Senior Moments

”Seniors Moments”  is a new advice column where the innocent and the guilty shall remain nameless.  Send your real or imagined, funny or tragic, but always educational problems to the Seniors team, composed of anonymous ICMA Senior Advisors (who shall also remain nameless to protect their reputations ).

Dear Seniors,

I have a problem that we all face on a regular basis.  And I think I know the book answer to the question, but struggle with what to do in real life.  It is election season, and of course, there is a candidate (or current elected) that likes to explain why they are running by throwing others “under the bus.”  While I know that as a manager, I should keep my chin up and my mouth shut about the personal attacks, my question is regarding the incorrect information.  What do you do when there are lies that are being told in the campaign, and being used to cudgel the governing body or staff?  Do you confront the misinformation in some way?  How do you set the record straight?  I feel like the book answer is to keep quiet and let things play out, but in the meantime, staff has hurt feelings and I don’t want them to feel like I don’t care.

Sincerely,

I wish the truth would hurry up and get here

________________________________________

Dear Wishful,

A wise man, either Mark Twain or Winston Churchill, maybe both, once said, "A lie makes its half-way around the world before the truth gets its shoes laced up."  And that was before the Internet and social media!  You may be fighting a losing battle, but it is an honorable effort.  

Since election season will have passed by the time that this response is published, we will only briefly address that.  Your instinct to stay out of the fray is a good one.  Some managers are more proactive in election season and offer to meet with candidates and explain operations and answer questions.  Making the offer is about the most that you can do. Trying to counter false statements during election season could be seen as taking sides and you have better things to do.  That said, you should be responsive to inquiries from interested citizens or governing body members asking, "Is that true?" or, "Can you explain that?"  You may just have to wait for, or prompt, someone to ask.  Don't let staff's feelings drive you into doing something rash.  Let staff know that you are aware of the misstatement and that you will address it at the appropriate time, after the election.  This could be a learning moment for staff to have a better understanding of what the manager has to deal with.  

Of greater concern is the prevalence of false statements that seems to be a standard practice of an increasing number of individuals.  It is appropriate to respond to public falsehoods with the truth.  Some of us used to do that during public hearings, only to correct factual misstatements, not to counter the speaker's position.  Similarly, politely and diplomatically clarifying an elected official's public misstatement is something that you may have to learn to do.  An additional approach may be to address false statements in a brief memo, to all members of the governing body, that could also provide some original documentation on the issue, "as a reminder."  It's not a good idea to call an elected official a "liar," and you shouldn't assume to know their motivation.  They may just not remember and have what is known as "creative recollection."  Just try to correct them as gently as possible.  Other governing body members can help you with this by prompting a response from you, again, so that you are not seen as taking sides.  

In all of these situations, you need to be seen as a bastion of integrity.  Everyone needs to believe that you always speak the truth.  Trust in his or her word is the most important attribute that the manager has.  We know of one manager who would pledge to every newly elected official, with a copy to the incumbents, that they would never lie to them.  That goes for staff as well.  After all, somebody needs to be the adult in the room and set the example of truthfulness and integrity.  

Good luck.

The Seniors

p.s. As always, if this response seems lacking or raises further questions, feel free to reach out and contact a Senior Advisor directly. We are here to assist you navigate your local government management career and enjoy paying back the support that helped us through our careers.

The full list of Senior Advisors with contact information is available here.