Along with City Managers Bob Deis (Stockton), Artie Fields (Inglewood), and Wade McKinney (Atascadero), Mathis will explore real life examples of creative problem solving in local government, and discuss how rules have changed for Managers in the wake of recent economic challenges. The session will be followed by a period of questions and answers.

The city brought in Rancho Cucamonga-based public sector management psychologist Bill Mathis to moderate the meeting, which devoted the first couple of hours to discussing consensus building among the council and city staff.

As part of the exercise the council members addressed their top priority for the year. They all agreed that city finances and the budget is their biggest concern for 2012.

Mathis will work with Dunn on preparing an outline for a code of conduct, council norms, work-plan and costs by March in order to create a “high performance” council.

They also discussed holding facilitated evaluations of the city manager and city attorney.

Mathis Group has a long history of helping public organization in challenging times build consensus and move forward. Water boards, police departments, school districts and city councils engage Mathis Group to get teams back on track.

Read the rest of the Daily Bulletin article here: http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_19791578

Working to fill the unique needs of each city, matches were made for Azusa’s new City Manager, Indian Well’s new interim City Manager, Byron Bethany Irrigation District’s Assistant General Manager, East Valley Water District’s General Manager and the city of Stockton’s Economic Development Director.

We are please to have played a role in integrating these individuals into their new positions and will continue to support them, and their cities, in providing excellent service.

Please visit our Recruiting Services webpage for more information, and visit our Job Listing webpage for current openings.

Current economic challenges, combined with shifted market forces in local government, have created a new climate in public sector management. Managers are being asked to do more with less every day. Without effective feedback, it can be difficult for Managers to know where to focus their energies to keep their cities prosperous.

One of the best tools cities can use to thrive, even during tough times, is the City Manager/ General Manager evaluation. When used effectively evaluations work as a two-way street of communication to ensure that everyone agrees on what goals and objectives need priority attention with operations, and provide an opportunity for members to be heard.

Changing Market Forces

The turnover rate of City Managers in California has climbed from 18% to over 30%; slightly less for General Managers. In part this is due to the influx of a younger generation looking to change careers more often than their predecessors. In a more subtle way, however, this increase in turnover relates directly to what is being asked of our Managers today.

Instead of coming on board to help manage services in growing communities, today’s Managers are being asked to downsize. Trimming budgets, cutting services and generally economizing, are not always the challenges that Managers are trained for.

Even the Managers who enjoy the endeavor of downsizing are finding themselves running into a glass ceiling. Some want new responsibilities or see potential for greater earnings in the private sector.  Others face an environment lacking enough feedback or in which they get conflicting reviews of their performance.

The Need For Feedback

Providing constructive feedback for Managers on an annual basis helps prevent most minor issues from becoming major problems.  The best method is to maintain yearly evaluations, executed with the guidance of a professional and outside facilitator.

The Review Process

A facilitator, once agreed upon by all parties, first sits down with the City Manager to outline what the review will encompass. With these parameters in mind, the facilitator then talks with each council member privately to collect their unvarnished opinions about the City Manager’s work.

Once the facilitator has met with everyone individually a meeting is held with the council as a whole. During this meeting, the Manager is invited in to hear the council’s or board’s consolidated thoughts, presented by the facilitator in a constructive manner. The process is generally guided by a report by the facilitator, consisting of all evaluator’s comments.

A Chance to Promote What’s Working

Both the Manager and council members can expect to spend between four hours on the entire evaluation process, every year. For every hour spent, however, immeasurable time will be saved by keeping everyone working effectively toward agreed upon goals in the months ahead.

Particularly during tough economic times, this invaluable time provides an opportunity for recognition of the Manager’s successes. Evaluations are a chance to refresh goals and make new goals for the coming year; also ensuring all parties are working toward the same objectives and the council’s highest priorities. Evaluations also provide an opportunity for Managers to give feedback to their councils. This process also lays out what all department heads will focus on.

For all these reasons evaluations must be held up as a vital part of public sector management. Evaluations are not just helpful, they are essential for our Managers.

By Dr. Bill Mathis

Often before an election, elected officials have formed opinions and beliefs about mangers and their staffs. Based on the their attitudes about what government ought to do, elected officials may harbor perceptions that make working relationships difficult.

