The key to success in the workplace – for individuals and collectively – is building strong, trusting relationships. In the public sector, this is especially true. Our governance structures; the array of complicated populations and services we provide; our built in systems of checks and balances. It seems that just about everything we do requires interacting with other people.

The hit movie Hidden Figures tells the story of four brilliant people — Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden — who, in the 1950s, advanced the state of computing and space travel for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The achievements of these experts were remarkable for many reasons, including that fact that they were women and African American. And that they achieved so much during a time when women rarely worked outside of the home and the civil rights movement was in its early stages.

(Cover image from The Times-News, 3/22/2016)

The N.C. Commerce Park in Alamance County, North Carolina is an economic development success story that underscores how vital interlocal and regional collaboration is for community and economic development. It also highlights the power of partnerships and collaboration, and the importance of local leaders that share a collaborative mindset.

Positive thinking is more than just a tagline.

It changes the way we behave.

And I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better,

but it also makes those around me better.
-Harvey Mackay

A fundamental practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is to focus on strengths rather than weaknesses. Doing so enables us open up our thinking to explore our successes and opportunities rather than obsess about our shortcomings or failures. This practice does NOT mean that we sugar-coat or overlook reality. It simply means that we build on our immediate and local assets rather than focusing on what is not there or not desirable.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir -La Grenoullere (1869)

Try an experiment. Grab three or four people and ask them to look at this painting for 30 seconds then close their eyes and describe what they saw. Don’t be surprised if each person sees the painting in ways others do not.

If we see things so differently, what might each of us missing? Leaders need to be continually aware of what they and others may be missing. Our brains are constantly painting a picture of the world around us. Leaders need to understand what others do and do not see in order to tap into and shape a common picture of the future—whether that means convincing people to launch a new business or take action to protect the environment. Effective leaders look for ways to bridge their own and others’ mental pictures so everyone shares a sense of why their work is important, how they will get things done, and what they will accomplish.

How do you know if you’re biased? Are you a human being? Then the answer is an emphatic “Yes!” The truth is, we all are biased. Our brains are hard-wired to be biased. Bias allows our brains to take efficient short cuts to solve problems. We don’t have time to fact check everything we encounter on daily basis.

When I say mindfulness what comes to mind?

If the image that immediately pops up is a “woo-woo bleeding heart” sitting cross-legged, alone on the mountain top, eyes closed, silently contemplating the meaning of life – while the rest of us get the real work of the world done – you wouldn’t be alone.

But the truth is the real work that government and nonprofit leaders take on day in and day out is increasingly complex: diverse stakeholders, competing priorities, resource constraints, 24-7 connectedness, and tough calls trying to balance engagement and transparency with the urgency of now.

As North Carolina’s demographics continue to change rapidly, local governments are increasingly giving attention to diversity and inclusion and making efforts to align their organizational cultures, values, and practices to the changing faces of their communities. Last year I facilitated the annual Rocky Mount City Council Retreat, where diversity was a high priority topic on the agenda. On December 9, I interviewed City Manager Charles Penny and Assistant City Manager Thom Moton about their experience and advice to others.

Just over a year ago, I was spending countless hours (or at least it seemed that way) on a research project with Dr. Maureen Berner for the School of Government. That project eventually became a book in the Board Builders series entitled, “Wicked Problems: What Can Local Governments Do?” It was a big project for me and resulted in my first published writing. It took commitment, hard work, and a willingness to learn new skills to get the book from start to finish over the course of a year.

As a teenager, my father told me “A wise person dreams at night and works during the day.” That was good advice 40 years ago, and it remains good advice today.

Having a dream gives us something to work for. Without a clear vision of what we want to create, it’s hard to stay focused on priorities. When nothing is a priority, then everything is.

Anyone who manages volunteers (or staff) has likely had to balance the needs and interests of the individual against the needs and interests of the organization.

There are no indicators that challenge is going to get any easier or less frequent given the “seismic shifts” identified in The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer. The authors are youth ministers who are adapting their strategies of engaging volunteers in response to the generational and technological shifts we are all seeing.

Since becoming Chief of the Fayetteville Police Department in 2013, Harold Medlock has taken steps to address police-community relations. Over the past two years, his department explored several vendors of body-worn cameras (BWCs).

Policy on the use, storage, and access to the videos of various police encounters was completed in mid-January. All patrol officers are using BWCs.

A familiar Biblical Proverb states: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” I would argue that this principle is true for communities and organizations as well. Perish may be too strong a word, but I do think we could say something like, “when a community or organization has no vision, they are prone to stagnate, go nowhere, or decay.” Does your organization have a strategic vision? What about your community?

Two years ago, international software giant SAP launched their Autism at Work initiative. I learned about this effort a few days ago during a book group discussion after reading NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman. His exhaustive history of autism is filled with stories of individuals and our historic understanding – and misunderstanding – of autism. In brief, he describes a world in which autism – and all of its variations – is recognized as part of the diversity of the human condition.

Public sector projects are complex projects often involving staff across multiple departments and may require access to professionals that are external to the organization. Projects can range from creating an internal newsletter, revising policies, acquiring and redeveloping a property for economic development, or creating a new outreach project. These projects, with their variations in size, stakeholders, and complexity, all share in common that they must contend with issues of scope, time, and cost. Success will undoubtedly require “project management” skills.

When I teach leadership one of the first discussions I have is about the differences between leadership and management. Warren Bennis says that management is about doing things right and leadership is about doing the right things. Stephen Covey said management is about climbing the ladder fast whereas leadership is concerned with whether the ladder is on the right wall. I would also add that management is often about maintaining the status quo (“keeping the trains running on time”) whereas leadership is fundamentally about changing the status quo. Leadership is about making something different happen. And because leadership is about change, it is inherently perilous.

