Have the fuss and factionalism that plagued this year’s legislative session gone away? No, they appear to fester.

 

Makes you wonder if those involved ever take the time to step away from advisors, lobbyists, colleagues, and other influencers to gain a balcony perspective of relevant issues and behaviors. For example, could such a reflective perspective give Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Speaker Jason White enhanced insight? Pull them together? In “Leadership Without Easy Answers,” Ron Heifetz says yes, it would. That is about the only way authentic leaders can externalize conflict and see paths to resolution when dealing with difficult problems, he says.

 

Hmmm.

Our venerable State Capitol has balconies galore. Yet visitors to the balcony galleries in the House and Senate seldom walk away having seen resolution.

 

Rather than the broad perspective Heifetz suggests, our leaders tend to lock themselves into narrow perspectives. “Reframing Organizations” by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal can help us understand. Their study of leaders found tendencies to view the world from one of four frames: factory, family, temple, or jungle. Factory folk tie solutions to structure and organization. Family folk tie solutions to human needs. Temple folk use inspiration. For jungle folk it’s all about power.

 

Most see our government’s decision-making as jungle stuff – power games. Now, power games are real and do have impact, as we saw during this recent legislative session. But lasting solutions seldom result from crushing the opposition or reluctant compromise.

 

Lasting solutions to tough problems, say Bolman and Deal, occur when all four frames come together. For example, budget restructuring that takes into account human needs and reconciles power is still not enough. People must be inspired and motivated so they will earnestly implement and sustain solutions. Such solutions, while often painful at the front end, lay a solid foundation for the future. (Think PERS funding.)

 

Hopefully, a day will come when voters tire of the power games in Jackson. That’s when factory, family, and temple forces can subsume jungle forces to find common ground. Would authentic leaders then emerge who can inspire and lead resolution? Think about that as potential candidates for governor continue to emerge. In which frame does their rhetoric and behavior lie? Do any bridge them all?

 

If no such leaders emerge, forget about the balconies at the State Capitol. Focus, instead, on the fact that it was built in 1903 on a site vexed with anger and shame – the old state penitentiary. A fitting place for transactional leaders to wrestle with each other rather than issues.

 

Crawford is the author of “A Republican’s Lament: Mississippi Needs Good Government Conservatives.”