In the first seven chapters you have seen the nature of the work of a local government manager. Still interested? The previous chapters have described the work done by a local government manager—engineering local democracy to make it work for all citizens, building community, facilitating governance, and managing local government resources to achieve excellence in public facilities and services. The chapters described who the work is done for (citizens and elected officials) and who it is done with (other public service professionals). It is also important to understand the values and beliefs of local government managers as reflected in the ICMA Code of Ethics (Appendix A) and the behavior of managers as they do their work.
James Svara has described five characteristics of that behavior:
Two more characteristics of managers’ work behavior are scrupulous political neutrality and seeking continuous improvement in all aspects of the work. If you feel you would enjoy doing this work with these values and beliefs and these characteristics, you should still be interested.
The life of a local government manager is exciting, demanding, and stressful. This chapter examines the demographics of the profession, identifying the practitioners in the early years of the twenty-first century and the opportunities for new entrants. It explores the appeal of the career, and it reviews some of the sources of satisfaction reported by managers themselves. The chapter describes preparatory educational programs and advises how to get started and chart a career path. It explains the typical stages of a career and typical dilemmas and decisions: mobility, competing for positions, employment agreements, pressure for resignation or being fired, choices among the variety of managerial positions available, and midcareer transitions to outside positions. The personal and family life of a typical manager is important, and the ability of managers to cope with stressful situations affects not only their effectiveness but also the level of enjoyment and satisfaction they are likely to derive from a career in local government management. Every manager must periodically assess personal competencies, desires, values, personality, and preferred management style.
The local government management profession continues to be dominated by white males who are well educated and in their advanced middle years. Despite more than 30 years of affirmative efforts to diversify the profession, approximately 95 percent of the practitioners are white. Females made up 1.0 percent, 5.0 percent, and 12.0 percent in 1974, 1989, and 2000, respectively, while minorities accounted for 1.0 percent in 1989 and 5.0 percent in 2000. “Given the increasing diversity of American cities one may conclude that the profession will be faced with the need to diversify its ranks in order to provide leadership to city councils that will become increasingly diverse.”2
I thought I wanted to be a lawyer until I went to work for the city of Abilene and was influenced by a dynamic mayor and city manager. I decided I had the skills and was tough enough to live in the glass house of city management, and could be a multi-tasker and handle the stress of the job.”
Rickey Childers
The aging of the profession exacerbates normal job turnover. Between 2000 and 2002 the percentage of managers over the age of 50 increased from 42 percent to 51 percent, and many managers transition to positions outside of the profession as they reach their 50s, at midcareer. Each year, on average, a total of about 300 chief executive officer (CEO), chief administrative officer (CAO), and chief operating officer (COO) positions open, in addition to positions at the department director and assistant levels.3
The profession of city/county manager will be one of increasing opportunity in the next decade. Minorities entering the profession will continue to receive support for their career development through the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA) (officially supported by ICMA since 1985) and the Hispanic Network (established as a formal affiliate of ICMA in 1991).
Practicing managers offer many reasons for their attraction to local government and their decision to remain in service:
Almost two out of three managers responding to the 2002 ICMA survey, “State of the Profession,” stated they were satisfied or highly satisfied with their jobs, and 92 percent (up from 89 percent in 1991) reported they were at least “moderately satisfied.” Only 1.1 percent reported dissatisfaction (a decrease from 2.2 percent in 1991). Fewer than 9 percent reported a voluntary job change in 2002, and fewer than 0.5 percent were fired; fewer than 2 percent were forced to resign, and approximately 2.5 percent were under pressure to resign. For the past decade, more than 75 percent of managers reported that their councils were supportive or highly supportive of their performance in the manager’s position, while fewer than 1 percent of the councils were “not supportive.” These findings are affirmed by a recent survey to which over 90 percent of responding managers reported receiving performance evaluations that were “greater than satisfactory.”4
I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the world. I started out as a candy striper at age 13. I didn’t realize until I went to work for the city of Plano that I could truly impact people’s lives on a daily basis by working in local government. Once I came to that realization I knew that my true calling was city management. Being a city manager allows me to make a difference in the world around me.
