Colorado Politics presents eight contributed essays offering guidance to Colorado’s next chief executive from some of the state’s best political minds. CLICK HERE for more.

Serving the people of Colorado is one of the great privileges and experiences of my life. When asked to provide advice for Colorado’s next governor, I was reminded of my own team’s successes, as well as our mistakes. My thoughts are informed as much by the latter as the former.

Governing begins by understanding that being governor is different than any other elected statewide or congressional office. It is a team effort from the day you get elected, and having the right team in place is as fundamental to your success as building a foundation for a house, or setting a fencepost in concrete.

As you choose your senior staff and your cabinet, you must have, and you must communicate, your own core values for governing. By values, I mean the things which you hold dear in how you intend to govern. You will have priorities, but your core values are the lens through which you will view, and question, everything that crosses your desk. The scripture says that a nation without vision perishes. A governor without values meets the same fate.

So much of government is stove-piped into narrow subject matter and sectors – e.g. health policy is separate from human services, which is separate from labor and workforce development which is separate from education. Your job will be to break down those silos. If you care about mental health, for example, your team’s willingness to work together, outside of their silos, around a core set of shared values, will have the greatest impact on actual transformation.

You need to also realize that the campaign is over, and that governing is a totally different animal than being a candidate. To win the election, you needed 50 percent plus one of all the votes on Election Day. To govern successfully, you need to understand how your agenda intersects with the lives of all Coloradans, no matter their political stripe. Moreover, as a former governor once said, “You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose.” You, your staff, and your cabinet will not survive on sound bites or political diatribes. The hard work of governing lies in paying attention to minute details in new legislation, to every line in the budget, and to even the regulatory work that executive agencies engage in on a day-to-day basis.

You will have an agenda, and advisers will tell you that you need some early wins. They are right. But there is a lot about governing that is instead a long game. Patience and persistence are virtues when it comes to the hard work of governing. There can be great value in a stakeholder conversation that leads to an informed strategy for execution, particularly if you include people in that conversation who disagree with you, or who are from the other side of the aisle.

What your advisers may not have told you is about your other roles, beyond passing your agenda. There are many issues that involve a great deal of tension, and in some cases open conflict, among different stakeholder groups. Your role, as the chief executive, is not only to manage that tension, and conflict, but where possible, to solve it. Think local control vs. oil and gas development, or preserving our agricultural land and water vs. residential development and economic growth. Those are only two examples among a myriad of issues where there is great tension, and where you are now the person designated to manage the conversation and to resolve the tension.

Another role you will have, that no one is prepared for, is the role you play when tragedy strikes. It is awful to think about, but it is likely that there will be natural disasters, law enforcement and military casualties, and even the potential for senseless violence. You, as the governor, take on the dual role of crisis manager, and Griever in Chief. It is not welcome, but it is an essential role, and the people of Colorado from every walk of life appreciate you when you are willing to stand in their shoes, and look tragedy in the face, on their behalf.

Finally, show up, as often as you can, in as many parts of the state as you can. You are the face of government. As trust in government has waned, restoring that trust is part and parcel to your role as chief executive. Coloradans appreciate you when you show up, especially in some of the most hard-to-get-to places. Actually, they never forget it.

All the best to you in your service.