning to vote in the election and that you actively encourage and support others at work and in your household to do the same.
In the spirit of “If you ask someone to do something you should be willing to go first” let’s start with you and your voting plan. Take a minute to pause reading this blog post and schedule a date and time on your calendar, right now, when you will vote. Include additional time for registration or research, as needed.
In your one to one meetings with direct reports and in group meetings, ask people directly when they plan to vote and affirm their decision to do so. Looking for something you can share via Slack or Teams instead that will resonate with your Gen Z team members? Copy and paste this link from RockTheVote: https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/ with a quick note saying, “I plan to vote on XYZ date and I personally want to encourage you to vote this year, too. I found this great online resource on how to vote in your state really helpful-check it out.”
People often need to be invited by someone in order to feel that their vote and their participation is valued.
Leaders often take it for granted that our voices matter, because we are used to being the ones to speak in meetings, make decisions and set the priorities for our teams. Assume that your team members are waiting for an invitation to vote and be the person to extend that.
I learned this lesson first hand in October 2020 when I spent five days knocking on doors in Phoenix, Arizona asking people to vote. It was the middle of the pandemic and I had never canvassed before, but I felt compelled to do it that year. (You can read more about my experience and what I learned about voting doing that here.)
When you encourage and enable people to vote you are making an investment in their growth and development.
Voting is an opportunity for individuals to impact issues they care about, advocate for how solutions are implemented, and by whom. It’s a small but important step toward cultivating a personal sense of agency and initiative that most leaders tell me they want in their workforce but sometimes struggle to find.
Finally, consider granting two hours of additional paid time off during the voting window in your state while encouraging people to vote either by mail or at their local polling station. Giving people paid time off for them to vote communicates very strongly that civic engagement and voting is an important priority. It’s also a tangible step you can take to increase equity and access for the millions of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote but cannot afford to lose income or pay for childcare in order to vote.
You might be thinking, “Well, all of this makes sense, but how should I answer people when they ask me about which candidates or ballot initiatives I am voting for?” Stay tuned–we’ll explore answers to this question and more in our next blog article, which will help you continue showing up as the leader you want to be this election cycle.
Heather Leavitt-Martinez (she/her/hers) – Senior Product Manager
Wendy Ryan (she/her/hers) – CEO
Shawn Bunger (she/her/hers) – Senior Consultant
Crystal Whiteaker (she/her/hers) – Senior Consultant
Gail Finger (she/her/hers) – Senior Consultant
Monica Silkwood (she/her/hers) – Director of Operations and Experience
Johanna Lyman (she/her or they/them) Senior Consultant
Sherri Horan (she/her/hers) – Senior Consultant