Julie Johnston
In 2002, the average salary for city managers was $89,001. It was $69,404 for city administrators, $99,243 for county managers, and $85,848 for county administrators. These figures compare with the average annual compensation of $65,624 for executive, administrative, and managerial positions in private industry in the United States,5 although that average is not for chief executives alone. Doing work that can make a difference in people’s lives, for bosses who appreciate it, in a relatively stable environment, for greater than average compensation—good reasons to still be interested in the profession of local government manager as a career.6
Careers in local government management are shaped in a variety of ways. Individuals from dissimilar backgrounds with assorted occupational experiences and varying levels of formal education in many disciplines can all become managers. Some successful managerial careers have been built on unusual foundations. The 2002 survey, “State of the Profession,” reported that although 51.7 percent of managers came from positions in local government (including 16.6 percent who had the term “assistant” in their former title), 34.1 percent came from positions in business or from other backgrounds. The value that drives this diversity of backgrounds is a commitment to representative democracy bolstered by a belief that local elected officials should be able to select any qualified individual to manage the business of the local government.
The profession in recent years has been busy refining the term “qualified.”7 In the early years of council-manager government in the United States, most local government managers were trained as engineers. The country was busy building its physical infrastructure, and the job of these new managers was still largely undefined. As the expectations for the manager were clarified, the profession came to define itself by the legal definition of the position held by an individual manager, administrator, coordinator, or assistant and by the commitment of each manager to the accepted values of the profession as expressed in the ICMA Code of Ethics. With time, patterns of preparation and entry into the profession changed, leading to the observation in 1982 that “the ideal training for a city manager today seems to consist of an undergraduate degree in the liberal arts, graduate work in public administration, and on-the-job training as interns or assistants in city management.”8
From 1991 through 1993, ICMA engaged its members in a comprehensive “Dialogue on the Profession,” which portended a significant shift in the definition of the profession. In addition to the position and the values held by the individual, professionalism would increasingly be defined by the individual’s competence in the knowledge, skills, and abilities considered necessary for the local government manager that were identified through the comprehensive dialogue and originally called simply “practices.” At the time, 27 practices were identified, and by 2002 they had evolved into the “competencies and skills” listed in Appendix B, now grouped into 18 management practices. As a result of the dialogue, two guidelines were added to ICMA’s Code of Ethics; the guidelines encourage members to periodically self-assess their competencies and commit at least 40 hours per year to professional development activities based on the required competencies. The ICMA University was established to offer professional development opportunities to the members.
Between 1994 and 2002, ICMA developed the first assessment instruments designed by local government managers to evaluate their competencies. The Applied Knowledge Assessment explores the level of knowledge an individual possesses, and the Management Practices Assessment uses a 360-degree review process to help a manager personally examine the everyday application of that individual knowledge. In 2000, ICMA initiated a voluntary credentialing program enabling individuals to gain a recognition as a “credentialed manager” through approval by a peer-review board of members and the ICMA Executive Board. Approval is based on a combination of education, experience, periodic assessment, and a measured commitment to ongoing professional development. The rites of passage into and through the local government management profession have been changed by improved definitions of “qualified.” Still, the final decision on entry into the professions remains with local elected officials.9
A traditional career path takes a prospective local government manager from an entry-level position as an intern or administrative assistant, through the ranks to the position of department director or assistant manager, and then to appointment as a local government manager. This tradition has changed dramatically over the past three decades, however. Far more career choices are available today, and management professionals can select the level of overall responsibility they wish to accept in an organization and the specific nature of the work they wish to do. In addition, as the work of local government has broadened to include the entire scope of governance, management professionals have increasingly moved in and out of the profession throughout their careers.
The nature of the work of a department director or an assistant differs dramatically from that of the professional who holds the top job with the title of manager, administrator, coordinator, deputy mayor, or other appointed executive title for the overall local government. Those who serve in these positions as chief executive, administrative officer, or operating officer for the entity focus on the external responsibilities of management.10 Department directors and assistants focus on the internal responsibilities, emphasizing a specialized field such as public works, public safety, financial management, or planning and development. Those who focus on these specialized areas tend to settle in jurisdictions with larger populations and feel less need to relocate to move up in their profession. The CEO, CAO, and COO focus on external relationships with citizens, elected officials, and business and other special interest groups; and they are more visible and more vulnerable to being forced to move on and move out of the community than are those who operate as department directors and assistants.
