If your work requires you to pursue a change in the law or in government policy, you're eventually going to be working with elected officials. But long before you get into the room with a politician, you'll likely have meetings with their staffers.

Here are a few tips for trying to build a constructive relationship with a government staffer:

• Never underestimate the worker bees. You might be talking to someone who seems way down the chain. And you might be frustrated, since you've probably spent a lot of time and energy to get a meeting, and now it feels like you're being passed to someone unimportant. But staffers are where the rubber meets the road, and your ability to woo a staffer can pay huge dividends down the road.
• • Treat staffers as if they have all the power in the world. The worker bees are often the ones who keep an issue on the radar of decision-makers, and the ones who implement strategy. Alternatively, they can kill a proposal they don't like simply by keeping it off the decision maker's desk. So treat them with full respect, and acknowledge the privileged position they really hold.
  • Remember that decisions rarely rest with just one person. It pays to build relationships with several people close to the process. If you have staffers on your side, they can advocate for you, whether it's to get you into the room with the final decision maker, or simply keeping your issue alive during deliberations.
  • If a staffer doesn't understand your issue, don't belittle them. Take it as an opportunity to become a resource they turn to for advice on the topic. If you can set yourself up as the "go-to" source for information on your issue, you're way ahead of the game.

Carlos Odio is Special Projects Director at NOI

Photo from Flickr user Minimalist Photography, shared under Creative Commons license