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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReport - Mail Packet - 1/7/2020 - City Council Governance Retreat Workshop Report - December 21, 2019 - From Novak Consulting GroupCity of Fort Collins Governance Retreat December 21, 2019 Fort Collins, Colorado Page 1 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. On Saturday, December 21, 2019 the Fort Collins Mayor and Council met with their appointed staff and the City’s Executive Leadership Team to participate in a workshop lead by Dr. John Nalbandian and facilitated by The Novak Consulting Group. High Performing Governance – a workshop with Dr. John Nalbandian This workshop is designed to facilitate a shared learning experience – rather than prescribing what should be done, John seeks to make sense of the experience of the communities he works with and that experience going forward. The framework for the workshop is a theme that a gap exists, and is growing, between what is politically acceptable (what we want to do) and what is administratively/operationally sustainable (can we do it). Nothing gets done unless there is political will AND there is administrative capacity to do the work. The map below captures key themes from Dr. Nalbandian’s workshop. We like to think our master plans and strategic plans guide our work – and they do, but frequently staff will come forward with the need to do something such as a maintenance project, and the Council will have to decide if that is a priority at that time. Phrases like “the timing isn’t right…” often reflects the reality of there not being political will, or operational resources to be able to say “yes”! This is important because the gap is growing – it is becoming more challenging and there are significant consequences for how business is conducted because the gap is growing. This presents the need to bridge the gap. The problem is that the bridges we have used in the past are not adequate for the politics and administration in contemporary life. The gap is growing because of a number of dynamics. On one side, there is a growing complexity and rate of change in the administrative world that is unprecedented. Think of the smart phone and the reality that it is only one decade old! Fort Collins, Colorado Page 2 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Politics has not changed as much. In politics what does the word “again” mean? There is this sense that greatness exists in the past. No one says what “past” are we talking about? What is selected “out” of that? We choose not to think about how people were treated – it is something we have created in our minds – why? Why have we done that? What is so important about the sense of identity that we find it in the past. This is not the case for younger people. As you grow older you are who you are in large measure by who you were. Harold Gardner wrote a book about “stories” – he analytically dissected “stories” and he came up with the characteristics of affected stories. The number one story that resonates with people is a story about identity. Think about presidential campaigns. What are they about? Who we were, who we are, what we can become. Determining the effectiveness of a story is about the willingness of the audience to hear it. If Make America Great Again is a popular theme, the assumption is we are ready to hear it, so why are we? Because it is about identity. Us and them is an identity thing we look for PLUs – People Like Us. So, on one hand, we have this notion of identity and stability and, on the other hand, we have this incredible increase in the amount of data that exists to make decisions. Both the political will and the administrative capacity must be there. A favorite quote from a Newsweek article is: “Nostalgia for the misremembered past is no way to run a country.” The gap gets wider and then it makes it more difficult to bridge. We have created a structural divide between politics (the City Council) and administration (City staff) – we wanted to do that because we wanted to be able to bring information to the governing body without feeling intimidated. If staff feels intimidated, they may not bring what you need to know, but rather what you want to hear. Council- Manager government itself was designed with this in mind. Systems exist to create security so expertise can be brought into this political arena – but nothing can get done without connecting the two spheres. More people are being invited on to the bridge because it is more difficult for the “City Manager” to bridge this gap alone. Department Directors who have been trained in disciplines are now being expected to not only think downwardly but to think horizontally and upward as allies of the City Manager. Fort Collins is a forerunning of this concept. I rarely hear the term “management team” being used anymore. Instead, I hear the term “leadership team”. If we assume they are not synonyms, then what is the difference and what is a leadership team a reaction to? Why did we have to create that? Why don’t we just go with “management” – the reason, for John, is because the gap is growing, and we need more assets on the bridge. So, for a department head running an effective department is a threshold expectation, the value added is can you work the gap. A classic example is the police department. You cannot have an effective police department if the Chief is looking downward – the Chief has to be looking outward at the community to be effective. For elected officials who can work in the gap, it is value added. It is not an expectation but boy if we can get it, it is really valuable. The trick is in working the gap – how do you do that as staff without being politically captured – for the elected official, how do you work the gap without being down in the weeds? Because working the gap is new for a number of people, how do you develop the mindset and skills to be an asset in the gap? There are two paths: • It is critical to understand that