A decision to concentrate on a specialty or remain at a certain management level is far from unusual. For example, Dan Johnson, who served as manager of Carrollton, Texas, became assistant city manager in Richardson, Texas, and enjoyed the lower profile. Mike Lecher moved from city manager of Winooski, Vermont, to city manager of Sedona, Arizona, then to the position of deputy city manager of Tucson. Paul Wenbert returned to Mesa, Arizona, as deputy city manager eleven years after beginning there as an intern; along the way, he served as the manager in Newton, Iowa, and Villa Park, Illinois. All are local government managers regardless of the level or specialty each has chosen.
Opportunities outside the traditional positions are increasingly available. Several examples might make the point. Curtis Branscome, former president of ICMA and manager of Decatur, Georgia, left the traditional career path to become executive director of Stone Mountain Memorial Association, a self-supporting state authority that is responsible for Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park; Bob Herchert, former manager of Fort Worth, Texas, and a vice president of ICMA, moved into senior management positions in banking and health care enterprises before becoming president and CEO of a major engineering firm; Angela Griffin began her career in the United Kingdom and became the chief executive of Redditch, England, before moving to New Zealand to serve as manager of the capital city of Wellington. She now serves as an adviser to local governments in developing and democratizing nations. The author of this chapter has his own version of career diversity, having been not only a city manager and the executive director of ICMA but also a dinner theater producer and entrepreneur. All of this movement within the profession, among various levels of responsibility and various degrees of specialization, and in and out of the profession has enriched the professional lives of those who choose this career.
Career planning
Career development is an important matter; each step deserves the same care and consideration a manager devotes to major projects on the job. Steady progression to increasingly responsible positions within an organization or from one organization to another rarely just happens. Normally, a candidate must take steps to become qualified for a desired position, develop contacts, develop and nurture a career-support network, prepare for the specific position sought, and approach each opportunity knowledgeably and with confidence. Preparing carefully and presenting oneself effectively will not guarantee appointment to a desired position, but failure to do so makes the likelihood of appointment extremely remote.
Education
Preparation for a successful career in local government management typically includes advanced education. In 1971, seven of every ten local government managers possessed at least a bachelor’s degree. Fewer than two decades later, the number was up to nine of every ten;11 and, even more striking, the percentage with graduate degrees had more than doubled—from 27 percent to 64 percent. The 2000 “State of the Profession” survey reported that these percentages were holding constant.12 Although the undergraduate degrees possessed by local government managers show study in a variety of fields, today the preference is for a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) or a closely related field (for example, government administration, city management, city planning, urban affairs). Almost two-thirds of those with graduate degrees report concentration in one of these specialties.
The trend toward graduate degrees will probably continue because it reflects a real increase in competence. A study now several years old showed that 97 percent of local government managers with reputations for productivity or innovation had graduate degrees compared with 64 percent of all local government managers; and 61 percent of the productive, innovative managers possessed an MPA or a closely related degree.13
Advice to job candidates Prepare to compete in the future for desired jobs:
Develop contacts:
Consider carefully your choice of references.
Be discreet; but when it is time to move, let the right people know.
Be selective about considering a new position—but only as selective as your circumstances will allow.
Be candid about your strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments, and failures. Make it clear that you have learned from your experiences—good and bad.
Avoid excessive credit taking and blame laying.
Be prepared for a comprehensive interviewing process; be prepared to substantiate accomplishments and skills.
Do not be surprised to encounter an industrial psychologist, simulation exercises, or videotaping during the screening process.
Do not assume that you have to convince a search firm that you are the number one candidate; there will probably be no ranking among the finalists prior to consideration by the hiring body.
Being named as a finalist is a compliment, but do not let up; you must work at establishing a favorable relationship with the hiring body.