This article, based on personal research and experience, attempts to shed candid light on concerns and beliefs often held by the governing body (referred to as the council here) that interfere with the development of trust and meaningful partnerships in governing.

As in any relationship, trust must be a resource from which cooperation may be derived. The following seven unspoken assumptions that councils do not tell their managers.

#1 Managers Hide Money

Theme. Councilmembers generally believe that managers stash money away for various reasons. Rationalizations and tolerance for this activity seem to vary with how important the money issue is to that councilmember. Council wants to know how much discretionary money really is available.

Comments by the council.

• “The finances of our city are so complex (that they are) not easily explainable to a nonfinancial person.”
• “It’s not really that he hides money; its just not in plain sight. He’s protecting us.”
• “My city manager would not purposely hide money, some is just less visible.”
• “The complexity of city budgets requires the various pockets and reserves. Why? So we won’t all want our own program and will share more!”
• “My major job is to uncover where staff hides the money. Auditor role, or mole digging around.”
• “Managers think they are Robin Hoods who are in a noble cause to rescue the funds from dishonest or bungling elected officials.”
• “Every time I want money, I feel I have to go to Mother for permission.”
• “What really upsets me is that he squirrels the money away without my agreement, then encourages me to spend what I don’t understand.”
• “My city manger does not mean to be dishonest. He keeps saying it’s all in the budget document. Dishonesty of that kind is a public thing, but it’s not really lying.”

Discussion. Managers are not believed about money. It has become commonplace to talk in circular or vernacular terms of which only insiders understand the meaning. This practice may continue because of the belief that councils are nonfinancial or budget-ignorant. Some budgeters felt that public finance is so complex that the average person lacks the background to understand it, so they make it “staff-friendly.” Clearly, the pervading feeling is that managers do not want to fund a certain program, sot they hide the money.

The perceived practice of hiding money is taken by council crusaders as an excuse to “expose” the practice, whether it exists or not, simply because councilmembers believe that it does.

#2 Most managers have their own agendas

Theme. Most councils assume that their managers have personal agendas that get played out over time. Where a council perceives the manager as putting forth his or her own agendas, thereby taking unfair advantage of the council’s dilemmas.

Comments by council.

• “Why is the funding path so much easier when the manager agrees with me? Because it’s his agenda.”
• “If you watch who on the council a manager likes and socializes with, you can figure out (who has) similar agendas.”
• “Our manager can get what she wants; it’s just a matter of framing. She has a whole studio of frames.”
• “Our manager is so controlling, manipulative,”
• “His agenda is to keep everyone employed. Mine is to reduce government! It’s why a strong mayor form of government is becoming popular.”
• “Managers are preoccupied with staying in charge of us, rather than listening to our ideas.”
• “My manager’s agenda is zero. He passes everything to us and moves only when directed. His agenda is clear – a nice guy.”
• “A manager is employed to carry out my agenda because I had the largest voter count. That vote counts, big-time.”
• “Our manager should use his head. The agenda this election will change, so he’d better get on board where we are.”
• “The mayor and manger are buddies. Clearly, favoritism is injected into all their proposals.”
• “Friendship has no place is politics. It upsets the manager-council agenda, but I can’t say it. I’ll let him know in other ways.”
• “My manager’s agenda is control; mine is service to the needy.”
• “Our manager is so smart, he can make a recommendation for something he’s really against and win.”
• “Because of my opposition and outspokenness, I often receive less information as my punishment from the manager. My time will come.”

Discussion. Many councils believe that managers manipulate agendas and council perceptions – for good purposes and for personal reasons. The fear that managers can redirect or stop major council agendas. Councilmembers claim that managers have unspoken objectives and can lobby without responsibility for clarity and forthrightness.

A manager’s becoming friendly or socializing is seen as a mixed problem by councilmembers. They fear that fraternizing with the council changes the balance of the “family.” The picture of the manager is that of a control-oriented individual who often expresses equal treatment but does not always live by this philosophy.

#3 Councils do not acknowledge personality conflicts as issues that affect their work with the manager.

Theme. Councils do not generally acknowledge conflicts, this causing a dysfunctional relationship with the manager. The conflicts are generally framed as “issues” or “philosophical differences.”

