Walt McBride

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

University of Georgia

Board Leadership

Course Outline 1. Introduction: Counties are Changing

Powers & roles of counties; BOC legal frameworks; leadership in

different forms of gov‘t; difference between leadership & management

2. Leadership styles & Emotional Intelligence

Openness, conflict, new paradigms, etc.

3. Use of leadership influence

Leading from the chair, building coalitions,

identifying stakeholders, team dysfunction

4. Leading using the complex approach to change

Fostering innovation, creativity, tolerance for ambiguity,

making others fell powerful, importance of good relationships

5. Fixed value points on the field of compromise

6. Dealing with resistance to change

7. Articulating the vision

8. Dismantling the borders

Change in local government

and communities is not new

• Permanent whitewater is more a reflection of

complexity than modernity

• Today when counties have more people

demanding more services, and fewer tax dollars,

efficiency and economy are tops. So what are

the solutions: let‘s all work overtime, work harder

and faster, get a bigger and newer machine, and

hire more people.

3 ½ Centuries of County Change

Legal Frameworks

I. OCGA 36-5-22 grants the county commission original and exclusive jurisdiction to:

1. Direct and control all county property

2. Levy taxes

3. Establish, alter & abolish all roads, bridges and ferries

4. Fill all county vacancies except where OCGA or the constitution otherwise provide

5. Examination and settling of all claims against the county

6. Examining/auditing all financial records & disbursing all county funds

7. Provide for support of the poor, county police, public health

8. Regulate peddling and fixing license costs

II. Home Rule delegation provided by the Georgia Constitution

Why is Good Leadership Important?

– Some research in the U.S. suggests that good

management and leadership can make at

least a 24% difference in productivity. Other

research puts the percentage much higher.

Governmental Leadership

• Some believe that ―government leadership‖ is an oxymoron.

• One of the most important variables associated with our ability to lead in a government setting is the collective perception of the public of the ‗goodness‘ or ‗badness‘ of government.

• Leadership: Establish direction,

develop a vision of the future and

strategies for producing the changes

needed to achieve that vision. Align

people by communicating direction in

words and deeds that will resonate

with those whose cooperation is

needed. Motivate others to overcome

barriers and realize the vision.

• Management: Planning and budgeting, establishing detailed steps and timetables for achieving results, and then allocating the resources necessary to make it happen. Organizing, staffing, and controlling the structure to accomplish the plan. Monitoring results, identifying deviations and structural solving problems.

Role of the Commission

• The Commission owns the train, says where the train will go, how much to charge for passage, and how fancy the décor will be

• The Commission hires professional staff with the skills and training to drive, operate and maintain the train, and serve passengers and other customers

Role of the Commission

- The chief role/responsibility of the

governing body is community building &

achieving its broad-based strategic goals

- The chief role/responsibility of the staff is

modernizing and shaping the organization

so it can be responsive to county goals

Management vs. Leadership

• Leaders – set direction; articulate vision;

transform individuals/organizations

• Managers – monitor; direct; refine current

performance

• The truth is that leaders need good managers

and managers need good leaders

• There is no single pattern of leader qualities and

no single pattern of leadership style related to

leadership performance

Facilitation & Leadership Styles

• Autocratic

• Democratic

• Laissez-Faire

What style does your commission & chair use?

Resonating Emotional Intelligence

• Self-Awareness

• Self-Management

• Social Awareness

• Relationship Management

E.I. Leadership Styles

• Visionary

– Builds resonance by moving people toward shared dreams

– Appropriate when changes require a new vision, or when clear direction is needed

• Coaching

– Builds resonance by connecting what people want with the organization‘s goals

– Appropriate in helping followers improve their performance by building long-term capabilities

• Affiliative

– Builds resonance by creating harmony and connecting people to each other

– Appropriate for healing team rifts, motivating during stressful times, or strengthening connections

E.I. Leadership Styles • Democratic

– Builds resonance by valuing people‘s input and gets commitment through participation

– Appropriate when building buy-in or consensus, or to get valuable input from followers

• Pacesetting

– Builds resonance by meeting challenging and exciting goals

– Appropriate for getting high-quality results from an already motivated and competent team

• Commanding

– Builds resonance by soothing fears and giving clear direction in an emergency

– Appropriate in a crisis, and to kick-start a turn-around

Governmental Leadership

• ―The voters selected us because they had confidence in our judgment and our ability to exercise that judgment from a position where we could determine what were their own best interests, as part of the community‘s interests. This may mean that we must on occasion lead, inform, correct, or ignore constituent opinion, if we are to exercise fully that judgment for which we were elected.‖ -- John F. Kennedy

Paradigms

―The ordinary ‗horseless carriage‘ is

at present a luxury for the wealthy;

and although its price will probably

fall in the future, it will never, of

course, come into as common a

use as the bicycle.‖

--Literary Digest, October 14, 1899

Paradigms

• A shared set of assumptions

• The way we perceive the world

• They are not universal—can vary between

organizations, between departments, and

between positions

• What paradigms keep counties from

changing?

