Tim’s Thoughts January 2023
All Things New
Happy New Year. It is hard to believe that it is 2023 already. I have always loved the new year however I tend to stay away from new year’s resolutions simply because I am never good in keeping them. Although the opportunity to start anew and fresh is exciting and invigorating, for many of us, January presents a time in which you have newly-elected officials, all with new ideas and thoughts about what they are to accomplish during their term. Many may have run campaigns on specific issues or promised to make major changes to what they perceive as being broken about our government. This can be a challenging time as the transition to the new governing body progresses. This time also provides us, as Local Government Managers, a great opportunity to lead and guide newly-elected officials so that success can be achieved by the elected official and the manager together. Most localities have a standard board transition training that is designed to bring newly elected officials up to speed and to let them know all of the many requirements of serving as an elected official. As I have worked through these transitions, I have found a few basic principles that are outside of the formal training to be particularly helpful in making these transitions.
1. Help the newly-elected member to understand the difference between the Board and the Board member.
There is a significant difference between what individual board members do and what the governing body itself does. Different members bring different talents and backgrounds; however, it is together that they govern. It is important to understand and to have the newly elected official understand this important difference.
2. Build relationships.
Take the time to do a little homework on newly-elected members to gain insight into what motivates them, positively and negatively, and what topics are most important to them. Get to know them on a more personal level.
3. Meet with new members individually.
Meet personally with each new member outside of the formal board transition training to start to build an authentic relationship one-on-one.
4. Say thank you.
The men and women serving on governing boards often do so out of a sense of duty or desire to give back to their communities. Making a point to show appreciation for their service and commitment often gets overlooked but is important as the role that they have taken on is significant.
5. Be yourself.
Be authentic and true to yourself even if newly-elected members try to pull you in a certain way.
As many of you work through these transitions over the next month, I am hopeful that these five suggestions will be helpful to you. Be sure to have some fun during the process and remember a fresh start is always good.
Speaking of a fresh start and new opportunities for the new year, there is no better place to get started than the upcoming winter conference February 15-17 in Harrisonburg. Conference co-chairs Angela Lawrence, Richard Douglas, and PDC chair India Adams-Jacobs have worked hard to put together a jam-packed agenda with something for everyone to get excited about. Please join me and your other fellow managers at this great conference.
I would like to welcome new members:
Melissa Coates, Assistant Town Manager, Town of Warsaw
Michael Bender, County Administrator, County of Bath
Dana Jones, Health & Human Services Director, City of Falls Church