Public Prey

A Survival Guide for Government Workers and Elected Officials

Ask any crisis communications expert and they will tell you that there are three types of people: 1) a person who has been through a crisis; 2) a person who is currently in a crisis, and 3) a person who is heading straight towards a crisis.  These crises can be almost anything from a personal or family drama all the way to a full-blown public perception nightmare in which the victim is chastised in the press or in the rumor mill to the potential detriment of their reputation.  As in most cases, these crises are usually self-inflicted wounds, but not always.  Good people can get involved in things that can damage their reputation or career, even when they haven’t done anything to precipitate it.  In any case, the howls of those who take great joy in seeing people falter are always close by. 

Although no one is exempt from the possibility of a public perception crisis or scandal, government employees and elected officials seem to find themselves carrying a bigger target on their back.  The environment we live in is toxic and ripe for the slightest hiccup to start an avalanche of problems for anyone associated with government service.  Our current political climate is formed of many different groups who are constantly pointing fingers at the other and blaming them for every problem that exists on the planet.  Instead of solving issues in the field of debate and the legislative process, the new ‘rule of the jungle’ is to destroy their antagonist with accusations, investigations, and public slander.  This ‘Machiavellian’ method is the new norm that will forever plague those who find themselves in the service of their community, state, or federal government through employment in the public sector. 

When analyzing the ‘why’ when it comes to public officials finding themselves in the crosshairs, a root cause analysis first reveals this question and answer: Why do people constantly focus their anger on government workers and politicians?  Answer: Because they can.  In the realm of government life, regardless of the value that is placed upon them by the citizenry, public workers and elected officials are employees of institutions that are funded by people whose assets are forced from them through taxes, fees, forfeitures, and fines.  This non-voluntary funding system is the antithesis to the free market system that basically allows us to simply choose another brand, restaurant, or service based on the type of satisfaction we received. Hence the removal of choice, and here come the pitch forks.

With the certainty that all elected officials and government employees are vulnerable to receiving public rage at any time, the very foundation of their existence should be to remain in a constant mode of self-protection.  This basic tactic sounds very simple, but is often neglected in the day to day duties that government workers are buried in.  Elected officials get targeted for many reasons, like their party, beliefs, how they vote, and things they say that others don’t like.  Unlike politicians, public employees can find themselves embroiled in controversy by merely performing the duties and enforcing the laws of their agencies.  The basic modes of survival cannot be merely a ‘shoot from the hip’ approach in which the response to an attack is formulated when the news trucks roll into the parking lot.  When you become ‘public prey,’ this is an emergency situation and, for some, a disaster in the making.  To best prepare for disasters, whether the kind that destroys cities or the kind that destroys careers, the Emergency Management System is a model that can increase chances of a better outcome.

WHY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT?

Most communities in America approach their readiness to disasters using a system that addresses the before, during, and aftermath of an event, such as a hurricane, tornado, or flood.  Where a Crisis Communication plan might help an elected official or government employee survive a public perception problem after it has exploded, an Emergency Management plan addresses vulnerabilities in all phases of an event to lessen the impact of an uncontrollable situation.  This system is a perfect model for public officials to base their level of thinking as it relates to career protection.

Briefly, the Phases of Emergency Management for communities are:

1. Mitigation—communities employ mitigation efforts to reduce the chance of an emergency from happening, or reduce the amount of damage that could occur in an unavoidable event.  For example, an area of a community that is prone to flooding might restrict construction of new homes in that area, or at least require zoning regulations that would make the structure less likely to sustain catastrophic damages.  Some studies report that for every dollar spent on mitigation efforts, four dollars are saved in the long run.
2. Preparedness—the National Incident Management System (NIMS) defines Preparedness as “a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, equipping, training, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action in an effort to ensure effective coordination during incident response.”  Preparedness is a phase of this system in which agencies formulate plans and drill on those plans regularly.  Unlike Mitigation, which seeks to prevent damage during a disaster, Preparedness readies the equipment, personnel, and procedures for when the event occurs.
3. Response—with the formulation of plans and drills to perfect them, the Response phase is carried out immediately before, during, and after a disaster event has happened.  Activities of this phase include evacuating threatened populations, opening Emergency Operations Centers, shelters, providing mass care, search and rescue efforts, and actions that seek to limit the loss of life and property. 
4. Recovery—disasters can have long-tern effects on communities, and the Recovery phase tackles the repair of physical, social, and economic resources that restore normalcy to human lives.  The restoration of infrastructure, rebuilding homes and businesses, and developing initiatives to mitigate the effects of future incidents are key priorities in the Recovery phase. 

