Management and leadership must go hand-in-hand for a local government manager to be truly effective. Yet, management doesn’t automatically develop into leadership. In my opinion, and as a former manager, I believe people are not born leaders. It is a skill that is learned and takes continuous effort to sustain.

Football coach Urban Meyer led both Ohio State University and the University of Florida to national championships. He is one of only two coaches to win a national championship at two different universities. He wrote the book Beyond the Line, which focuses on leadership in both coaching and life.

Meyer is direct about what makes a leader and the importance of that status. He writes that “Leadership is not about you. It’s about making other people better. It’s about the trust you have earned rather than earned through authority you’ve been granted. You must earn the right for other people to follow you.” This is often true about local government leadership and management as well.

A Strong Foundation

Local government management begins with doing the fundamentals—the basics—well. Managers realize that most residents don’t care or pay attention to the extensive or technical operations of their local governments that can involve planning, budgeting, and other management responsibilities. That is, until it affects them directly or their neighborhoods. They are busy and more concerned about work and taking care of their families.

They expect streets to be paved and cleared of snow and debris and trash to be picked up on time. Public safety is and always will be their paramount concern. They want to feel safe and expect a quick response to medical or other emergencies.

As President Teddy Roosevelt put it best: “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

In the course of making decisions, mistakes are inevitable. It’s important that we acknowledge those mistakes, correct them, and then move on.

Learning about Leadership

Over the years, I have read books and articles on development and growth in leadership skills and have been most influenced by the writings of author Tom Roberts, who has worked extensively with successful corporations. He developed several premises about leadership:

Vision is the latest emphasis that is important to have for yourself and your organization; however, vision without implementation becomes meaningless. Such an approach causes confusion for employees, department and division managers, and elected officials. It appears annually in budgets, websites, and sometimes just sits on the shelf. Sustainable excellence comes from employing great managers who see that daily work is done in a complete and timely fashion.

Great managers create and guide the employees who power an organization. Trust them and let them do their jobs. General Patton did it that way, following his philosophy that you should tell people what you want done and let them decide how to do it. Managers can often be pleasantly surprised at the outcome and ingenuity used by staff in their work.

Leaders succeed through logistics and not doing the technical work. They ensure that the budget finances a project, needed equipment is provided, and then they support the employees who know how to get the job done.

This reminds me of snow removal when I was a manager. My community was constantly criticized for the poor job that was done clearing streets during snowstorms. The employees knew how to do it well, but the equipment was not adequate and was always breaking down.

It took years to acquire and repair the equipment that was needed. After that, snow removal was praised, and employees were proud of it. The public works director and the skilled operators laid out a revised route system, then asked what I expected.

We agreed that handling a light snow would take two to three hours to complete. When plowing was necessary, maybe four to five hours to complete.

That was it. That was our goal, and the standard we tried to meet. They knew how to do it best—not me. We were partners. Councilmembers appreciated it since they could tell their constituents when to expect the service.

When leaders operate with unlimited energy, the organization becomes energetic and creative. We create enthusiasm so all become motivated.

Leaders embrace technology, which is especially crucial in today’s world. Things are moving quicker than ever, and no one wants to be left behind. Managers know the importance of technology. They don’t necessarily need to be an expert in this field but they can hire knowledgeable people. Respect the generations who are more accustomed to using technology and acknowledge their skills.

Leaders are expected to surround themselves with people who are smarter than they. You are expected to recruit and hire qualified employees. They make you and the local government look great. Don’t worry about losing your management position.

You know the elected officials of your community better than anyone in your organization and spend considerable time with them. And they believe in you. They showed their confidence when they hired you.

We all have to be careful not to revel in our own successes. Sometimes the press gets praiseworthy and builds up our ego. Such confidence leads to a sense of infallibility. As observed by motivational speaker Jules Ormont: “Make yourself indispensable and you’ll be moved up. Act as if you’re indispensable and you’ll be moved out.” We probably all know managers who saw their careers change or end that way.

Trust your instincts. Managers can be forced to operate or make decisions in the “gray area.” Things can change quickly as council compositions change, and, unlike engineering or mathematics, there sometimes is no absolute correct answer.

Direction isn’t always definitive or clear. A number of great leaders throughout time have relied on their instincts and made good decisions in the end.

Managers know when it’s time to leave. We can’t afford to retire on the job, and we will know it is time to do so when we think an idea won’t work before it is tried. We become the status quo. Long-serving managers sometimes find themselves going from offense to defense. Maybe because they made the change or improvement and don’t want it to change.

We need to remember that leadership is not a perfect art. It is learned over time and needs to be improved over time. Make decisions, learn to accept mistakes, and keep working to become better. This takes commitment, courage, and patience.