strategic leadership elected local officialsNation's Cities Weekly
January 8, 2001
Strategic Leadership and
Decision Making for Elected
Local Officials
by Carl Neu
The ultimate measure of our success
as elected officials is the degree to which
we use our imaginations, creativity and
political skills to increase the influence of
the future over the present as the basis for
our understanding and actions in realizing
the fullest potential of our communities .
Although most city governments and
elected officials have dealt with the forces
of change, challenge , complexity and
opportunity amazingly well , these forces
are confronting us at an ever-accelerating
pace requiring a dramatic refinement of
our leadership and decision-making
perspectives and processes. Six points to
consider:
1. The issues confronting us require
"big picture -long range" (strategic)
thinking.
The majority of issues affecting the
future of our communities reflect profound
changes in our society, the mind sets of our
constituents, and the time and resource
commitments required to affect positive
changes and outcomes. Leadership is
being able to make things happen that
might not otherwise happen, but to do so
in ways that fulfill what a community
envisions its desired future to be . Without
a comprehensive long-term perspective
(vision), governance falls prey to reacting
to immediate demands, confusing
priorities, and myopic "to do" lists. Vision
and strategic perspectives clarity the
direction in which organizations want to
move and provide the framework for
priority setting , resource allocation, and
sustaining commitment.
2 . Our time , as elected officials, is
precious and limited .
Most municipal elected officials serve aa
part-time "boards of d irectors• who must rely
upon others to carry out their d irection and
implement the ir policies . The typ ical city
council functions as a deliberative decision
making body less than 200 hours annually.
It is important that precious hours be •quality
time" focusing on outcomes desi red and
providing policy guidelines and resources to
achieve those outcomes. Councils can faiJ
easily into the traps of focusing their time
and energy on constituency complaints and
micro-managing if a strategic leadersh ip
perspective is not present.
3. The council-staff partnership functions
best when it is vision driven and goal based.
Goal setting and policy makjng
implementation reflect a continuum of
thought and relationships bonding council
and staff into a partnership of achievement
translating visions into reality, actions into
observable outcomes. The partnership
works best when it focuses on shared vision ,
well-defined goals and priorities, and clear
expectations about results to be produced .
4 . Council provides leadership as a
singular governing body that must speak
with "one voice" -brilliantly.
Strategic leadership by a governing body
comprised of several persons requires
build ing relationships and decision-making
processes that differ from how council
members individually address and resolve
issues . It's more than a matter of what
individual council members th ink; it is about
how they interact and share insights that
yield a collective intelligence reflecting the
will and capacity of the governing body to be
a strateg ic leader capable of speaking with
"one voice".
5 . Strategic decision-making is a
disciplined process combined w ith a desire
to lead well .
Good intentions, high aspirations and a
desire to lead well are translated into
I
productive leadership through d iscipl ined
and rational decision-making processes .
Thinking and acting strategically starts with
vision and follows a progression to
defining critical issues essential to
achieving that vision , setting goals and
priorities, allocating resources, building
performance coalitions , sustaining
commitment, etc.
6 . Citizens expect us to engage their
passions -not just provi de outstanding
publ ic services .
Leadership and good governance are
not just the delivery of extraordinary
customer and public service. Citizens take
service excellence for granted as an
expectation to be fulfilled through excellent
management and technical systems .
Leadership is engaging their passions,
imagination, beliefs , and capacities toward
tackling issues important to them . It is a
dynamic process of awakening and
expanding the best in people and inspiring
them to transform visions into reality,
hopes and intentions into action.
The caliber of leadership we provide
as governing bodies is a preem inent factor
in the success our communities
experience and enjoy . The leadership
must be strategic in its th inking and
decision making, bold in its actions , and
engaging in its ability to bring people
together in a new sense of community that
has a purpose defined in its vision for the
future .
Carl Neu is a Principal of Neu and
Associates in Lakewood, Colorado. Neu will
present a full-day Leadership Training
Institute sponsored workshop, Strategic
Leadership and Decision-Maki ng for Elected
Officials, on Friday, March 9th from 9 :00am
-5:00pm during NLC's Congressional City
Conference in Washington, D . C.