The Emergency Management System has helped communities prevent, respond to, and recover from disasters for decades.  What can public employees and elected officials learn from such a system?  The 30,000 foot view of the process is to apply vulnerability and risk management assessments to see if such an effort is needed more in one place than in another.  Certainly, a Florida community that is vulnerable to hurricanes must employ such a system for obvious reasons.  In the landscape of public life, daily news cycles reveal that celebrities and sports stars occupy a great amount of air and print time with great interest from the public.  Whether they are doing good or bad, people are enamored with their lives and follow closely. On the other hand, politicians and government workers are rarely revered so high and always find themselves as being the target of the public’s scorn.  Prudence suggests that a career in public life should include a concerted effort to protect ones career and reputation, which also protects everyone associated with the elected official or government worker.

Applying emergency management principles to avoid becoming ‘public prey’ starts with an assessment of where potentials dangers lie and who the enemies are.  Public officials have two potential target groups to fear.  First, the press, which these days is print, television, radio, and social media.  Secondly, ordinary citizens or political rivals who take great delight in seeing politicians or public workers falter.  That assessment alone should serve as a warning that an Emergency Manager plan should be in the top drawer of any government desk.  Utilizing the 4 Phases of Emergency Management, let’s see how we can apply the principles to reduce our vulnerabilities.

MITIGATING YOUR BEHAVIOR. 

            As stated earlier, Mitigation seeks to reduce the chance of a disaster or lessen the damage from one.  Public figures must go into their careers with the same mindset and take measures to never get into a compromising situation from the get-go.  To find the secret, just watch the news and study the root causes of why government workers and elected officials get themselves into trouble.  Not all of their follies are self-inflicted; some are merely bi-products of a select few whiners who cannot be pleased no matter what.  Some problems result from the incompetence of people who were not qualified to run their positions or office in the first place.  For the most part, gaffs, slurs, and questionable behavior are the usual sparks that ignite the flame of scandal.  Consider the following suggestions for protection of your career:

1. Treat SOCIAL MEDIA as a bomb that will blow up in your face every time you touch your phone!  Don’t post, tweet, share, or re-tweet anything remotely slanderous, insulting, racial, sexual, or on either extreme of politics.  Your social media is with you for life and whatever you posted from day one can be found.  Remember, as a government employee, you are paid to do a job and serve the mission of your agency.  You are entitled to your beliefs and opinions like everyone else is.  However, you must weigh the consequences of what you put on social media and ask yourself if these opinions will fall upon the eyes of someone who will not like it and make your life miserable for it.  Elected officials are not paid to destroy their political enemies either!  They are elected and compensated to serve constituents needs and forward policies that seek to benefit their communities.   Is that picture of a beer in your hand while partying worth the repercussions and optics that it presents?  Take the high road and post dignified and positive information.  You’ll appear professional and a true servant of the people!
2. Watch your BEHAVIOR in all aspects of your life!  If you come across as a flirt or one who crosses the line on intimate actions, you’re going to get nailed for it, sooner or later!  Everything you text to someone is a potential nightmare to your career.  All e-mails are subject to open records request.  Most government cars have GPS on them and that is also subject to open records.  As a public official, you are always watched and the slightest appearance of impropriety will be used against you when necessary.  When you go to lunch, go in groups.  If you are constantly seen out with someone other than your spouse, expect the red flags to stop popping up.  Some people don’t like to be hugged, so a handshake is always king.  Be magnanimous, be professional, and don’t ever forget a simple off-color joke, inappropriate touch, or few extra drinks at the bar can cost you a very good job and career.
3. Know what YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! How we handle social media and our behaviors are usually some of the most common career-enders.  Some people deserve to be out of public life if they cannot behave themselves.  What is also a big threat to your existence in government work is a person’s inability to do their job competently.  Let’s face it, governments do not have a great reputation for efficiency and competency because labor laws make it so hard to fire public employees.  Do not find yourself in that category.  When you run for office or get into a job, learn every aspect of it and be the best in the world at it!  Even in government, customer service is paramount and you will shield yourself from future problems by knowing what you were hired to do.  All parts of public work has certain certifications that accompany the job.  Get that certification and others and become an expert in your field.  People love knowledgeable workers, so push away any chances of being singled out as another government worker and be the best in your business.  Mitigate your career before the storms come, and rest-assured, they are coming!

PREPARE FOR THE INEVITABLE.