Avoid the pitfalls that prevent some candidates from ever making the finalist list:
Do not be reluctant to apply for a job that interests you even if you do not match the specified qualifications exactly, especially if the qualifications are unusual and you think you are particularly strong in at least one of the specified areas.
If an executive search firm is involved, use it as a source of information about the position, the community, the organization, and the desires of the hiring body.
A candidate’s presence, image, appearance, demeanor, courtesy, and impressions conveyed are all subjective—and also very important.
Do your homework on the jurisdiction.
Approach each stage of the selection process seriously; do not wait until the final stage to begin considering factors that should have been contemplated much earlier and might result in withdrawal from candidacy.
The accrediting association for public affairs programs is the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). NASPAA standards call for flexibility in the design of master’s programs to meet constituent needs and stipulate that the primary objective of the graduate program must be “professional education preparing persons for leadership and management roles in public affairs, policy, administration.”14 In addition, an internship is integral to the degree programs of NASPAA member universities. NASPAA also stresses community involvement and has a long history of working jointly with ICMA on appropriate professional education. Thus, the trends in local government management credentials and the programs offered by universities offering public affairs programs are complementary.
Even with limited experience, many prospective local government managers are eager—and sometimes overeager—to find a prestigious job with an impressive title and extensive responsibilities. Nevertheless, less glamorous choices may better serve their long-term career interests. Often more important than title and starting salary for the enhancement of one’s competitiveness for the next career step are the nature of the job, the opportunity to test and develop skills, the possibilities for advancement, the opportunity to learn from a respected mentor, and the reputation of the employing government.
The aspiring manager will be competing for future positions with very talented colleagues and, in some cases, friends who will be just as eager to have the position. Early in a career, the prospective manager should take care to do the following three things.
Build a record of accomplishment Position title, number of employees supervised, and size of budget managed—these are not the measures that will help one compete for a position with greater responsibility and greater compensation. Instead, it is critical to assume responsibility for a specific issue, problem, capital project, or service area, especially during the first few jobs. If the responsibility is not assigned, the early-career manager should seek out an assignment that will lead to measurable results; that is what builds a professional reputation for accomplishment. As one competes for higher positions, a record of early results is fundamental. In almost all cases, a record of tangible, measurable accomplishments is more valuable to a prospective employer than a background of general experience.
Build relevant experience Advancing in the local government management profession involves building on previous experience. Some early-career experiences seem to steer young staff toward finance, human resources, or planning and economic development. A combination of experiences in one of these fields frequently fascinates a young professional and is the motivator to build a career of increasing responsibility in a specialized field, which often culminates in a department director’s position. Others try out positions that support elected officials in their policy making or constituent representation responsibilities, and they develop a keen interest in support or generalist administration roles. These individuals are frequently interested in assistant positions that come with increasing responsibilities. A smaller number remain focused on the top appointed administrative posts in local government. They deliberately try to vary their early assignments so as to gain a broad exposure to all the concerns facing a local government. All of these options are legitimate, and all result in positions as a professional local government manager.
In addition to the degree of specialization and the level of management responsibility desired, there are several other variables to consider when deciding which early experiences to build upon. The first of these is size. ICMA recognizes communities that have established positions of overall general management responsibility through the council-manager form or some other scheme of organization. In 2003 there were 3,387 communities recognized, and 45 percent had populations of 10,000 or less. In smaller communities, the top manager may be the only manager; a decision to focus experience and career on small communities means much greater exposure to the daily details of a government’s operations. Larger communities involve more staff and specialist management positions with more internal upward mobility and greater responsibilities for coordination.15
Another variable affecting careers is community type. Rural, independent, and suburban communities are all recognized by ICMA, along with a large number of central cities in which special challenges and opportunities arise from broad demographic and economic diversity. Managing in a central city/urban center involves skills that are different from those required in suburban communities, and those skills need to be built and sharpened through early experiences.
Finally there is the question of where a professional manager wishes to live. Mobility is a factor in the profession, but most managers limit their movement to communities within the same state in order to build on experience with state laws, customs, and traditions. Some managers do make interstate moves, but they are a distinct and declining minority. At the other end of the spectrum is the handful of managers who spend their entire careers in one jurisdiction.
