Early in the change effort, Laurrell articulated five principles for successful high-performing local government to guide his own efforts, those of the county's Senior Leadership Team, and all employees. Having a great understanding of the principles and applying these beliefs and strategies over the course of 11 years, Campbell County earned the Virginia Association of Counties' Best Achievement Award in 2010 for its sustained efforts in high performance. Clearly having these five principles in place can drive success over the long run. So, take a note from Campbell County, and think about adding these five principles for successful high-performing local government. 

1. Embrace Change.

Localities working toward high performance will have to undergo fundamental cultural changes to move from technical thinking to adaptive thinking.

2. Achieve Alignment.

In order for high performance to exist, there must be a shared vision between the democratic process, the political environment, and the organizational climate.

3. Develop Your People Assets.

Focus on energizing the organization through developing personal, technical, management, and leadership skills in all members.

4. Adapt Your Organizational Structures.

Enable your jurisdiction to accomplish great things by restructuring to allow people to be more creative and entrepreneurial.

5. Support Experimentation and Renewal.

Understand and commit to the concept of creating a learning environment that enables change and adaptability. Foster out-of-the-box thinking, instill trust, and recognize the importance of failure in building a self-renewing, continuously improving organization.

Information on this post has been adapted from: Building High-Performance Local Governments: Case Studies in Leadership at all Levels.