Finding Strength in Difference: A Conversation with Senator Kelly Ayotte
by Chloe Slocum
Although finding common ground can be difficult for political opponents in an era of increasingly polarized viewpoints, diversity of thought is undoubtedly a strength for teams across many sectors, be it politics, industry, or public health. As a United States Senator from 2011–2017, Kelly Ayotte has served as a champion of bipartisan legislation and has worked across the aisle to help introduce and sponsor bills focused on a broad range of issues, from comprehensive immigration reform to drug addiction and recovery. Joining the Voices in Leadership Series at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on April 13th 2017, Senator Ayotte shared her reflections on leadership from a dynamic and accomplished career and her experiences as a legislator and public health advocate.
Prior to becoming a U.S. Senator for New Hampshire, Senator Ayotte served first as a prosecutor and then legal counsel to Republican Governor Craig Benson, before being appointed as New Hampshire’s first female Attorney General in 2004. As both Attorney General and U.S. Senator, Senator Ayotte has framed issues within a public health context and focused on the needs of communities in her home state of New Hampshire that have been deeply affected by the opioid epidemic. Senator Ayotte was named 2014 Legislator of the Year by the National Council of Behavioral Health and is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow with the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. During her conversation with faculty and students, she shared several keys to leadership in partisan environments.
Look for commonality and shared interests
Senator Ayotte underlined the crucial first step of finding common ground with colleagues and working across the aisle to advance bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate. She emphasized understanding shared interests and priorities — especially within the realm of public health where lawmakers may serve different constituencies. Senator Ayotte highlighted that she looks for shared passion when building a team. She went further to underscore that being open to new learning is an essential leadership skill for leaders at all levels and career stages, and that it was important to
“[Foster] a culture that will allow people to feel comfortable disagreeing with the boss, so that you understand and are hearing from different viewpoints.”
Seek community input and build collaboration
In her work to combat the opioid epidemic, Senator Ayotte co-authored the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). Senator Ayotte not only reached across the aisle but sought to involve public health experts and listen to constituents in affected communities to craft legislation. Her early approach to raising awareness in the U.S. Senate for growing rates of opioid addiction included encouraging colleagues to speak with local emergency room physicians, law enforcement, and school principals. She said,
“When people realized that this was not just something isolated to one state, or one neighborhood, or one group of people […] I think that’s what allowed us to get as much support as we did in the end.”
Focus on continuing dialogue for tough problems
In reflecting on her experience leading bipartisan policy efforts, Senator Ayotte asserted that continuing dialogue across party lines and between public servants at both the federal and state or local levels is critical. She asserted that discussions at the state and local level on addiction treatment and education initiatives aimed at prevention cannot be a “one-off” discussion. Highlighting the impact of information, Senator Ayotte described how state data had been used to spur legislation to establish a national strategy to focus on infant exposure to opioids. She also highlighted the importance of creating space for dialogue and hearing the voices of constituents and lawmakers across the political spectrum in her work supporting legislation to ensure insurance coverage and treatment of eating disorders with the Anna Westin Act.
Senator Ayotte concluded by reflecting on the nature of opposition:
“The hardest thing in politics is actually to stand up to your friends, so-called friends of the same party as you, and tell them that you disagree with them on something. That is actually much harder to do in politics than to disagree with someone who comes from an opposing party.”
Yet she wholeheartedly defended the benefits of such constructive dialogue, asserting that “we need more of that if we’re going to accomplish solving some of these really tough problems that need to be solved for the nation.” She went on to add,
“Elected office is not for the faint of heart, [it is] incredibly rewarding and […] a great privilege to have the opportunity to solve problems and help people, and to be in the arena, and to try to make a difference.”
For more from the Voices in Leadership (@VoicesHSPH) series at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (@HarvardHSPH), visit www.hsph.harvard.edu/voices.
Story by Chloe Slocum, a physician who is passionate about health quality and equity and is pursuing a Master of Public Health in Health Policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Story edited by Sohini Mukherjee, a first year student in the Master of Science program in Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
