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Leadership Resources

In an effort to help you better tackle your many responsibilities, we have included various resources here that will assist you in dealing with your members, the media, the executive, the opposition party and lobbyists. 

If you have specific questions, contact our Director of Curriculum Development and Research Thom Little at sllfthom@aol.com or (336) 856-0623.

What Have You Gotten Yourself Into:
A Guide for New Legislative Leaders, 2009 Edition (PDF)
This 41 page guide provides practical tips for new leaders based on discussions with more than twenty experienced leaders. We offer suggestions to ease your transition into leadership, to establish your control of the institution or the caucus and to ensure that your leadership tenure is a productive one. From Section I: Once you are certain of your election as a legislative leader, you should begin immediately to lay the groundwork for your upcoming term of office. Specific actions you take in the days and weeks before the legislature formally convenes can pay significant dividends throughout your tenure. ...

Balancing Legislative Security with Citizen Access to the Legislature (PDF)
This paper is a modified version of Balancing Citizen Access and Security Needs in the National Assembly of Armenia, a report prepared by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation in 2004 for Development Associates, Inc. in conjunction the Development Associates operated USAID Legislative Support Program for the National Assembly of Armenia.

Working with the Media (PDF)
Working With the Media is an SLLF-prepared manual that examines the basic principles that govern the legislative/media relationship and offers a series of practical suggestions on how legislatures as a whole and legislators individually can build positive constructive relationships with reporters, journalists, and editorial writers. Written in a highly readable and user-friendly format, this manual can be a particularly valuable tool for leaders in assisting new legislators to develop good working relationships with capitol reporters.

Legislative Leaders and the Media (PDF)
This relatively brief (6 pages) document offers you some specific tips on how to understand and work effectively with the media. It will be particularly useful to leaders, but also may be useful for your members. It was developed by SLLF with Marty Linsky, former legislative leader, journalist, advisor to Massachusetts Governor William Weld and current Lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Calendar

March 4 - 7, 2010

SLLF Issues Summit
Energy & Environmental Summit of the States
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA
Program Schedule (pdf)
Read more...

April 21, 2010

AC Forum
Roundtable discussion and reception in Washington, DC

June 16 - 20, 2010

National Speakers Conference
19th Annual Meeting
Annapolis, Maryland
Program Schedule
Read more...

August 18 - 22

Transatlantic Leadership Forum
Dublin, Ireland

July 12 - 15, 2010

Emerging Political Leaders Program
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, 2010

SLLF Leadership Summit
Democracy 2.0: 
Connecting with the 21st Century American 
University of Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts
Program Schedule
Registration Form - Legislative Participants
Registration Form - Corporate Participants