politics involve choices among conflicting values and no value profile is best. If we don’t understand that there are fundamental democratic values that play themselves out in difficult issues and that no value profile is best, you can’t be an asset on the bridge. Fort Collins, Colorado Page 3 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. • The second path is that even though Council and Staff use the same words to talk to each other you are speaking different languages. So, the ability to understand the mindset helps make the connection between the two. This classic diagram demonstrates the Council-Manager form of government. The diagram shows that staff works for the City Manager who is accountable to the governing body. With the Council-Manager form of government, there is not a “separation of powers.” This is different. This form of government came about in the early 1900’s. Every other government model had a separation of powers – Mayor-Council; State Government; Federal Government. Separation of powers designed to prevent bad things from happening. This form of government was designed to make good things happen – because of collaboration and political stability. There is no “governing body” in any other form of government. The expectation is that as a body you will work together. That is the implication and the expectation and that is why in the original design of Council- Manager government and made smaller governing bodies, introduced nonpartisanship and tried to eliminate special interests by having everyone elected at-large and choosing the Mayor from among the body. In local government we talk about ‘community” – this is unique to local government we don’t talk about the “community” of Colorado. So, the model in your mind as a Council member can’t come from an Governing Body Staff City Manager Hierarchy/accountability Flow of communication Fort Collins, Colorado Page 4 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. elected official at a different level of government where they are not a body but rather an individual legislator. There is not an assumption that the width and length of the “arrow” is the same – but if you think about it as a bridge – we have all kinds of bridges. If you lay policy issues on a bridge then you can ask if the bridge connects – is it long, do lots of people have to be involved, etc.? The complexity is that there is not one bridge at play. Sometimes there is good alignment between the political will and the administrative capacity; other times there is political will but not administrative capacity; and other times there are things that the organization has the capacity to do, but the City Manager will say “the time isn’t right” because there is no political will. The circles represent the “arenas” – the “arena” of politics and the “arena” of administration. The governing body does not encompass the totality of political acceptability. The political will might ultimately have to come to the governing body – but much is happening outside the governing body and maybe even outside the realm of governing body members. The message to elected officials – because some of these issues can be so complex, ambiguous and challenging it is easy and natural to want to get more and more information which means leaving the political realm and diving into the administrative realm. If the Council is playing in the administrative realm, who is playing in the political realm? The political realm is where the Council makes a difference. How do you work in that arena? That depends on who you are, what your connections are, what your style is who you know, what issues you are involved in, etc. but the main message is if you are spending time down there, who is spending time up there? Questions like how much community involvement we need are examples of playing in the political realm. The Council makes judgements on this which is why it is important to be connected to the community and to listen to each other. Another way of looking at this is an hourglass. If you like the hourglass better than the bridge you can see that the funnel is getting wider and it needs to be managed in some way. This is where the Leadership Team comes in. Change We frequently hear people resist change. Do you resist the “next” iPhone, or the flat screen TV (most don’t); there are many instances where people accept the change and yet we still have the idea people resist change. They do resist change under certain circumstances – the question is “under what conditions do people resist change?” Three categories of change identified by anthropologist Peter Maris: 1. Change that is substitutional in nature – not typically resisted. The classic case was moving from typewriters to computers we were worried about whether the secretarial staff would make the transition and we didn’t realize a keyboard is a keyboard. That was not a thing. It was substitutional – yes it took adjustment but there wasn’t big push back. 2. Change that is fairly dramatic but expected – getting married, children going to college – it is different, it can be difficult, but it is anticipated so it isn’t as resisted. 