Вы не привыкли сдаваться и уходить с поля боя побежденным? Вы способны справиться с депрессией, которая может нагрянуть в случае неудачи? Вы предпочитаете сесть, серьезно подумать и найти новые способы достижения цели? Тогда вам есть, что рассказать в эссе о своем профессиональном опыте.

Late last year, an election in [my town] led to a major disruption in my standard modus operandi on the Council. Prior to the election, I had served the role of an unofficial majority leader in a rather philosophically-divided Council. In the split of liberals vs. left-of-liberals, I led the liberal faction.

However, last November, after being unable to find a strong candidate for the vacant seat on our five-member city council, I found myself suddenly in the minority. Depression gripped me for a couple of weeks; after all, I had so many plans for our still new city, and now they all appeared dashed. Furthermore, I had previously been offered the mayorship by my colleagues on three occasions, and now when I was finally prepared to take it in anticipation of my re-election, I no longer had the guaranteed votes with which to do it.

Not being a quitter, I couldn't throw the towel in, so I sat back and developed a strategy. Although able to command only two votes on many issues of significant importance that were coming up on the Council agenda, I began to find new ways to accomplish my goals. I have learned to bring new forces to bear on issues, including organizing the community behind my position, depoliticizing previously controversial issues, and generally breaking my colleagues' voting block. This has not been easy and requires a large time investment. However, by playing off their differences and each one's desire to be the leader, I have had some successes.

The key I find is to not act like I am part of a minority. By approaching an issue from an appearance of strength, and with a superior command of the issues being debated, I am frequently able to protect my interests and accomplish what I promised my constituents. And on those occasions where I know the battle is lost, I spend extensive amounts of time with city staff assuring that even though I am going to lose I have excluded the worst possible scenarios.

Although I may not always be on the winning side of an issue now, I have succeeded in containing the damage wrought by the shift in council majorities. Beyond this, I have also been successful in publicly securing the unanimous commitment of my colleagues to elect me to the post of Mayor this spring, as well as receiving the public endorsements of both major political organizations in [my town] for my election next year.

Продолжение следует...