Lee Hamilton: Building Consensus for the Common Good

To Lee Hamilton, Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the most important skill for leadership in the public sector is knowing how to build consensus and resolve conflict. "It is easy to split people apart," he told us, "but much harder to bring them together."

"It's not written in the stars that the United States will continue to prosper," Hamilton cautioned the Zuckerman Fellows when we visited him at the Center. "Are our institutions strong enough to confront big challenges?" he asked, commenting that with so many interest groups fighting to prevail, it is hard to identify who speaks for the common good. He reminded the Fellows of Jefferson's test for legislation: "Will it help the thousandth generation?" and asked, "Can you imagine a politician with that kind of perspective today?"

Yet, despite all these challenges, Hamilton spoke warmly of public service, calling it "the most rewarding use of your time." He observed that "the country places a wager on every citizen: we give you freedom and opportunity, and, in return, you contribute to your country and community."

Hamilton gave the Fellows vivid insights into the challenge of service and the value of building consensus as he described his work with former Secretary of State James Baker as co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, the ten-person, bipartisan group charged in 2006 with assessing the situation in Iraq and making policy recommendations. We asked how he was able to guide the writing of a unanimous report by five Democrats and five Republicans on such a contentious subject. "It wasn't easy," Hamilton replied. He described driving through Washington at 3 a.m. after long, frustrating meetings, filled with foreboding that the project would fail.

How, then, did the project succeed? Hamilton offered the Fellows five keys to successful consensus-building that helped the Iraq Study Group reach consensus and publish its influential report:

• Begin with the conviction that what you are doing is worthwhile
• Know the core issues or values upon which you do not want to compromise
• Make sure that your group gets to know each other as people through social events where no one talks about the issue you've been assigned to tackle
• Focus on the facts, which do not belong to any party
• Take as much time as you need.

-Lydia Pace