The Golden Nugget July 2024
For those of you I’ve not yet met, I’m Debbie Kendall, Town Manager for Gordonsville, and I’m honored to serve VLGMA as its president for the next year.
Those who know me know that I’m a quiet person, especially in meetings. I usually don’t have a lot to say until everyone else has had a chance to speak. This comes naturally, apparently. I’m an ISFP according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test I took as part of the Virginia Women’s Municipal Leadership Institute this past spring, and taking in all perspectives and weighing all aspects before making decisions or offering opinions is what ISFP’s do (much to the chagrin of my ENTJ buddies—you know who you are!). Someone once told me that my last minute thoughts were like a golden nugget. I like it.
Over the next twelve months, I’ll be sharing various thoughts and ideas about working in local government, how we should take care of ourselves (and each other!), our organizations, and our communities. Sound familiar? Anyway, read on for this month’s Golden Nugget.
This year’s summer conference in Virginia Beach was fantastic, and a great opportunity to get away and network. Many thanks to conference co-chairs Melissa Rollins (Sussex County) and Carl Rush (Loudoun County), as well as PDC Chair Danny Davis (Middleburg), for putting together a great program called “Thriving Together – Nurturing Health and Wellness Across Virginia Communities”. Those of us who were fortunate enough to attend heard great presentations about leadership excellence, managing adversity, as well as stories of resilience—both personal and organizational. Former Governor Wilder provided a keynote address that was both enlightening and entertaining. There were several takeaways I noted that I’d like to share with everyone here. Many thanks to all the presenters who shared these important ideas with us.
Remember that in order to take care of our organizations and our communities, we first have to take care of ourselves.
Be vulnerable. That’s the first step to making important emotional connections, and emotional connections are necessary for building good relationships.
The key to success is communication.
Laugh hard. Learn more. Lead well.
Be fearlessly authentic.
Find your swim buddy, and never leave anyone behind.
Inhale gratitude, exhale fear.
When you think you’re having a bad day, reflect back on the incredible stories we heard this week from our colleagues who have overcome seemingly insurmountable circumstances, and let their resilience be an inspiration to get you through.
Don’t reach across the aisle—eliminate the aisle.
We have to deal with this anyway, why don’t we just get good at it? (figure out what this is for your community)
Maternal and infant health is foundational to the health of our communities. Is your community in a maternal health desert? If it is, start the conversation today about how to improve these services in your community.
I attended my first VLGMA conference nine years ago. As a member of VLGMA, never in my career have I felt so personally and professionally supported. Some of my most meaningful friendships are because of my involvement with this organization. Everyone in our profession should have the same benefit of that support. Sometimes they are hesitant to reach out, so we need to reach out to them first, and find out how we can best support them. Do you know someone who’s not a member, but could be? Invite them to get involved.
Debbie Kendall