We were involved in ongoing change and improvement. This is one of the reasons why we were so actively involved in the Alliance, because it was a hot bed of ideas.

To help fashion the vital new future for a downsized and restructured local government, executives
must understand that the psychological impacts of downsizing seriously exacerbate the actual reductions in resources. Employees typically feel victimized, pessimistic, overwhelmed, and resistant to any change or opportunities. An executive cannot manage an organization’s way to a new, more vital future.

Rather, an executive must spend a lot of “face time” with employees, exerting visible, confident, and optimistic leadership and then engaging employees in envisioning a new story and fulfilling

In debunking the mystery it is important to think about why great performance is critical in today’s society. One explanation is the trend of rapidly rising standards. Whether it is reducing your police response rate, ecoming more transparent, or doing more with less, constituents and organizations are faced with the ever ending demand to improve performance.

We like to believe that we can plan for a desired future, but the reality is that we live in a complex world where many things are out of our control. I do not believe in traditional strategic planning as the means to overcome that uncertainty. I instead believe that scenario planning is the best way to realistically develop contingencies for likely futures. We have to be adaptive and organic and this mind set is in part necessary to be innovative.

How much change has the organization undergone during your time as manager?
I would say that it has undergone quite a bit of change in terms of our approach to work, increased personal and professional development of staff and the enhanced quality of our service to the community.

When I joined the City, I found a great organization with wonderful people who were committed to providing excellent service to our residents.