Fact. A majority of manager firings may result from council-manager personal conflicts involving hurt feelings, grudges, misunderstandings, or semantic differences.

Comments by council.

• “If a problem does exist, the manager needs to change. I’m elected for my view and approach!”
• “Personality differences have no place in the public arena. I can work fairly with anyone!”
• “Personality conflicts are about power. I have it; he needs to follow. No conflict here!”
• “I think the ability to handle or resolve personal conflicts shouldn’t occupy any space on the taxpayer’s agenda. The manger should simply handle it. It’s his or her job.”
• “We, must learn to overlook personal conflicts. This relationship between managers and council is professional, not personal.”
• “Personal issues are important to work out, but the public doesn’t want or care to see us spend time working them out. The manager should work (them) out behind the scenes with a consultant.”
• “If the council and manager have a clear strategic plan, few personal conflicts should arise.”
• “Councils and managers ought to meet at least twice yearly for goal and conflict resolution.”
• “Denials of conflicts among councilmembers is our biggest problem, Therefore, the manager is at risk if these conflicts are avoided.”
• “I see interpersonal conflict as helping my agenda since I’m a minority.”
• “If conflicts get uncomfortable between councilmembers or manger and council, the best solution is termination.”
• “I have no obligation to work with anyone I didn’t elect or hire. Common sense should prevail.”

Discussion. Denial is a major mechanism at work on many councils. On the one hand, councilors want a professional relationship; on the other hand, they want to be personally comfortable. To some, admitting conflicts appear akin to admitting a weakness or fatal flaw. When denial gets out of control, the result often is unconscious or bizarre actions taken against other councilmembers or the manager.

Assignment of responsibility for council personality conflictions is mostly a doublebind or a lose-lose proposition. Councils express little enthusiasm for dealing with personal conflicts and assign this task to the manager. Resolution of conflicts and prevention should become regular parts of annual retreats and discussions.

#4 I really want to choose my own manager.

Theme. Trust will be more easily given if the council as a whole selects its own manager. Commitment of new members to a current manager cannot be expected to be solid unless some buy-in is made by the whole council.

Many election platforms have “Change the managers” or “Change the administration” as focal issues. This unsettled attitude must be closely examined as budgets shrink and administrators come under scrutiny.

Comments by council.

• “I was elected to have my approach put into action. The manager must recognize and trust this direction.”
• “I would definitely need to hire my own manager. AS mayor, I deserve that privilege.”
• “Secretly, most councilmembers feel at time (that) they could manage the local government better than the manager. This (seems) particularly true when (they allow) poor performance by certain department heads.”
• “In politics, trust is always changing. I think managers should understand it’s not personal.”
• “The manager I cote to fire was a great manager, but nor for this new council. I wanted to get the total commitment of the manager with my new colleagues. That’s all, really.”
• “Managers shouldn’t stay too long because they’ll gain more power and influence than the elected council. Besides, some of our council aren’t too swift.”
• “Managers shouldn’t have any more sense of security in their job than we do as council. It’s a dynamic balance that makes us work.”
• “My programs didn’t get though; I wasn’t able to buck the system. The only power remaining was to facilitate a change in manager.”

Discussion. Most councilmembers want to take part in selection their managers. Some legislators have a strong need to do the managing themselves, and the next best solution is to do the hiring. New members generally want to place their own approval on the manager, and developing that strategy is essential. Trust in the manager generally appears transient in hard economic times. The greatest fear that new councilmembers have is that manipulation or control by the manager

#5 It is a real pain to evaluate the manager. We often have to look at ourselves.

Theme. Councils do not enjoy or often complete thoughtful, clear evaluations of their managers. The best managers require that council conduct a professional and thorough evaluation. Councilors need guidance and standard to take them through the evaluation process.

Comments by Council.

