“I don’t know what to do about my city manager.  He just doesn’t get it.”
“My manager leads the council around by the nose.  Just who does he think is in charge here?”
“My manager has his own agenda and he insists on pursuing it in spite of what council wants.”

Such are the laments of council members and mayors I’ve run into at gatherings of elected officials.  In fact, next to complaints about fellow council members, managers are the target of choice!

The relationship between a manager and the council is a critical factor in a community’s ability to meet the needs of its citizens.  Communities with a council that works well together and collaborates with the city staff as a team have the ability to move forward, to be innovative, to anticipate trends and respond accordingly and to serve their citizens well.  In communities where the relationship between council and the manager is dysfunctional, it is easy to get bogged down in the negativity and fail the community.

The question is how to create and maintain these relationships so that the community works as it should. What are the elements of a positive relationship?  The first, and perhaps most important, is trust.  However, trust can only be developed over time through honest, open, consistent communication, respect and experience.  A positive relationship has shared, understood and agreed upon roles, expectations and goals.  Additionally, agreed upon ways of working together, or “ground rules” can assist in developing a positive relationship.  Finally, the desire to work together collaboratively, in partnership must exist.  If either the manager or the council doesn’t want to be part of a team, it will never happen.

How does one get from here to there? 

A few suggestions:
• Have regular opportunities to discuss what is most important (as opposed to what is most urgent).  Take the opportunity to understand and agree upon a common vision of the community’s future.  What are the goals?  What are our roles in achieving this vision?  How will we work together and support each other in pursuit of these goals?

• Develop clear and agreed upon expectations — council’s expectations of staff, and staff’s expectations of the council.

• Support each other.  This means that councils give public praise and thanks when appropriate, and private criticism.  Staff does what they can to make the council look good, and give each other a “heads up” when appropriate.

• Understand and appreciate each other’s roles and perspectives.  Council members should help staff understand where they are coming from and where they want to go.  Council members should also appreciate the education, experience, and expertise of their staff.  Staff should appreciate council  members as representatives of those whom they serve and remember that they are the “boss”, even if there is disagreement.

• Work to solve problems collaboratively.  As part time legislators we often do not have the technical expertise to make decisions on our own.  Working together benefits the community.

• Establish “ground rules” — agreed upon ways of working together.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate.  Fairly, consistently and often.

There are no secret formulas or guaranteed remedies to bring about a positive relationship between council and the manager, but with a commitment to work together, mutually respect each other and effective communication, you are well on your way.

Kathie Novak is the current mayor of Northglenn, CO and serves on the NLC Board of Directors.  She is currently a special member of the graduate faculty for the Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Colorado at Denver.  Mayor Novak consults in the areas of process facilitation, leadership development, management training, team building and retreat facilitation. 

For more information you may contact Kathie Novak, Mayor of Northglenn, CO at 303.450.8736 or by email at mayor@northglenn.org.