Most of the readers of this blog are people who hold governmental positions that require non-partisanship behavior. Others are people who got where they are, at least in part, due to their affiliation with one political party. Still others might be might be nonprofit leaders whose primary allegiance might be to a specific mission or particular client group, independent of political affiliation.

We are all in public service. We are all operating in a politically polarized country. We are all regaining our balance after an election that revealed deep divisions and generates passionate discussion.

How does a non-partisan leader move through this with integrity? Given that any response could present a target for criticism, the temptation might be to lay low and stay quiet. Tempting…but not effective in terms of addressing distress from any source, healing the divisions among us, and figuring out a new way forward together.

One of the better ideas generated this week comes from the author Elizabeth Gilbert. She suggests we reflect and respond to the question “How do I want to be in this situation?” None of us can fully control the situation, but all of us can make choices about how we respond.

We can create opportunities to have these discussions in the workplace, first taking care to ensure that participants are willing to model mutual respect and held accountable for doing so. This is also a good time for any organization or community to restate and reaffirm its values; they may well be put to the test later on.

As for me – today – how I choose to respond is to listen deeply, with patience, to everyone.  Not just even when I disagree with their votes, but especially when I disagree.

How do you want to be in this situation?

The post Nonpartisan Leadership in a Politically Polarized World appeared first on The Public Leadership Blog.

We talked to our former classmates and other young professionals interested in public service management to gauge how issues of female mentorship, likeability, and family planning and partners affect them. Our MPA program focuses specifically on developing local government managers and more than 75% of our graduating class were women. However, only a handful are pursuing careers in local government. Despite many discussions around the concepts of leaning in, concerns over weighing the dual roles of managing a local government and managing a household are salient for the next generation of leaders.

Based on our conversations with our classmates and young professionals, one reason women are leaning out of local government management seems to be the perceived instability of leadership positions. There is a strong desire for women to fill leadership roles, but deputy or assistant roles were perceived as providing more stability. Another potential cause of the gap between the number of women graduating and women wanting to go into local government management are glass walls – relegating women to traditionally female roles within organizations. For example, two of the students we interviewed had received advice that they were particularly well-suited for careers in human resources when they were explicitly seeking advice about becoming local government managers. It is essential for women to gain a breadth of experiences that prepares them for being seen as management potential.

One final note is that not all women see leaning in as their biggest challenge in the workplace. When considered from the point of view of single parents and primary wage-earners, leaning in becomes a privilege since it requires placing long-term career plans ahead of family concerns. Women of color are another group of women who face challenges in the workplace that are not addressed in Lean In. For example, one interviewee noted, “It’s getting to the point where women can just be women in the workplace, but I’m not sure it’s ever going to get the point where I can just be Black at work.”

Local government leadership is disproportionately male. Despite many discussions about giving greater emphasis to career planning, the young women we talked with are struggling to lean in at the time in their careers at which leaning in arguably matters most. With these issues in mind, what can current local government managers do to help our generation “lean in” more?

The post The Next Generation of Local Government Leaders: Leaning In or Out of Local Government? appeared first on The Public Leadership Blog.

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.

The Science of Managing Public Work:

• Legal boundaries and responsibilities clarify the expectations and scope of the work.
• Success requires that the necessary work be defined, planned, implemented, evaluated, then adjusted for improvement.

The Art of Managing Public Work:

• Collectively, each board or work group has its own culture, which will change as members come and go.
• Individually, each member of every board or work group has a unique personality, learning style, communication preferences, skill set, and interests.

Blurring Both Art and Science:

• Daily practices demonstrate how or whether espoused principles, such as “transparency” or “financial stewardship,” are being used in meaningful ways.
• Every decision is networked, touching other issues, plans, values, or processes.

Given that effective public leaders successfully manage both the art and the science of their work, they tend to stay on the look-out for legal, practical, and social resources to use. One comprehensive resource is County and Municipal Government in North Carolina.

To be user-friendly, the recently released second edition offers the option of purchasing any of the individual chapters or the whole publication. The content ranges from conceptual to legal to practical and covers forty-six topics.

On the “science” side of content, there are chapters that address particular areas of expertise ranging from open meetings law to the duties of particular departments.

• Do you want legal boundaries clarified for your next construction project? Check out page 415 for the “Dollar Thresholds in NC Public Contracting Statutes.”
• Contemplating exercising your county’s right of eminent domain to expand the airport? Chapter 24 explains how that process would work.
• Trying to understand the personnel implications for consolidated human service agencies? Chapters 13 and 38 provide key pieces to that complex puzzle.

Similarly, the “art” side of content addresses processes such as citizen involvement (Chapter 10) and functional relationships that cross organizations to address a wide range of shared interests (Chapter 11, 12, and 27.)

Whether you are seeking the details in one particular situation or an overview of how local governments work, County and Municipal Government in North Carolina is a resource worth checking out.

The post The Art and Science of County and Municipal Government in NC (and the book that discusses it all) appeared first on The Public Leadership Blog.

Government and politics were rated as less civil than any other public sphere–less civil than traffic or talk radio. Only places of worship and friends/relatives were thought to be places where people are civil.

What does civility mean? Generally, civility is defined as formal politeness and courtesy in behavior and speech. It is demonstrated by showing dignity, respect, and tolerance for others and their views. Civility does not mean we all agree. Civility means we disagree without being disagreeable. Civility is critical for sustaining the democratic principle that we are all entitled to hold and express our opinions. Civility ennobles our debates over common values and the common good.

“Civility means a great deal more than just being nice to one another.  It is complex and encompasses learning how to connect successfully and live well with others, developing thoughtfulness, and fostering effective self-expression and communication.

Civility includes courtesy, politeness, mutual respect, fairness, good manners, as well as a matter of good health.”

– Pier Massimo Forni, professor and founder of the Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins University

So who is responsible for improving civility? Survey respondents say the public, generally, bears the greatest responsibility for improving civility, followed closely by political leaders. The first step toward creating a culture of civility is what we do in our own lives.

A national conference of college Democrats, Republicans and Independent students came up with the ten recommendations for improving civil discourse.

“Ten Tips to Improve Civility”
1. Listen to opposing views.
2. Seek shared values.
3. Acknowledge the legitimacy of opposing positions.
4. Identify the problem at-hand, focusing on it rather than on larger conflicts.
5. Avoid political caricatures, labels and generalizations that may not truly represent the views of your adversaries.
6. Accept that disagreement will exist without giving up your own convictions.
7. Clarify what is being said before attacking and/or responding.
8. Recognize the value of solutions beyond those offered by traditional party platforms.
9. Consider the consequences of what you say and do.
10. Hold yourself personally accountable for your own political actions.

What can community leaders do to create a more civil environment? As political and governmental leaders we are charged with being exceedingly civil–we are in the public eye and our behavior sets an example for others. How we interact with each other influences how our public interacts with us.

Local government leaders set the tone and frame the debate. If local government is seen as uncivil, trust is diminished. If board members are uncivil toward each other, little progress can be made. If a governing board is uncivil toward professional staff, the staff will be fearful to share new ideas and opportunities. We owe it to each other and to our communities to treat one another with respect and dignity.

You model civility through your words and actions. As leaders, you can establish common expectations for behavior and adopt agreements and ground rules for civility in your local government. You can ask each other and the public to abide by these agreements. Civility begins with you. And if not you, then who?

The post Creating a Culture of Civility appeared first on The Public Leadership Blog.