Passing the baton

BY MIKE CONDUFF, ICMA-CM

A consistent approach keeps the governance race on track

At first blush it seemed a bit presumptuous. The term-limited mayor and the council, which included several of her incumbent onthe-ballot councilmembers who all had at least one challenger, were interviewing the two finalist firms for facilitating the annual council retreat and strategic planning session. It was scheduled to be conducted just 45 days after the election.

Since the mayor, for sure, and potentially several of the members on the interview panel would not be at the retreat, it would seem more respectful of the yet-to-be-elected mayor and council to wait until after they were seated to select such a key consultant.

When queried about this, the mayor used a double athletic metaphor that I really enjoyed: “Our community has a long tradition of good governance, and the annual retreat is a critical component of our institutional process. We always do this in mid-June in order to mesh with the budget calendar.

“While I obviously will not be there, it is my responsibility to pass the baton to my successor as effectively as I can. Having the retreat already teed up for them and the new council is simply my way of serving them—and this community that I love—as best I can.”

To develop those outcomes reflective of the current governing body, a thoughtful and intensive session with that group must be held.

Both phrases—passing the baton and teed up—are great images for elected service.

A Consistent Approach

Just like in a relay race where each leg is concluded with the successful passing of a baton, local governments that operate at or near peak effectiveness have a consistent approach to the business of governance. They know the budget is adopted at the same time each year.

For that document to reflect their current priorities, they must transmit those desired outcomes to the manager and staff, with ample time allowed to incorporate any changes from prior years. And to develop those outcomes reflective of the current governing body, a thoughtful and intensive session with that group must be held. For that session to occur, all of the logistics associated with it have to be taken care of. If at any point in this “race” the baton is dropped (a process not completed or occurring later than necessary), governance suffers and the organization loses effectiveness.

Also, just as having a golf ball on a tee makes the ball easier to hit (well, for most of us!) even though the current “racers” won’t be there for the actual baton handoff, their responsibility is to make it easy for the new folks to accomplish it.

Remarkably, in these contentious times, even the individuals seeking the office of mayor and councilmember seemed to appreciate the process they were observing, seeing it as one less thing they would have to undertake upon assuming office.

“I will have enough to learn and take care of in my first 45 days as it is,” one of the candidates told me after the meeting. “While I certainly have my own agenda and if I am elected will want to do some—maybe even many—things

And then she used her own visualizing phrase, taking me back to my college rowing days, “I don’t see any reason to rock the boat on this one.”

Key Takeaways

I am often reminded by my training colleagues that athletic metaphors don’t resonate with everyone, and since the organization’s governance is in many ways the purview of the elected officials, the takeaways of this running, golfing, and rowing imagery for managers seemed to be:

• Help the governing body institutionalize such a process as an annual council retreat and goal-setting session by keeping it consistent from year to year. (We always do this. . . .)

• Even during an election procedure, let prospective officeholders know about their attendance and participation expectations. (This year’s retreat is going to be. . . .)

• Take care of as many of the logistics (e.g., time, location, facilities, participants, processes) as possible ahead of time so that the elected officials can concentrate on their value add. (The details are all taken care of, and what we really need from you is. . . .)

Remember that while we can’t hit the governance shot for the elected officials, we can, in the outgoing mayor’s words, get it “teed up” for them.

MIKE CONDUFF, ICMA-CM, is president and chief executive officer, The Elim Group, Denton, Texas (mike.conduff@theelimgroup.com).