• “Our evaluations are shams. If we (were) honest, retribution would instantaneous.”
• “Evaluations reveal how much we operate in a vacuum, without a plan, and from crisis to crisis. (Evaluations are) necessary every couple of years.”
• “I’m uncomfortable doing it and often can’t remember what was dine during the year or what evaluation was made last year.”
• “Evaluations are best done quickly and after everyone is tired, so that they will tell the truth or keep quiet to get the meeting over.”
• “Evaluations always bring up salary, which is even more uncomfortable than the performance evaluation itself. (Managers should) just take what staff gets.”
• “We all know how he’s doing. If there is a problem, we can talk.”
• “I think our managers should provide us (with) objective options so that the process works comfortably and is a part of our contract with the manager.”
• “There ought to be a city ordinance requiring in-depth evaluations and goals for clerks, managers, and attorneys – in fact, all appointees of council.”
• “I don’t like (evaluations). My colleagues are too nice (and) don’t tell it straight.”
• “Evaluations should be the foundation for the manager-council trust relationship. Maybe that explains why we don’t do it.”

Discussion. Many manager evaluations are not conducted because of lack of experience in a potentially confrontational and personal process. Sometimes, evaluation is not conducted because the council lacks goals and objectives for themselves or the manager. The evaluation process is seen as difficult, so it is easy to procrastinate or slide by it. But the facilitated evaluation process provides an excellent mechanism for straight talk, a review of goals and assignments, and a chance for personal agendas to surface. Evaluations should reflect the whole year, not just last month or the latest issues. A whole range of responsibilities needs evaluation and prioritization for the manager. Honest and candid evaluations create a trust basis, and complete evaluations can assure improved communications of personal agendas, promises, and agreements.

#6 It is the manager’s job to present issues so that I do not lose face.

Theme. Some dynamic issues (raising taxes or cutting services) are seen as lost-lose propositions for councilmembers, with no good options. Councilmembers expect managers to position some of those items as “no-choice decisions.” The basis for this desire is the need to avoid antagonism or rejection by voter supporters and friends. A councilmember’s loss of face will never be forgotten if it is seen as avoidable.

Comments by Council.

• “My manager is hired to take the hear from the public. It’s important that we are left in a good place with citizens.”
• “Our job is already impossible. There’s a limit to how much blame we can stand from the public.”
• “The emotional tone last night was so tense. (The manager) could have positioned our solution so that members weren’t fighting the crowd.”
• “I never worry about tough decisions or losing face. That’s why I ran for council. But that staff better explain it right.”
• “That vote makes me look like I hate staff. I feel discredited when I’ve actually been their supporter.”
• “Managers have all day to position issues, work with staff, and prevent confrontations. This is when I start thinking (about) change.”
• “If the manager differs in opinion during a meeting, he needs to share his opinions carefully. It’s embarrassing enough working with the present cast on the council.”

Discussion. Many councilmembers are not prepared to be up front on some issues and are intimidated by the consequences of some votes. Humiliation can be perceived, manufactured, or imagined. In the public fishbowl, the voters have a deadly memory for the manager. While positioning is important, candid discussions in public can easily cause the thin-skinned to feel assaulted.

The expectation of the manager’s responsibility to position issues is often realistic, once the discussion or fireworks have begun. Mayors and mangers should have their plans for coordination and strategy prepared for this assumption.

#7 It is the manager’s job to handle maverick councilmembers.

Theme. Often, controversial or maverick thinkers lead councils into discussion, confrontations, or conflicts that seem unproductive, subverting the team effort and rendering the decision-making process dysfunctional. Many councils wish the manager would take those mavericks out behind the woodshed for a talk.

Comments by council

• “The hypocrisy and dishonesty of our colleague keeps this council in a state of dysfunction and rumors. It’s all to try to control all of us with one vote. We can’t do anything. We agree: it’s the manager’s problem.”
• “The manager should keep us unformed of the ‘the turkey’s’ plans. We don’t like surprises.”
• “Our personal differences among councilmembers simply means that the manager has to manage behind the scenes. I expect him to.”
• (maverick:) “I see the manager as part of this goofy collection of self-serving politicians. He will not control me the way he does the others.”
• (maverick:) “(Because I’m) the only independent thinker and voter on this council, the manager should recognize my unique role.”
• “That’s why the manager is paid top dollar.”

Discussion. Conflict-avoiding councils often can be manipulated or intimidated by maverick or outspoken members. The role of disciplinarian or “parent” often is assigned to the manager to ease the atmosphere. Often, however, council dysfunction can not be managed by managers, and the expectation may result in negative, no-win assignments or requests.

This article was originally published in Public Management Magazine.