3. The category of change where people show the most resistance is change that is associated with loss. The most significant loss is the loss of identity. Kurt Lewin – if you adopt a change strategy that focuses on the advantages of the change without acknowledging the potential losses you will get resistance! If resistance has to do with issues of identity. Fort Collins, Colorado Page 5 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. This is why changing departmental structure can be challenging – this can challenge identity and so it is resisted. An example of a department that exists around an identity that isn’t really in play anymore. For example, if you were going to restructure based on 911 calls – you would restructure and have a department of social welfare; the vast majority of calls are about social welfare. What you see is resistance based on identity. You wouldn’t even call it a Fire Department. A sophisticated change strategy will address the negatives. If you force only the positive you are pushing into opposing forces. This is why employees must be engaged in change. Political Astuteness The Council is not asked to vote on issues where there are “correct” answers. So, you vote on issues where there is no correct answer and where there are values involved or where there are several “correct” answers each of which will have different consequences. This concept was shared in a story about “Maria” and the concept of 2+2 Decisions and is captured in this video Why We Vote. If there are problems with “correct” answers we give those problems to the people who have the knowledge to produce the correct answer. When there is no correct decision we vote; or we have an authority who can make the decision – we are not saying it is correct, but you can make the decision. When there is no correct answer, we vote, so what we try to do is find the political will and determine the administrative sustainability. How can we look at the no correct answer problems? We can look at them in terms of values. There are four values that underpin our democracy: • Representation/participation • Efficiency/professionalism • Social equity • Individual rights Sacrificing any one of these values over time will undermine viability of a community. Representation: Each Councilmember sees themselves in some way as a representative – elected by district, you have obligations to your district and to the City as a whole. There is no formula for determining the correct balance. It is not just that we are representatives, but what we represent. Who do we decide we represent when various interests collide? Efficiency: Professionalism fits here – conveying the respect we have for master plans or strategic plans. They grow from the value of efficiency – it is not just about money. Also, the decision rule “the greatest good to the greatest number of the long haul” grows from here. Social Equity: This is the idea people should be treated equally and not disadvantaged. When we are talking about affordable housing, we are building on the equity argument – but other values come in as well. Affordable Housing touches all four values – there are no “correct” solutions; there is no given priority of the values, it depends on who you are. Ideally in the values scheme – a campaign might be about you ranking the values. Take an issue, rank the values – that would be the debate. Then the voters would understand what you represent. Individual Rights: Often seen as property rights, self-determination, etc. Fort Collins, Colorado Page 6 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Observations on the Values • You cannot have all four values optimally at the same time. • You can have conflicts within any single value: o Do you believe in majority rule? Yes. o Do you believe in individual rights? Yes. o Who are individual rights protecting us for? The majority ���� This is the dilemma! o What is the appropriate balance? I don’t know that is what the legislative process is about. • Once you make the decision, the implementation occurs, and then it is often litigated, and it is litigated until the law has matured and understood. • All values are important to building citizen investment in community. • If you ignore any single value over time, you run the risk of damaging community. • Efficiency is one of four values – greatest good to the greatest many over the long haul says to political minorities YOU DON’T MATTER – how do you build community when you say you don’t matter – so you do politics! This is what politics is about. • Politics is not negative – it is a way of making decisions – the best way – otherwise you have authoritarian rule. Deliberation is important – it is not efficient. • Deliberation is about confronting the consequences of your views! • Ultimately, what you realize is that if community building is the goal – politics is about negotiation and compromise, not us and them. Polarization makes it a difficult environment to balance the values and make decisions. Elected officials have different talents – the trick is to deploy your talents in ways that other people value; the challenge is that we deploy our strengths in ways that are satisfying and successful to ourselves. As a member of the governing body – what matters is if you are deploying your values and strengths is being respected by the other Councilmembers. What value to you bring to the City Council? The only thing you have to exchange is respect. “The most important constituency is the other Councilmembers…if you want to get anything done.” This connection is built on respect and loyalty. John shared a video about Citizens and Cups. The more people are disengaged, the less community resilience there is. What I fear, is cities trying to confront problems that exceed the political capacity to deal with them. When you don’t have the political capacity to deal with things, decisions and needed investment are delayed. The group debriefed a Case Study from a real example of a situation that occurred in Lawrence, Kansas in the early 1990’s. You cannot learn from a unique event because, by definition, it is unique and will not occur again. If you want to learn from a unique event you have to act as if it is an example of something else. So, if you look at the case study as just the facts, it is unique – but if you look at it through the lens of understanding the broader issues underpinning the case study. Characteristics of The Gap The second path to political astuteness is being “bi-lingual” – understanding the mindsets of elected officials and staff – the Political Mindset and the Administrative Mindset. The points are drawn sharply in the following diagram intentionally for emphasis. Fort Collins, Colorado Page 7 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Some truths about being an elected official – unwritten rules of the “game” of