This week, I continue to discuss the memoirs by John Boehner, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. A point that he repeatedly emphasizes throughout the book is the importance for a political leader to have outstanding staff. Some politicians yell at their staff, humiliate them, or throw things against the wall in their offices. As an external consultant, I am of course being treated differently, but I have witnessed a fair share of such behavior myself.
Boehner says, however, that a member of parliament is only as good as his staff is (usually including a chief of staff, a scheduler, as well as communication, and legislative people). It is a point that is often glossed over in other biographies as they focus on the respective principal in question. It is however true that staff is key for a congressional leadership office to function at full potential and get meaningful legislation done.