31Jan 2017 by Brad

Where is the vision- Part I

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Proverbs 29:18 Strategy.  Long range plan.  Master plan.  Does your governmental organization have one?  Do your elected leaders use a well thought out process in order to know what should happen ten years from now?  If not, then where is the vision?  Whatever it's called in your neck of the woods, vision is a critical component of local governmental organizations. Vision and strategic planning is such an important topic, I have split it into two sections.  Part I will focus on vision, and Part II will focus more on the strategic steps. Do You Live in Wonderland? “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where–”…
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27Jan 2017 by Brad
Military Leadership for Local Government

Military Leadership for Local Government

Real Leader Blogs
The title might push some people away.  Don't let it.  Invest 3 minutes, and if you aren't interested after 3 minutes, then shut it down.  Fair enough? Military Leadership for Local Government James Mattis, newly appointed United States Secretary of Defense, issued Command Guidance when he took over as Commanding Officer of the 1st Marine Division in 2002.  That guidance includes 15 inspirational leadership lessons (they are Here if you're interested in reading in detail).  I am going to borrow a few of the new SECDEF's points, because good military leadership principles are good local government leadership principles.  Cowardly leaders hopefully will read and take notes. Leadership is Leadership Command Guidance:  Everyone fills sandbags in this outfit. How does that apply to local government? Because no one is too good, or important, or…
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24Jan 2017 by Brad
How cowardly leaders supervise

How cowardly leaders supervise

Cowardly Leader Blogs
  Local government elected officials are the face, and often the personality, of a community.  It is easy to forget that they are also supervisors and are directly responsible for the results and objectives that their staff are expected to meet.  Every single elected official is a boss in some manner.  We can easily identify if, and how cowardly leaders supervise. The following breakdown covers most examples of locally elected officials, the government structure in which they reside, and the staff they direct: In a city council/manager form of government (sometimes city aldermen/city administrator), elected officials supervise the city manager/administrator directly. Sometimes that is the responsibility of the mayor alone; more commonly, it’s the entire city council.  In this form of government, at least one chief executive city employee- the city manager,…
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20Jan 2017 by Brad

Cowardly and Courageous Leadership

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Cowardly and Courageous Leadership Since this is the week of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday (and not incidentally, the day of the Presidential inauguration), I thought I would start with this very fitting quote: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."                          -Dr. King This blog is Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal because its focus is on local government, i.e., how locally elected and appointed officials practice cowardly leadership.  Some common traits have emerged as we identify cowardly leaders. One is, “I was elected to this (or appointed to this) position, and you weren’t, therefore I know more…
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17Jan 2017 by Brad

Delegating vs Abdicating

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Delegating vs Abdicating Delegation by Cowardly Leaders seems to follow the general theme that has emerged within these posts.  Cowardly Leaders seem to do too much of something, or little to nothing of that same thing.  That brings us to delegating vs abdicating. Delegating We are talking about definitions, so I looked it up.  Delegate (the verb) is:  "To send or appoint as deputy or representative."  As a noun, it means, "a person designated to act for or represent another."   To delegate authority to someone, which is how most of us use the term, by definition, means that person is representing you- you the person who appointed and sent them.  Let that sink in.  That person represents you.  He/she acts in your stead.  Although not stated in this definition, I would…
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13Jan 2017 by Brad

Truth to Power

Cowardly Leader Blogs
Truth to power I worked for someone once who, as far as I know, has never run for office, and has never worked at a Department Head or Director level in any city or county government.  I don’t mean he has not worked at senior levels- in fact, much of his career has been at a senior level. As a political appointment. Appointed by whomever was in elected office.  Appointed to whatever position might be available.  I would be shocked-SHOCKED- if he had ever spoken truth to power. If there were a stereotypical caricature for the term “political bureaucrat”, he is it.  He follows elections, and is able to find jobs at senior levels at the state capitol (with the right party, of course).  If/when that person is out of…
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10Jan 2017 by Brad

The Indispensable Employee

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The Indispensable Employee The most recent Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal blog discussed “bromance leadership” (if you missed it, click here).   It explored how and why a bromance in local government leadership circles was not something to which elected officials should aspire.   One of the examples I used was when an elected official develops a bromance with a staff member- a close relationship that combines friendship, captivation, and fascination. I’ve been at leadership levels in local government for over three decades, and retired from the U.S. Navy with 30 years of service. But I recently witnessed bromance taken to a level I’d never seen before:  Elected officials who acknowledged that, "x is an indispensable employee," "can't afford to lose them," "has never made a decision I disagree with." Danger of…
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06Jan 2017 by Brad

Bromance Leadership

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  Benifer.  Brangelina.  You know- those made up names that combine the first name of one person in a couple with the first name of the other one.  Some marketing person somewhere decided these were cute and fit well on the cover of People or something. What is Bromance? Are those made-up names silly?  Sure.  Yet I can't think of a better title for this Cowardly Leadership post than Bromance Leadership.  In case you don't know, a bromance is a romance between two males.   “Bro’s” (brothers), and "mance" = bromance.  This is not a romance in the traditional sense, but rather is a close relationship where one person is rarely seen without the other-where one goes, the other follows.  In some cases, one "bro" simply rubber stamp approves whatever the other does.  You see this…
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03Jan 2017 by Brad
Power of Cowardly Leadership

Power of Cowardly Leadership

Cowardly Leader Blogs
Happy New Year!  Only 355 more days until Christmas… I just read a Steven Pressfield blog entitled The Power of Negative Thinking (which is here if you’re interested).  The Power of Negative Thinking made me think (hah) about the Power of Cowardly Leadership. Since this is the first Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal of 2017, I decided to take a different direction than I was going to originally. One of the reasons- the main reason, actually- I wanted to do this (and just like with most things in life, this is a hell of a lot more work and time than I had anticipated- I’m not complaining, I’m just saying it’s not a 20-minute per day thing, either) was because almost everything I’ve ever read has been on positive leadership. Here…
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