Australian Corrective Map

We can be prisoners of our paradigms

California falls into the ocean

Change is Often Hard

Paradigms

• We can choose to change our paradigms

• We can choose to look at a paradigm shift

as a threat or as an opportunity

• There is almost always more than one

right answer

• You can and should shape your own

future; because if you don‘t, someone else

will

Sources of a Leader‘s Influence

• Coercive

• Connection

• Reward

• Legitimate

• Referent

• Knowledge

• Expert

Most Popular Leaders

• Researchers say that EXPERT and

REFERENT power emerged as most

effective bases of supervisory power from

40 production groups studied

• Transformational and Transactional

Leadership

Leadership Matrix

Relationships

Tasks

- Consideration (concern for people)

- Structure (concern for task)

Leaders Make Others Powerful

―In interviews with 90 of the best leaders in all

walks of our society, Warren Bennis found one

significant characteristic shared by all – they

made others feel powerful. These leaders were

powerful because they had learned how to build

a strong power base in their organizations and

communities. They were influential because thy

helped peers and subordinates accomplish

exceptional tasks.‖

-David Whetton and Kim Cameron, Developing Management Skills

Chairing & Facilitation of Meetings

“The more boring the subject, the longer the meeting will run.” -- Murphy

ESTABLISH

THE

TONE

FOR

THE

MEETING

EARLY

The Chair - Establishes and maintains group rapport

- Encourages different opinions and views

- Summarizes key points and decisions

- Keeps the group focused on its goal(s)

- Maintains order and minimizes disruptions

- Decides when to break & bring in others

- Starts and ends the meeting on time

- Mediates/settles disputes RE: process

Competing Values Framework

Flexibility/Change

Stability/Control

Internal Maintenance

External Positioning

CLAN SKILLS ADHOCRACY SKILLS

HIERARCHY SKILLS MARKET SKILLS

Communicating Supportively Building Teams and Teamwork Empowering

Solving Problems Creatively Articulating a Vision Fostering Innovation

Managing Personal Stress Managing Time Maintaining Self-Awareness Analytical Problem Solving

Motivating Others Gaining Power and Influence Managing Conflict

Adhocracy Leadership Essentials

• Articulating a Vision

• Effectively dealing with resistance to change

• Questioning Paradigms

• Encouraging Innovation & creative ways to overcome traditional barriers

Framework for Leading

Positive Change Establish a positive climate

Articulate vision

Create Readiness

Generate commitment

Institutionalize the change

Same Framework

Establish a climate of positivity

Create readiness

Articulate a vision of abundance

Generate commitment

Institutionalize the vision – Create

irreversible momentum

Positive change,

Positive deviance,

Exceptional

performance

Traditional Approach to Change

• Theme: Power is the ability to get people to do things

• 1) come up with good ideas about the direction of the county and/or community should take;

• 2) decide on a course of action or goals to be accomplished; and

• 3) Exert influence or control to move the org. and/or community in that direction.

Complex Approach to Change

• Theme: If you love me let me go

• 1) help the org. and/or community

understand its needs and its potential;

• 2) integrate and articulate the community‘s

vision of the county/community; and

• 3) act as a trigger or stimulus for group

action.

Complex System Change Leader

Characteristics of a change leader:

a. comfort in ambiguity

b. productive inconsistency

c. intuition and instinct

d. broad based vision and values

e. cultivation of the tools of the mind

(creativity)

When I am without orders and unexpected occurrences arrive I shall always act as I think the honour and glory of my King and Country demand. But in case signals can neither be seen or perfectly understood, no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy. -

- Horatio Nelson

If a man consults whether he is to fight, when he has the power in his own hands, it is certain that his opinion is against fighting. -- Admiral Nelson, August 1801.

Firstly you must always implicitly obey orders, without attempting to form any opinion of your own regarding their propriety. Secondly, you must consider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your king; and thirdly you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil. - to a midshipman in 1793 aboard the Agamemnon.

Establish a Positive Climate

• Optimism sometimes requires moral courage -- Ernest Shakleton

• It is not natural and requires skill

• Gandhi: “Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become

your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive, because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”

Lencioni – 5 Disfunctions of a Team

Resistance to Change

• They fear economic loss

• They fear the unknown

• They fear loss of status

• They feel that criticism is implied

• They have had unfortunate experiences

with change in the past

• Ego may be damaged by the change

process, and a perception of being misfit

Where is Your Change Resistance?

• a) perceived threat to job security,

• b) loss of expertise,

• c) need to learn new skills,

• d) shifts in influence, authority and/or control,

• e) shifts in communication patterns,

• f) loss of social status,

• g) change in habits and/or customs,

• h) limited understanding of the change and its implications,

• i) a low tolerance overall for change.

Resistance to Change

People who seek change tend to respond negatively to those who resist change, and use one or more of the following strategies to deal with it:

• 1. Breaking down resistance by threatening, coercing, selling, or

aggressive reasoning.