It has already begun. Candidates for municipal offices are telling the public how they will change your city or town. Some mayoral and city council candidates may be campaigning to fire the sheriff or eliminate funding for health services. A city manager or municipal employee may find such campaign promises amusing, that is, until the candidate gets elected and governing begins.

An organizational culture will be established or will occur… be proactive.   

Elected leaders in Oceanboro promised voters that they would create greater efficiency in two operations, but they haven’t offered any specifics. The town has decided to restructure and create a Business Management office in which Finance and Human Resources are now combined into one department. The Director of this new department is about to convene the first staff meeting of the newly combined department, and she wants to make sure to set the right tone. As she prepares for the meeting, she recalls the management courses she attended while earning her MPA at the UNC School of Government, and in particular, the role of culture in organizations. The members of the department come from departments with very different cultures—each bringing a different set of assumptions and behaviors related to collaboration, communication, prioritizing strategies, and conflict resolution. Can she manage those different cultures, and how can she establish the right culture on the new department to ensure that its work proceeds as smoothly as possible?

There are strong feelings and many ideas about what to do with Confederate flags and memorials in the aftermath of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church murders.

The Confederate battle flag and flagpole were removed from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds on July 10th, after emotional debate in the S.C. Legislature.

North Carolina Governor Patrick McCrory believes the state should stop issuing Sons of Confederate Veterans car license plates which feature the Confederate battle flag. One writer calls for taking down the NC Capitol Confederate Memorial. Some other local flashpoints have included the Salisbury Confederate Statue, the use of the Fayetteville Market House as a town symbol, and several reports of vandalism of Confederate statues and memorials.  [Update – on July 23, 2015, Governor McCrory signed S.B. 22 into law ]

On the other hand, the N.C. Legislature seems to be moving to preserve a range of memorials and markers by restricting what state agencies and local governments can do about current statues, memorials or monuments on public property (S.B. 22 – Historic Artifact Mgt. and Patriotism Act)

Sheryl Sandberg’s number one bestseller Lean In examines why women hold fewer than half of leadership positions despite graduating at higher rates from institutes of higher education. The book also sparked a nonprofit organization, leanin.org, to encourage and support women “leaning in” to their career goals. Sandberg also published Lean In: For Graduates, which includes new material intended for young people beginning their careers. With the one-year anniversary of our own MPA graduation fast approaching, thoughts are swirling about next steps, interviews, job hunting, and career tracks in public service leadership. Sandberg’s book focuses primarily on the private sector. Do “Lean In” issues affect women working in the public sector in the same way?

When approaching the bridges to the nation’s capital, someone joining an agency, legislative staff, or NGO cannot help but notice the Washington Monument. This landmark does not depict the figure of the leader it honors, who commanded the revolutionary forces and then personified a civilian chief executive. Its simplicity and prominence reflect the unifying and transcendent nature of his leadership. The government and its military forces remain necessarily intertwined in public administration, but the cultures of service and leadership are increasingly separated in American society.

The need for collaborative leaders has never been greater. Most, if not all, of the public problems we grapple with are highly complex and “boundary crossing,” meaning they cut across organizational, jurisdictional, and sectoral boundaries.

Collaborative leaders are catalysts who bring stakeholders together to address shared issues. They are conveners and facilitators that lead more from the middle than from the front. Much has been written in recent years about the skill set of these post-hierarchical leaders. They are systems thinkers. They are effective facilitators and negotiators. They help resolve conflict.

In this post, I continue to share the insights both confirmed and stretched by teaching two sets of veteran county and city elected officials through our LELA program, Managing Conflict: How to Disagree and Still Get Along.

Choosing policies and budgets on public matters puts elected officials in the center of conflicts. Understanding and responding to conflict is a central leadership competency.

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
   — Rodin

With few exceptions, public servants tend to work hard and achieve remarkable outcomes in often less than optimal circumstances. As is typical of western society, there can even be a sense of competitive busyness at times. Creative problem-solving does arise out of situations when resources are constricted, the stakes are high, or time is limited. The intensity created by crisis can be an effective motivator for personal or community change.

Have you ever wondered what employees are thinking and feeling about your organization? Whether they are ready to bolt for the next job or planning to stick around until retirement?

Surveys are a great way to figure out employee perspectives on a range of workplace issues. Done right, they can yield valuable information for management decision-making and give employees a voice in your organization. Some issues to consider beforehand:

Producing a long list of issues to learn about or discuss at a retreat is easy. Crafting an agenda that will generate effective discussion, decision-making, and follow-through, however, is a more complex task.

Be thoughtful when developing the plan   As the retreat planning committee progresses through its work, consider the following topics:

• What are our objectives for our time together?   Would others agree or hold differing opinions?
• How should the time be structured in order to meet those objectives?
• In order for group members to be fully informed for future decision-making, how much and what kinds of information should be presented? How should the information be presented, and by whom?
• Is this a one-time event or part of a series of meetings designed to help the group continue this line of work or improve its functioning over time?

More often than not there are multiple purposes being served by holding a retreat. Careful thought and planning is needed in order to prioritize the purposes of the retreat and to design a sequence and timing for the activities. It is important to be purposeful and realistic about allocating the group’s time. An experienced facilitator can be helpful with this task.

By Lydian Altman and Margaret Henderson

It is the responsibility of elected and appointed leaders to set a vision and direction for their communities. This function involves convening the stakeholders who can influence the future and modeling strategic leadership so they can all align their work with the shared vision.

Why hold a retreat? Often this strategic work begins with a one to two day retreat, which can serve multiple purposes. Here are some examples: