Editors Note: This is the second of three blog posts based on the First-Time Administrators Handbook. The first blog post was First-Time Administrators: Six Tips for Researching a New Community. 

by Niles Anderegg, research and content development associate, ICMA 

Many first-time administrators transition from assistant to chief administrative officer (CAO) of a community. For this reason, the First-Time Administrator's Handbook devotes a section to dealing with this transition. Here are tips from the handbook to help make this transition as successful as possible:

1. Why go for the CAO position?

One of the first questions many assistants have is if they should apply for the CAO position. This can come from assistants feeling they aren't ready to take on the big job. Yet it is important to remember that assistants already have the necessary knowledge as well as experience with key challenges of the position and familiarity with community stakeholders that make them uniquely situated to step up when the CAO position becomes available.

2. What to do as an interim manager?

For some assistants, their first experience as CAO comes as an interim manager. This interim period can be important not just for elected officials to see an individual at work but also for the assistant to get used to the role of CAO. One key point is to maintain a business-as-usual posture during the interim period. As elected officials are focusing on finding a new manager, they don't want to also have to deal with other organizational changes. This interim period is a good time to evaluate the organization and staff so that if you do become the CAO, you can be ready to make needed changes and to tackle pressing challenges.

3. How to interview with elected officials?

If you do decide to pursue the CAO position, it is important that you treat the interview with the governing body as if you were coming in from outside. Make sure you have done plenty of research on the issues facing your community and at the same time, understand that elected officials are going to expect more detailed answers from you since you have more first-hand knowledge of the community than an outside candidate. The interview also serves as an opportunity to distinguish yourself from the previous manager.   

4. What to do once you get the job?

Once you have accepted the position of CAO, there are a few things to do to complete the transition. These include taking your time to make changes. You don't want to change things just to prove you are your own person (although it is important to be your own person). The changes you make need to be carefully considered and done in such a way as to help staff adjust to a new way of doing things. Another thing to consider when starting out in the CAO position is setting out a list of organizational goals and objectives that you can report on to elected officials. This will allow the council to measure your progress and at the same time enable you to get feedback from the council before your first performance review. 

These are just a few of the tips in the First-Time Administrators Handbook. Find out more by downloading it! And if you are coming to the 2018 ICMA Annual Conference, check out the article Preparing for Your Role as a First-Time Administrator on the sessions available for first-time administrators.   

Related Content

An ICMA Annual Conference Event Created for Assistants. This 2018 article details the assistants exchange taking place at the 2018 ICMA Annual Conference. 

We're in This Together: Managers and Assistants in Powerful Partnerships. This article from 2002 looks at how managers and assistants can work together to create successful partnerships. 

The Interim (Assistant) City Manager Position. This document from the 2015 annual conference looks at how one community created an interim assistant city manager position and what they learned from that experience.