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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 5/7/2019 - Memorandum From Julia Novak, Facilitator, Re: City Council Retreat Preparation (May 3-4, 2019)Memorandum Date: April 26, 2019 To: Mayor Troxell Mayor Pro Tem Stephens Members of the City Council CC: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Executive Leadership Team From: Julia Novak, Retreat Facilitator Subject: 2019 Retreat Preparation I look forward to our time together on May 3 and 4. The retreat is a unique opportunity for the governing body to come together, share their hopes and expectations for working together, understand the City’s Strategic Planning process, and identify shared priorities that will focus on alignment as a high performing community for all. The agenda is designed to accomplish that. The purpose of this memo is to share the agenda and encourage each of you to spend some time preparing for the retreat. • Friday, May 3, 2019: 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM Dinner and Discussion at Ginger and Baker Mill Top Room – 359 Linden Street, in Old Town • Saturday, May 4, 2019: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Indoor Rams Club at Canvas Stadium, 6th floor – Colorado State University. Breakfast is served at 8:30. Preparation High Performing Community for All With humor and empathy, Brene Brown discusses what it takes to choose courage over comfort in a culture defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty. Per Mayor Troxell’s suggestion, you are invited to watch the Brene Brown Netflix movie “The Call to Courage” (movie trailer available here: https://www.netflix.com/title/81010166) and consider courageous leadership for a high performing community for all. The movie duration is 1:16. High Performing Government The City of Fort Collins is driven by its Vision “To Provide World-Class Municipal Services.” This Vision fueled the City’s Baldrige quest and culminated with that designation in 2017. As one of only three local governments to receive this designation, it is truly an amazing achievement. The journey, however, doesn’t end with external recognition. Instead, it is a never ending quest of continuous improvement. If you think of the Council-Manager form of government as analogous to a private corporation, the City Council is the Board of Directors, and your City Manager is the CEO. During our time on Friday, we will explore some questions about what it means to govern a high performing organization and provide Fort Collins, Colorado Page 2 2019 Retreat Preparation The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. leadership to a high performing community. Please spend a few minutes considering the following questions in preparation for that conversation. 1. What does it mean to you for City government to be high performing? 2. What would it look like for the City to be led by a City Council that was committed to high performing governance? 3. What characteristics are essential to a high performing community for all? 4. What should the City Council do to ensure it provides high performing governance for a high performing community and organization? Initiatives and Priorities: In addition to considering the prompt questions, please come prepared to discuss what is important to you, personally, over the next 12 to 24 months. The retreat is the opportunity for the governing body to consider one another’s personal priorities so that you can collectively identify priorities and provide direction to the City Manager and City staff. Each Councilmember will be given an opportunity to share the most important policies and initiatives they wish to pursue to advance toward the City’s vision: To Provide World-Class Municipal Services Through Operational Excellence and a Culture of Innovation. • This is your chance to be BOLD and vulnerable and share your ideas with your colleagues and set the stage for developing a shared workplan. • Remember to share not only “what” is important, but also “why” it is important to you and ultimately to the community. • Think of framing the importance of each initiative as first understanding the problem/opportunity in the context of the “problem being solved” or “opportunity being seized” and being clear about what success looks like. • A worksheet to use for your own brainstorming is included. Fort Collins, Colorado Page 3 2019 Retreat Preparation The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Initiatives and Priorities Strategic Outcome Area Policy, Project or Adjustment Economic Health Transportation and Mobility Safe Community Neighborhood Livability and Social Health Culture and Recreation Environmental Health High Performing Government Fort Collins, Colorado Page 4 2019 Retreat Preparation The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Meeting Norms • Listen with respect o Let others finish before you start talking o Be attentive to the speaker o Disagree agreeably • Be: o BOLD and vulnerable (vis-à-vis Brene Brown) o positive and realistic o candid and honest o patient and self-aware o engaged and fully present • Strive for consensus o Look for opportunities to agree o Remember the power of “if” and “and” • Have fun! Agenda FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2019 – DINNER AT 5:00; MEETING UNTIL 9:00 PM Setting the Stage • Welcome and introductions • Agenda review • Norms and expectations for the evening Agenda Item Outcome: Create a safe environment for an honest exchange of ideas. High Performing Government – Alignment: High Performing Community for All • We will explore the following questions and determine what, if anything, this Mayor and Council would like to do to begin a journey toward high performinge governance. o What does it mean to you for City government to be high performing? o What would it look like for the City to be led by a City Council that was committed to high performing governance? o What characteristics are essential to a high performing community for all? o What should the City Council do to ensure it provides high performing governance for a high performing community and organization? • We will also invite the City Manager to share his observations about what high performing government means to him as well as the lens through which he views high performing governance and the concept of a high performing community for all. Agenda Item Outcome: A shared understanding of the governance goals of the City Council resulting in a high performing community for all. The Ideal Member of the Governing Body • We will consider how different groups might describe an “ideal” member of the City Council Agenda Item Outcome: Empathy for the perspectives of various constituencies as the individuals fulfill their roles as members of the governing body. Fort Collins, Colorado Page 5 2019 Retreat Preparation The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Council Assignments • During the retreat, we will review the City Council Committee and Board Liaison assignments. Agenda Item Outcome: Clarity on who will serve on what committees and as liaisons to Boards and Commissions. Closing • We will end the evening’s discussion by sharing a brief reflection on the conversations we had. Agenda Item Outcome: Closure on our governance discussions. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2019 – 9:00 AM TO 4:00 PM (WITH THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM) Setting the Stage to Achieve a High Performing Community for All • Welcome and introductions • Agenda review • Expectations for the conversation about Strategic Planning and Goal Setting Agenda Item Outcome: Create a safe environment for an honest exchange of ideas. Reviewing the Framework • The City’s Strategic Plan identifies seven Strategic Outcome Areas that provide a framework for both the work of the organization and the Council priorities. The City Manager will provide an overview of the relationship between the Strategic Plan, the Budget, and the Council Workplan. • An overview/update on the 2017-2019 Council priorities will be shared. • We will review the Outcome Areas and assess whether these are still the “right” areas to focus in order to achieve the Vision for Fort Collins City government. Agenda Item Outcome: Understanding of the City’s Strategic Plan and the relationship with Council Priorities as well as agreement on the Strategic Outcome areas. Individual Initiatives • Each Councilmember will be asked to discuss the most important policies and initiatives they wish to pursue to further the City’s vision: To Provide World-Class Municipal Services Through Operational Excellence and a Culture of Innovation. Agenda Item Outcome: Understand one another’s individual interests in advancing the City. Council Priorities • Consider any items from the 2017-2019 Council workplan that are not yet complete and determine whether they should carry forward as part of this governing body’s work plan. • Reflect on the potential initiatives shared by individuals, identify the collective priority of the governing body, and clarify expected outcomes. Agenda Item Outcome: Understand the collective priorities of the Mayor and Council and provide direction to staff. Closing/Next Steps • Review the work and agree on next steps. Agenda Item Outcome: Understand how the Council's workplan will be finalized and supported in the next 12-18 months.