            The Emergency Management axiom of Preparedness tells us to remain in a continuous cycle of readiness to properly respond when the disaster event occurs.  To protect their careers, government workers and elected officials need to have a public perception crisis plan in their top drawer, ready at a moment’s notice.  Merely reading a book on crisis management and tossing aside is not good enough to effectively save your neck when everything goes to hell in a hand-basket.  As first responders conduct drills to test their readiness in a manmade or natural disaster, so too must elected officials and public employees sharpen their pencils and game out every possible scenario that could destroy their careers. 

            In the last section, we discussed mitigation of behavior and how that reduces the chances of a scandal from starting.  There are still potential landmines that can be stepped on even if your behavior is flawless.  For example, one of your employees does something stupid or illegal and the news and social media lambasts you for improper leadership or vetting.  Often, it is the ‘head of the snake’ that is sought for the platter, even if the leader had absolutely nothing to do with the action of their employee.  This constant state of uneasiness requires a readiness posture that allows the public leader to pull out their defenses on a moment’s notice.  The formal defense for responding to a public perception crisis is a ‘Crisis Communications/Crisis Leadership plan,’ which will be discussed later.  However, preparation starts with the following axioms:

1. Unpreparedness is No Excuse—there are 3 types of people in the world: those who have been through crisis, those who are in a crisis, and those who are heading straight for a crisis.  With that knowledge, we can rest assured that we have to deal with an issue that involves some type of public perception problem in our careers.  Therefore, we must have enough concern for our career, and the agency we work for, to not be dumbfounded when we are faced with a challenge.  Game out public perception scenarios that can happen in your agency or personal life.  Conduct tabletop exercises with your management team and ready them to be as prepared as you are for the inevitable.
2. You Know the Threats, Get Ready for Them—to prepare for a potentially devastating scandal, the government worker or elected official simply should watch social media and the news and watch what is happening to others in their trade.  The events are always the same; sex scandals, sexual harassment, improper comments about someone’s sexual preference or race, bribes, secret meetings, thefts, and incompetent employees.  With the frequency of so many public perception problems, it should be easy for the government leader to prepare themselves for similar scenarios. 
3. Have Answers for the Basic ‘Gotcha’ Questions– If you have an employee break the law or do something inappropriate, be prepared for a series of questions that are basically canned for most media inquiries.  Did you do a proper background check? Did you check references and past work record? Has the employee had any prior discrepancies? What training did you provide? Etc.

RESPOND FAST AND WITH FURY!

            Responding to a disaster can come in several forms.  When a hurricane is approaching a coast, the process of evacuation is a form of response, even though no damage has been caused.  So imminent knowledge of a forthcoming problem should cause a quick and thorough ‘snap to action’ posture from any leader. 

            The news has reached you.  Scandal is forthcoming.  Whether it is an action of yours, an employee, or an uncontrollable process in your government, you now have been advised that trouble is about to knock on the door.  If you followed the advice of the previous section on Preparedness, there should be some forethought in how you will do with any media that will be involved in the matter.  When they, meaning the media, or your citizens, bosses, or stakeholders, come after you, you should first remember to TELL THE TRUTH! If you give people a rabbit hole to chase you down, believe me, they will.  Lying will only make you look more ridiculous (or land you on a perjury conviction) when the truth finally bubbles to the surface.  Additionally:

1. HAVE A MESSAGE READY–You have 48 hours to get your message out whatever the public perception problem is.  After 48 hours, they assume you’re hiding something.
2. EXECUTIVE PRESENCE—People love confident leaders, even if they are going through a scandal.  When you are cornered for an explanation, show that you are in charge and that you are making corrective actions RIGHT NOW!  Use phrases like “we immediately began our investigation…..”  Or, “our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families……”  Let them know there is a plan to deal with any problems or discrepancies, or STAND YOUR GROUND and defend your agency if proper procedures were followed.  Although the media may like to see you as a sheep, the public expects a lion when it comes to their tax dollars being at stake!
3. UTILIZE THE GIFTS OF YOUR TEAM—Let’s face it.  We all have different gifts and can’t do all things well.  When you have a scandal going on in front of you and need to make a response of some type, utilize the different contributions offered from your team.  For example, if a press release is to be sent out, and you don’t have a Public Information Officer, let your best writer craft the document.  If there needs to be a statement made to the media, some people are better in front of a camera than others.   You also have team members who are great researchers or have a solid knowledge of the organization’s history and past practices.  There are also those who know how to navigate social media with far better competency than the leader, so let them use their skills to get you out of this mess.
4. BE MAGNANIMOUS—Saying this is the easy part, but you will get through the scandal faster by being at your solemn best during the firestorm.  The temptation to be defensive and lash out at everybody is understandable, but take heed to a few things.  If you are accused of something that you didn’t do (or did right and they don’t like it), going on the offense can sometimes be a winning strategy.  Standing up to the school yard bully can have its advantages, but that’s another subject.  Being magnanimous involves exhibiting a professionalism that disallows personal emotions to come in and make the situation worse.  If you are approached by a reporter or swarmed by cameras, being confident and poised will prove to them that you are worthy of public life and are controlled and steadfast.  Pushing a camera away and screaming “no comment” is basically saying you are guilty and will trigger the emotions of the media source to come back at you with all of their fury.   Remember, after they, meaning the media or a citizen bully, gets done destroying your life, they will move right on to someone else. 

