When I first started brainstorming about the topic I was going to write about, I came up with the idea of the duality of the assistant chief administrative officer (ACAO) position. Originally, I wanted to take a semi-humorous approach and talk about how you may be in high-level legal strategy meetings, and an hour later, you’re washing dishes in the breakroom because they were piling up.

That contrast felt relatable and, honestly, pretty representative of the role. But something happened while I was writing this—several local issues arose all at once. Naturally, my job came first, and writing this article had to take a backseat. My time and attention quickly shifted toward finding solutions and helping manage the situation at hand. 

At the height of it, I did think to myself, “I am not having a great time right now. How am I supposed to write a fun article about being an ACAO?!” Then it hit me: one of the best characteristics of an ACAO—which, coincidentally, also goes with my original theme—is the ability to pivot.

In local government, pivoting is essential. Things change very quickly. Emergencies happen. Public opinion can flow like the wind. Being able to shift gears in a moment’s notice is crucial to being successful. And it is never more important than at the ACAO level. As an assistant, you’re not the big dawg, but you’re still overseeing much of the organization and operations. Your hands are in everything. 

Do you need to do some research that may affect how money is allocated to project? Yep. Do you need to make sure the meeting room is ready for the next public forum? Yep. Do you need to make sure the TV in the entryway is on the correct setting to have the slide show of announcements running for the public to see? (Even though, let’s be honest, no one is reading them.) This one is a little personal but…yep!

The range of responsibilities for an ACAO is vast. Multiple times a week, I think to myself, “what is this job?!” There is no true way to prepare for this position until you are in it. There was a meme that I wanted to include of an animated father and son looking out over the African sunset with the caption, “Everything the light touches is in your job description,” (but there is a mouse in Florida that has some terrifying lawyers).

When trying to explain the job to family and friends, I often compare it to being an assistant coach. You are still drawing up plays, reinforcing fundamentals, and deliberating about strategy and direction. But you are also making sure the players have all their gear, listening to parents’ concerns, and hearing players’ frustrations. For any team—or any local government—to be successful, it needs someone willing to serve as that conduit between strategy and day-to-day operations.

This is where the skill of pivoting is essential. There are 100 things happening in every municipality at any given moment. As an effective ACAO, you must be able to set down what you’re doing and switch to a completely new task. As a personal example: It’s a Friday. You have some free time so you’re planning on catching up on the FOIA requests. Then you get word that there is a massive fire happening in a densely populated part of town. Time to put on the emergency management hat and get to work.

Pivoting is not always about emergencies, though. Sometimes, it’s about communication. Another example would be that council is enacting a new program, and you are the person to roll it out to the public. Naturally, there are naysayers. To properly convey the benefits of the program, you will have to learn how to say the same thing in vastly diverse ways so that you can connect to the audience and get their buy-in.

This “duality of responsibility” and the necessity of being able to pivot is not unique to local government. It exists in every sector. We are all bound by technologies, trends, boards, and so on. The key difference is that local government’s “customer base” can be very fickle. 

You are never truly sure what you will walk into day to day, heck even hour to hour. They tend to flow with the breeze and in order to make it all work, you better as well.

ZACHARY NELSON is assistant borough manager of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.