politics: • You don’t have to speak on every issue • Respect is the key to your influence – which means deploying talents in ways other Councilmembers value • Everyone has a “right” to speak, no one has a “right” to be listened to – if you are not respected, people will hear you but not listen to you. From the administrative perspective, the activity is problem solving. This mindset explains the frustration that exists when staff perceives the Council is unwilling to give the direction they need. The “expert/trustee” mindset values demonstrating expertise and the concept of the greatest good for the greatest many over time. On the political side, there are “representatives” and “trustees” – and no one tells you when you are acting as a board member versus acting as a customer service representative. There are no knowledge, skills, and abilities required to run for office – why is that the case if you are dealing with complex issues? The primary value is citizen ownership and control of the government. The job of elected officials is to determine which consequences will prevail. You do not need specialized expertise to make that choice because it is a decision about weighing values. The Council is elected in order to make choices about consequences. You will have alternatives – but what you really want to know is if we do this what do you think will occur – how confident are you; if we do the other what do you think will occur – how confident are you? No one analytically is better to decide about which consequences should prevail – only you can decide that. You make the decision either as a representative of the people or as a trustee of the people. When you find yourself diving deep into the details, remind yourself – do I need to do this in order to know what the consequences of the choices are. Political Acceptability Administrative Sustainability Fort Collins, Colorado Page 8 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Staff brings forward what they “know” – Council brings forward what they “hear” – stories are about passion – that is what energizes the process. It puts it on the political agenda, and we need the dreams because they represent the aspirations; we need the stories because they convey the aspirations and embody the values – whatever value you are trying to decide among. People express the values even if they don’t use the language of the values. Councilmembers individually don’t have to have passion, dreams, or be good at telling stories – because you are going to be sitting on the dais and there are times when you are no more than a ventriloquist dummy… what happens is you will talk to so many people and be involved in so many things, when you open your mouth their sentiments and words may come out. You may not be passionate but the fact you say things may energize the passion of a group of individuals; you ignite their passion. The currency of staff is “knowledge” reflected in your education, experience and expertise. The currency of the elected officials is loyalty, trust and the power of stories! People forget what you did, but they do not forget how you carried yourself. Bi-Lingual • Understands that efficiency is one of four values if community building is the goal – cups matter. • Politics and administration are more than different roles, behaviors, and responsibilities. They are mindsets. • Builds trust and facilitates bridging the gap between what is politically acceptable and administratively sustainable. Summary Points • Bridging the gap is essential • Role of translator/bridge-builder is critical • Cups matter • Good politics is about values, not right answers – stories matter (convey values) • Do not ignore any value over time; it will come back to haunt you • Democratic process is “messy” • Politics/administration = ways of thinking • Aligning governing body/staff expectations is crucial • Difference between “representative” and “trustee" Fort Collins, Colorado Page 9 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Workshop Debrief Following the workshop, the Council was asked to reflect on the information shared by Dr. Nalbandian. The workshop debrief and afternoon session was intended to allow the Council to discuss issues of importance to them with no structured debrief. What was important to you about the workshop? • Framing what we do and how we think about it. High performance governance requires reflection! • Being intentional about our culture! • Our expertise and passions can be tapped more – how do we engage these to inform our work together? • Collaboration with ELT during the case study – informal collaboration – nice to interact in this way. • Relating concepts to the context we are working in – how can we apply these to make it “stick.” • Legacy leaning/building • Change – Loss – Risk to identity o Retain intrinsic values as we appreciate what people experience as loss • Public Service Values – recognizing that Social Equity is one of four critical values – not about “emotion” • Importance of data • Council-Manager government exists to facilitate good things happening. What does respect look like on the Council? • Accept comments versus question, critique, and criticize. • Focus comments on “values” versus the person making the comment. • Recognize the good aspects of negotiation and compromise versus labeling or characterizing as “vote trading.” • Appreciate everyone’s individual expertise. • Learn how to communicate and deploy strengths in ways others value. • Understand who one another are as individuals – what is our individual motivation? What is respect – what do we value? • Brevity • Preparation • Moving-on • Don’t speak on every issue. • If something has been said, you don’t need to repeat it. • Remember, respect is not agreement. • Be gracious when prevailing. • Our shared experience is a connection. Fort Collins, Colorado Page 10 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. • Don’t allow passion to come out as anger. • Our shared work is unique and, in many