Archive

• Collaborative Leadership for Economic Development in Alamance County

  This entry was contributed by Rick Morse on January 3, 2017 at 10:45 am and is filed under Collaborative Leadership, Tools and Practices, Uncategorized.

  

  (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.

  The N.C. Commerce Park is an 1,100-acre economic development zone located in the Hawfields area of eastern Alamance County. The area includes parcels owned by dozens of private land-owners who have voluntarily become partners with the N.C. Commerce Park in agreeing to easements and (very importantly) providing options on their properties. The 1,100 acres includes parts of Graham, Mebane, and unincorporated Alamance County. Site development involved $12 million for infrastructure, jointly funded by the three local governments and the N.C. Department of Transportation. Later the three local governments also each contributed $100,000 to the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce to oversee the site certification process.

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• What Am I Missing?

  This entry was contributed by Vaughn Upshaw on September 1, 2016 at 9:41 am and is filed under Collaborative Leadership, Group Process, Implicit bias, Leadership Development, Tools and Practices.

  

  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.

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• Effectively Managing a Project

  This entry was contributed by Willow Jacobson on October 23, 2015 at 7:30 am and is filed under Collaborative Leadership, Group Process, Tools and Practices.

  

  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.

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• The Art and Science of County and Municipal Government in NC (and the book that discusses it all)

  This entry was contributed by Margaret Henderson on May 22, 2015 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Tools and Practices.

  

  “I never dreamed I would be expected to know so much about so many different topics!”
  –  A newly elected county commissioner

  There is the “What” of public work, and then there is also the “How” of it.  Success as any kind of public leader – as staff or as appointed or elected officials – requires mastery of both the art and science involved in the topics and processes of local government.

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