CUEMF will host their annual fall conference this year in Napa, CA. As more information becomes available we will share it with you here.

Are you and your family feeling the pressures of the chaotic and changing environment in the management field? Is the resulting stress hindering your ability to maintain a balanced family or personal life?

From top executives to front-line employees, everyone is feeling challenged to cope in this turbulent climate. Extensive changes in our work environment since 1985 have required revising how we schedule and conduct our lives. With the increasing speed of decision making and communications decision makers have had to accelerate their process tenfold.

Work routines have been redefined through the extension of outsourcing and out-tasking and the increase in competition, personal responsibilities, and the “just-in-time” pace of transactions. It is this environment of change that has begun to create a crisis-oriented lifestyle that negatively affects how we prioritize our daily schedules. Public managers can feel this crisis even more because of the need to keep balance and stability in their personal and professional lives.

The need for relief becomes more important as managers find themselves at the vortex of change and struggling to maintain the integrity of their customer’s work environments while in the midst of a business revolution. Managers face unique problems in providing customers with service through all hours of the day. Many people in the profession have assumed a role similar to that of an emergency room doctor, dealing with triaging all the problems of customers, from financial crises to lost FedEx packages. The challenge of maintaining quality, or “prime,” time for managers and their families without compromising service is intense. Clearly, if you want a personal life in these times, you must reinvent your schedule.

As a management psychologist working to help executives through the perils of personal change management, I recommend seven basic principles. These seven tenets require a personal appraisal of life, both at work and at home, and call for setting aside time, often with a professional guide, to prioritize and think through to completion those areas of most distress.

The principles have arisen out of the experiences and comments of management professionals who have successfully begun the transition to a balanced life by reinventing their schedules.

Principal 1. Set personal goals. “Pressure can cause you to lower you standards. Don’t give in; you can’t jeopardize your values and reputation.” – City Manager, Florida.

If you don’t know where you’re going, chances are you won’t get anywhere. In that case, any old time management book can help you. In this frenetic time, however, placing personal and family goals first can only be achieved with advance planning and a definite model. Set your personal goals, and then prioritize them. A good place to start with personal goal setting is with a desk audit, both at home and at the office.

This process will provide a quick overview of everything currently affecting the use of your time and will serve as an immediate baseline from which to begin your personal goal-setting effort. To begin, list every communication, plan, phone message, request and invitation crossing your desk .
Planning that has been completed and then acted upon fosters a more positive attitude. Planning and merging personal priorities with work priorities offers you choices for how you spend your “prime” time. It is amazing that so many managers are too busy to make formal decisions about how they schedule their lives. Don’t let others dictate your family and personal plan; setting personal goals is the crucial first step in the process of reinvention your schedule.

Principle 2. Develop positive habits. Generating positive habits and adding positive activities can lead the busy person into avenues of great satisfaction and renewal. A love of skiing can lead to adventures with new friends in exciting locations. Reading three books off the bestseller list can be inspiring, especially if you are adventurous and open-minded. Tennis and golf can be more enjoyable if you try new locations, partners, or instructors.

Setting new short-term goals can lead to more positive and varied habits, and developing positive habits will create an attitude that supports healthy balance and reinforces personal growth. Positive addiction can spell relief for many of us without having to think about it.

Principle 3. Encourage family support and involvement. “This business could easily be a 24-hour-a-day job. You must physically get away from it for perspective.” –Fired City Manager, California.

People need nurturing and a sense of belonging as never before. We all want personal stability in a time of increasing uncertainty and change. The involvement of family in our planning eliminates obstacles, reduces crises, and positively reinforces a personal direction. Real family planning occurs when family members dream and plan realistically about their future, recognizing the pleasures of living together. Many families set aside time for regular monthly sessions or “council meetings” so each member may individually express his or her wants and needs and the family can make plans accordingly.

While sharpening planning skills is beneficial, scheduling events with extended family and friends as well as immediate family often will reinforce a sense of well-being in the most chaotic life. If you find yourself dreading some planned family event, it is usually because you did not provide adequate time for your own personal needs. “Extended family” can include old friends who contribute positive influences and attitudes to your life. They like you just the way you are and can communicate this approval every time they are around. Both family and friends are support networks that nurture a sense of well-being and are essential to a balanced life.