ways, “unnatural.” • We are here to do our best in service to our community – respect for individuals is what I leave with. • Expectations and obligations between Council and Staff could be a useful exercise. • What is the optimal way to discuss a controversial issue? Managing Council Priorities • How do we manage emerging issues and priorities in the context of the 20 priorities we have agreed to? • Are our priorities solutions or issues? Framing our intended outcome is critical. • National issues have local relevance. Responding is a tool we can use; taking positions on national issues (climate emergency, border crisis) reflects a conflict in values – representation (doing what people ask us or want us to do) and efficiency (impact on existing work, priority shuffle). It is fine to do this, we just need to be cognizant of tradeoffs. • Issues of social equity cannot be dismissed as “emotional issues.” • Six-month check-in on our priorities – what are our priorities within the priorities? • Important to remember that the Leadership Planning Team (Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, City Manager, and City Attorney) manages the Council Agenda process. • Could ad hoc Council Committees be effective for the highest priorities? • What is the role of Boards and Committees – are they a resource to the Council or do they advance issues to the Council? • We need to use our one-on-one time with each other to understand where we are on issues. Fort Collins, Colorado Page 11 2019 Governance Retreat Report The Novak Consulting Group Strengthening organizations from the inside out. Closing/Next Steps • Mayor – feel gratitude for this Council, our Direct Reports and Executive Team; taking time on a day so close to Christmas to have this conversation illustrates commitment to the community. Appreciate John and the added visual facilitation. Grateful. • Carrie – grateful for the opportunity to hear people’s thoughts and hear these ideas as they are developing; we will continue to discuss these things and refocus and look forward to next steps. • Judge Lane – thank you for your time and commitment. • Emily – glad we had the opportunity to talk about some of the grumpiness we have had and address some of the things, so we are aware. Thought it was helpful. • Ross – glad for the authenticity that was brought – will lead to better discussions in the future. • Susan – we are a family and families have family meetings and we had the opportunity to have a family meeting today. Much appreciated having the opportunity to discuss. • Ken – I liked Susan’s characterization – feel encouraged that we can move forward as a higher functioning Council. • Julie – echo the gratefulness – good analogy with the family – we didn’t choose each other – and yet, do value each and every one of you for your perspective. • Kristen – thanks everyone for showing up and it was good we had this discussion. I liked talking about high-performing governance and what it actually looks like. Conversation was valuable, thanks for honesty and authenticity – we are at a good place. • Darin – gratitude – I had been looking forward to today and there is no let down. Thank you to John for the body of work in this profession. Neat to have you in front of the Council in Fort Collins. 12/23/2019 1 High Performing Governance Bridging the Gap between Political Acceptability and Administrative Sustainability Outline ● A gap exists and is growing between what is politically acceptable (what we want to do) and operationally sustainable (can we do it) ● Working the gap is facilitated by understanding that politics involves choices among conflicting values—no value profile is best ● And that politics and administration involve more than different behaviors; they are different ways of thinking 1 2 12/23/2019 2 Governing Body Staff City Manager Have you considered whether the length and width of the line might make a difference in the relationship between the two arenas? Hierarchy/accountability Flow of communication Staff Governing Body Community and third parties Community and third parties CM Political Acceptability Administrative Sustainability 3 4 12/23/2019 3 ENGAGEMENT FILTERED THROUGH ISSUES OF IDENTITY BIG DATA, COMPLEXITY, RATE OF CHANGE ENGAGEMENT FILTERED THROUGH ISSUES OF IDENTITY BIG DATA, COMPLEXITY, RATE OF CHANGE 5 6 12/23/2019 4 Values RESPONSIVENESS = • Representation/Participation + • Efficiency/Professionalism + • Social Equity + • Individual Rights • Citizens with cups Characteristics Politics Administration Activity Game/allocation of values Problem Solving Players Representatives/trustees Experts-trustees Conversation “What do you hear?”  Passion  Dreams  Stories CAO and Senior Staff in the GAP Electeds* “What do you know?”  Data  Plans  Reports Pieces Intangible: Interests and symbols Tangible: Information; money, people, equipment Currency Power (stories), loyalty, trust Knowledge (deeds) Dynamics Constructive conflict, compromise, change Predictability, cooperation, continuity Political Acceptability Administrative Sustainability Characteristics of Politics and Administration 7 8 12/23/2019 5 Bi-lingual • Understands that efficiency is one of four values if community building is the goal – cups matter • Politics and administration are more than different roles, behaviors, and responsibilities. They are mindsets. • Builds trust and facilitates bridging the gap between what is politically acceptable and administratively sustainable Summary • Bridging the gap is essential • Role of translator/bridge builder is critical • Cups matter • Good politics is about values, not right answers – stories matter (convey values) • Do not ignore any value over time; it will come back to haunt you • Democratic process is “messy” • Politics/administration = ways of thinking • Aligning governing body/staff expectations is crucial • Difference between “representative” and “trustee" 9 10 12/23/2019 6 John Nalbandian University of Kansas Nalband@ku.edu www.goodlocalgovernment.org 11