There is an extremely high probability that at some point in your career, you will have a conflict of interest. Initially your reaction to that premise might be to reject it outright. After all, as a professional with a commitment to high ethical standards, you would never put yourself in a position where someone would question whose interests you are serving. You certainly would never engage in self-dealing.

But conflicts of interest don’t always arise by intentional acts. In its simplest form and by its very definition, a conflict of interest pops up when your personal interests or loyalties intersect with your professional obligations. That conflict can and often does present itself in the ordinary course of living your life. Think about it. Unless you build a truly impenetrable firewall between your life and work (which is virtually impossible for anyone working in local government), your personal life will overlap with your professional obligations at some point. And when it does, you need to be alert to it and take the appropriate steps to resolve the conflict.

Beyond the unexpected conflicts that arise from your personal life are two other sources of conflicts: taking on a role related to your professional position and intentionally engaging in activity that creates a conflict. Here are examples in these three spheres and advice for reconciling the conflict.

The Unexpected Personal Conflict

Examples of the ways in which your personal life could unexpectedly cross over into your work world are too varied and too voluminous cover. For one manager, the intersection was syrup. A personal hobby harvesting syrup from his backyard raised a conflict-of-interest question in his mind when an investor arrived with a proposal to grow syrup into a local and regional industry. Even though the manager’s harvest was very small and not sold commercially, he stopped to reflect whether he would have a conflict of interest here in advancing this economic effort. Key to the determination that this was not a conflict of interest in fact or appearance was that his venture was purely personal. The output was shared with friends, and he had zero interest in ever going commercial. Absent personal or financial benefit, his advocacy for syrup as a growth industry for his city did not present a conflict of interest.

In all instances when the personal unexpectedly intersects with professional it is wise to pause to consider whether because of your role, one of the following will apply:

• You will be obligated to take some official action related to this conflict.
• You will have the potential to gain personally or financially.
• You will face the appearance from others that you can’t be impartial or objective.

If any of these factors are present, then consider a workable strategy that extricates you from the conflict.

Unintentional Professional Conflicts

There are instances where a professional, who is clearly in their lane and may have governing body cover, finds themselves embroiled in a conflict of interest. Consider the case of the city manager who served as the executive director of the city’s redevelopment authority. While an independent agency, it was created by the city and receives some funding from the city. The two organizations certainly have shared and mutual interest. Appointing the manager to serve in this dual role was intended to foster cooperation between the two agencies. But this arrangement placed the manager in the difficult position of serving two governing bodies. When faced with opposing positions on an issue, to whom does this city manager owe their loyalty? How does the public know whose interests are being promulgated by a manager serving in this dual role? To compound matters, out of concern for the financial well-being of the redevelopment authority, the manager decided to move funds from the city over to the authority. Even operating from a position of good intent, this action was criticized by the city council who did not regard it as in the city’s best interest.

The issue of whose interests are being served is a bit more challenging and nuanced when an individual is appointed to serve on a regional body. In that capacity, they are appointed as the local government’s representative with the expectation to serve the interests of their community in the context of also serving the region’s needs. At times local interests may take a backseat to regional interests. When that happens, the representative would be smart to keep their governing body up to speed and to take direction from them.

Intentional and Unwise Professional Conflicts

These run the gamut from having a personal relationship with a subordinate staff member to directing staff to hire a relative to investing in a business opportunity in the community where you work. The first creates an enormous liability for the organization and disrupts the culture. The latter is a clear violation of the principle that a public official should not leverage their office or position for personal gain. To avoid self-inflicted harm, review the guidelines in the Code of Ethics on personal relationships, investments, private employment, giving policy advice, advocating for your personal cause, and confidential information, just to name a few.

Murky Ground

In between unforeseen conflicts and intentional self-dealing lies what can be murky territory. As in many professions, it’s not uncommon to use the talent and expertise gained in a career to teach or work as a consultant. If you are still a practitioner, it is a conflict of interest to serve as a consultant to your organization, represent an entity appearing in an official capacity before your organization, or work behind the scenes for an entity that involves your employer. Your clients should be far removed from your current role. Once you have entered the “encore” stage and no longer work for a local government, you have more leeway to engage so long as you show respect for the current manager and don’t overstep your relationship with your former colleagues.

Guiding Principles

Best to frame the issue of conflicts of interest in terms of your integrity and credibility. As you navigate and resolve a conflict, will anyone from the outside looking in question  whose interests you were serving? Relating back to Tenet 3 and the commitment to integrity, is your personal and professional conduct building trust? From the perspective of Tenet 12, are you respecting and advancing the principle that holding a public office or position is a public trust?

Be alert to the conflicts of interest that may come your way. Once in your path, discern whether it is a conflict of interest in fact or appearance, will disclosure cure the conflict, or do you need to disengage?

MARTHA PEREGO, ICMA-CM, is director of member services and ethics director, ICMA, Washington, D.C. (mperego@icma.org).