• 2. Avoiding resistance through deflection or by attempting to induce compliance through guilt or shame; or

• 3. Discounting resistance by labeling it as unimportant, by devaluing resisters‘ perceptions and fears, or by appealing to the resisters‘ desire to comply with their leaders‘ wishes.

Resistance to Change

A more positive approach to change resisters involves two fundamental assumptions:

• 1. Resistance is natural. People will naturally resist anything that

they believe or perceive as being in conflict with their best interests.

• 2. Resistance must be honored. Because resistance is perfectly normal, people who resist must be treated in a respectful manner. Get the resistance out in the open and on the surface; then honor it; then explore the causes of the resistance (both real and underlying), agree on actions to take, and then monitor the degree of resistance going forward.

A Model of Change Leadership

• Assess the organization‘s environment & need

for change

• Plan strategically, though pragmatically

• Build support by modeling process & behavior

• Implement specific changes, while encouraging

a broader and positive attitude toward change

• Institutionalize the change process and make it

ongoing

People will Adapt

Mission & Vision

• Mission

– Tangible Image of the Vision; Picture of the

future; Crisp, clear & engaging; People ‗get it‘

without a lot of explaining; business & main

purposes of the county

• Vision

– Guiding Philosophy of an organization;

articulates where the organization is going in

the next decade +

Mission and Vision

► What would be one thing you would do if

you had more power in your role in the

organization?

► Develop a sense of what the organization

should and could be

► What are the two characteristics of how

you want your county to look in ten years

Mission Statement Rules

• Has magic and spark; grabs you in the gut

and is compelling by itself

• Answers why the organization exists and

defines what is unique & important

• Contains clear concepts and useful tools

which can be translated into actions

• Is no more than about 25-35 words in length

• Explains, or characterizes, core values and

philosophy of the organization, and prefer-

ably links them to an image or purpose

Framework for

Positive Change

• Focuses on unlocking positive human

potential

• Focuses on creating abundance

(positive deviance) & human well being

• Engages the heart as well as the mind

Barriers, Borders & Resistance

1. What measures do you use to ―lead‖

elected and constitutional officers?

2. What are your preferred techniques for

overcoming resistance to change, both

inside and outside the county

organization?

Some borders are crossed easily,

even if they were initially imposing

Some borders are harder to cross…

Than others

If the horses go in different directions

The results can be disastrous

Or put you where you don‘t want to be

8 Ideas for Dismantling Borders • Serve customers not the boss, think from the

customer/citizen back;

• Build coalitions and put key people in key positions,

• In the face of resistance, use prototypes and pilot projects, i.e., get there in small chunks;

• Get success in one whole unit [vertical chunk], e.g., law enforcement consolidation;

• Deal analytically and specifically [not personally] with resistance. The greatest resistance will come from within, and among employees it will be at the middle management level.

8 Ideas for Dismantling Borders

• Be bold and ignore the borders and see what

happens, but know your limits;

• Get to know your cross-border associates. The

types of borders in local government are: a)

structural and organizational; b) functional, e.g.,

market niche distinctives; c) political; d) systems

and technology; e) enterprises.

• Mission drives the strategy; & strategy drives

the structure

Barker‘s 5 Leadership Lessons • Focus majority of time and effort on the future

rather than the present

• Look out for changes that will alter the basic

rules of the game/world

• Deal with and appreciate complexity

• Decide on your leadership style and be aware of

the consequences

• Accept your responsibility as a leader

to generate a powerful, positive

and shared vision of the future

Recipe for County Leadership • Know and use your E.I. Leadership Style

• Develop Adhocracy Skills

– Tolerance for ambiguity

– Vision

– Question paradigms

– Foster innovation & creativity

• See resistance for what it is: fear

• Positive attitude, positive deviance, positive tone, positive persona (charisma)

• Have a plan for leading your county

Recipe for County Leadership • Know and use your E.I. Leadership Style

• Develop Adhocracy Skills

– Tolerance for ambiguity

– Vision

– Question paradigms

– Foster innovation & creativity

• See resistance for what it is: fear

• Positive attitude, positive deviance, positive tone, positive persona (charisma)

• Have a plan for leading your county

Summary

• Change is constant; how will you use it?

• Traditional change methods are often not effective in counties; change-up your style; complex method

• Challenge paradigms; know the vision

• Know your own orientation toward change and the orientation of other key players

• Decide how to deal w/ barriers & resistance

• Map your stakeholders; understand their different perspectives; see & change E.I. leadership style

• Frame change differently; learn to let go; let others help you; be creative; don‘t worry about who gets the credit

Course Evaluation

• Please take a few moments to complete the course

evaluation after the instructor leaves the classroom.

– Use a blue or black ink pen. Do not use a pencil.

– Fill in the appropriate bubble like this .

– If you make a mistake, mark through the incorrect

bubble like this , and fill in the correct bubble.

• Please read response labels carefully. They may change

from question to question.

• Return your completed evaluation to the student volunteer

who will insert all completed evaluations into the specified

envelope, seal, and call the instructor back into the

classroom.

• Thank you! We appreciate your valuable feedback.