HOPE IN THE AFTERMATH

      Standing in the ashes of a public perception scandal is one of the loneliest places on planet earth.  The bad press seems like it compounds by the minute and the fear that comes from the unknown is gut-wrenching and unnerving.  After the crisis, the government worker or elected official has many choices to make.  Images of a mug shot, bad news reels, and public outcry can cause someone to do things that are far outside of their normal character.  The feeling of isolationism while going about your daily life is trying as you deal with the stares, the talking behind your back, the social media posts, and the calls for your demise.  All of this because you chose a life of service to those who now hold the nails to the cross you hang on. 

      Grief and anger can cause you to fight back in ways that are unwise and can prolong the event period that you are going through.  Again, standing up to the bully is a tactic that can sometimes work, if you are in the right.  False rumor control and media bullying will only work if you have solid proof and can frame your accuser as being wrong and as making the whole thing up.  Unfortunately, the news trucks, reporters, and social media hounds will move on to the next victim and not care one bit about your defenses.  Even if you are right, your acquittal will only garner about 10% of the attention that your accusation drew.

      There have been thousands and thousands of people in public roles that have successfully survived public perception problems.  Many were able to keep their jobs or get re-elected through the attrition process that “time will acquit you, always.”  They do live with the shadows of their event for life, and in some cases, face other trials that are only compounded by past events.  So focus on the hope that people tend to have short memories, have other things to worry about then you, and also might be willing to forgive you if you’re sincere.  Utilize a precise RECOVERY strategy, just like local emergency management professionals, and let the process of time work for you by:

1. TELL THE TRUTH—Even though it may be embarrassing and detrimental to your career, telling the truth usually ends the event period faster because it gives nobody any place further to go.  Granted, if we are talking about a potential criminal probe, lawyers will advise that the less you say will be your best option.  If we are talking about conduct like a Driving Under the Influence charge (DUI), an extra-marital affair, or a non-criminal action in which you were not at your best, then apologizing and spilling the beans might save you from further embarrassment. 
2. LEARN FROM THE EVENT—Going through trials is hard but the process can transform people into better human beings and more aware leaders.  People who learn from their mistakes, and counsel others about not stepping on the same land mines, can prove to be assets to the government or agency.  Humility is hard to swallow but might be what is needed for certain personalities who need to dial their egos down a notch or two.
3. FORGIVE YOURSELF AND MOVE ON—a public perception crisis can be an opportunity for your career.  Let’s face the fact in this…..although it’s a hard way to get name recognition, a crisis will make you better known by people who might have had no clue of who you are.  In an odd way, you could actually benefit later on down the road because your event might lead you to people who could become beneficial to your career or personal life.  In his book ‘Scoring in the Red Zone,’ Spencer Tillman discusses crucible experiences as “necessary storms before the calm.”  This book is a must-read for any leader and I would follow Spencer’s advice when he says to focus on what the experience is going to give you instead of what it’s going to take from you.  Ask yourself these questions:
4. Do you embrace the experience rather than avoid it?
5. Do you learn something from the experience that produces fundamental changes in the way you view life and your place in it?
6. Do you put that lesson into practice so that you do not just have a cognitive revolution but a behavioral one as well?

Public life has many rewards and advantages.  Government jobs are often stable and elected offices can lead to many great opportunities for the future.  We do understand that there exist a dark side to this stability that comes in the form of increased chances of public scrutiny and scandal.  While you must act ethical and serve honestly, you don’t necessarily have to have your life destroyed for your desire to serve in these public roles.  Learn from the emergency management model and your chances of avoiding and/or surviving a public perception event will dramatically increase.