Principle 4. Plan for daily personal quiet time. “Our litigation society causes stress because we spend much time avoiding problems.” Police Chief, Maryland.
Daily personal quiet time is a requirement in our world. Personal quiet time involves shutting out pressures and, in a quiet pace where you can be alone, asking yourself key questions to help determine the importance of activities and events that demand your time and attention. You might ask, “What is the best use of my time? Will something still matter tomorrow?” And “Who benefits from my doing this particular task?” Interpreting and understanding your thoughts and feelings requires time and patience. Planning daily personal quiet time will greatly increase your ability to identify the priorities in your life.

Principle 5. Begin a personal fitness program. Personal fitness activities must be a part of every schedule, for people cannot achieve balanced lives while neglecting their bodies. An accumulation of pressure and tension in the shoulders and lower back should signal a need for meditation, yoga, or other regular exercise.
A positive and active fitness program should be varied and entertaining. If it bores you, it may become an obstacle to personal achievement and health. Varieties of exercise and regularity of effort are the keys to a successful fitness regimen.

Principle 6. Create a controlled financial plan. “Can’t do a five-year plan anymore. The management market is too volatile and dynamic.” – City Manager, Ohio.

Devising a controlled financial plan and adhering to it will prevent reactive and crisis spending and promote balanced living. It is easy to justify impulsive spending in a crisis-oriented life. Every family will benefit from a budget and an agreement on family spending priorities, which will need to include individual requirements, entertainment, personal needs, and savings. The discipline required to follow a family financial plan is both an individual commitment and a challenge to leading a balanced life.

Principle 7. Practice kindness and openness. Many old sayings demonstrate the value of giving of ourselves, but few people have seen kindness as a way of maintaining a healthy balance within their own lives. Acknowledging and attending to other’s needs, however, requires personal organization and an openness to different points of view. Personal balance has much to do with being receptive to other people’s thoughts, ideas, and perspectives.

Though kindness and openness often are difficult to practice, the benefits are great and extremely rewarding. How you manage the chaos in your life and the crises in other’s will dictate how you spend your prime time. Reinventing your schedule to create a more balanced life will require active use of these seven principles. Look at your calendar immediately, and include all seven now.

Originally published in PM Magazine in January, 1999, this article has been updated for publication on the Mathis Group website in June of 2011.

In the public sector, shared services, also known as centralized or consolidated services, allow cities and special districts to save much needed resources while providing improved and streamlined functionality to city residents. However, when they join forces with these goals in mind, it should be remembered that a successful service overhaul requires more than a change of letterhead.

Effective service sharing is different than simple consolidation. The phenomenon of disappointing shared service center results has been seen for the past 20 years in both the private and public sector. Dr. Bill has been working throughout California with cities and water districts to assist in their working together to create solutions in shared services.

Successful Shared Services

Consolidating functions is only the first step in an effective shared services effort. A true shared services restructuring includes in-depth communication of objectives and shared accountability between internal service providers, other employees, and end users. Instead of focusing exclusively on cutting costs through economies of scale, it works to improve functionality and efficiency as an ongoing endeavor requiring regular maintenance.

As cities and districts facing incredible financial pressure seek more and more ways to save, some are asking how much is too much. What services should be maintained as distinct and which can be better managed on a regional basis?

Similar growing pains (or rather, shrinking pains) can be encountered when consolidation is attempted by cities with differing union policies. Should a unionized cities and right-to-work city merge, officials must agree on which standard will prevail. A right-to-work city that suddenly unionizes will be faced with unhappy employers who may decide to move their businesses elsewhere. All are forced to weigh the savings of shared services with the possible loss of significant tax revenue.

Finding Guidance

Shared service efforts range from stressful to successful. The trick is to plan carefully and assume nothing. Internal shared service centers must be run as competitive service businesses. Consider employee commitment, customer satisfaction and the inherent link between the two.

Shared services are not just a means for getting by in challenging economic times. They are, in our ever-shrinking world, the wave of the future. Cities/Districts that embrace this evolution and consolidate in a thoughtful manner will enjoy fiscal savings along with the increased satisfaction of their constituents – as well as working better with each other in their community.

Dr. Bill Mathis has a history of working with water utilities to enhance team cohesion and develop organizational goals and objectives.