Learn to compete Managers interested in moving up in their local government or moving out to manage another local government discover quickly that competition for the most desirable positions is fierce. The strongest contenders establish the foundation for their candidacy early by securing an advanced education, gaining the appropriate experience, and building the record of accomplishments noted above. In the future, becoming and remaining an ICMA credentialed manager will also be an advantage. This foundation, coupled with a reasonably keen knowledge of the recruitment process and an ability to present oneself effectively, enhances the odds of a competitive standing in the job market.
Candidates for local government managerial positions must know the steps in the standard recruitment process conducted by governing bodies for the top job and by the chief appointed official and personnel departments for other professional management jobs. Frequently they must also know the practices of executive search firms. Most small local governments continue to solicit applications for the position of top appointed administrator by advertising in the region, statewide, and nationally (the latter through the biweekly ICMA Newsletter), screen résumés of candidates; conduct reference and background checks; and interview finalists. Most jurisdictions with medium and large populations use search firms to enrich the candidate pool and strengthen the screening process. Top managers and personnel departments also use these firms for assistant and department director positions.
Executive search firms dramatically change the nature of the recruitment and selection process. They become another party in the process, and those ready for a new assignment would be well advised to identify the major firms and let them know of their interest and availability. In addition to improving the candidate development and screening process, the firms have played a significant role in negotiating employment agreements for successful candidates. This has undoubtedly been a factor in the increasing number of such agreements and the increased stability in the profession.
Mobility
The local government profession has always required its practitioners to move from one community to another as they seek increasing responsibility, improved compensation, and new experiences—and as they are no longer welcome in their current position and community. Recent evidence indicates that these perceptions of necessary mobility may be exaggerated at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The average tenure of managers in a council-manager city has been lengthening over the decades. In the 1960s the average tenure was 3.5 years; in the 1970s, 4.4 years; in the 1980s, 5.4 years; and in 2000, 6.9 years.16 One recent survey of managers reported: “The mean for the number of cities a city manager has served is 2.15 with a median of 2 and a mode of 1. Consequently, the conclusion drawn from these data is that even though there is the perception that city managers go from city to city, and other national statistics show that the city management profession is a transient one, the descriptive statistics of this study do not support the prevailing perception.”17
Stability in the profession may be increasing for a number of reasons. The increasing use of employment agreements with severance provisions for termination without cause may be encouraging greater patience by councils. The prevalence of two-career couples could be hindering voluntary movement because the spouses of managers cannot pick up and move on as they used to. The growing number of professional positions and department director positions in mid-size and large communities may encourage practitioners to seek broader responsibilities within the existing local government in order to avoid the costs of relocation.
In addition, as the average age of managers has increased, managers have become sufficiently vested in their local or state pension programs to create a strong incentive to stay put to maximize pension benefits rather than start over in a new plan. Thus, any move is likely to be within the same state. Older managers also mean older children will be reluctant to relocate. The combination of pension, children in high school, and two-career families can be a tremendous deterrent to voluntary mobility, and strong severance provisions are a limit to involuntary mobility.
The ICMA Code of Ethics has always discouraged a great deal of mobility and job hopping. A guideline for Tenet 4 (Appendix A) requires managers to commit at least two years to any position they have accepted, and a pattern of short-term assignments can result in censure for violation of the Code of Ethics. Two situations that may increase the perceived mobility of the profession are the large number of very small communities served by a manager and the tendency of managers who have been fired to take positions in communities that have a history of high turnover. In the first case, many small communities lack the resources to retain a talented manager even though many would like to do so; the manager must, in fact, move out to move up. This is an unfortunate consequence of the fragmented nature of local government in the United States, but many of these communities have been excellent starting places for career managers, and the communities have been well served by the changes brought by new managers.
Those managers who move too quickly to reenter the profession after being fired or forced to resign place themselves in jeopardy of being fired again if they choose a community where the political culture is not ready for professional management. Managers who have been terminated or forced to resign—especially if this job roiling happens more than once—should step back for a careful personal and professional assessment of their strengths and weaknesses as a local government management professional. Patience and careful research are needed to try to assure a better match between the individual’s skills and a community’s needs. Such a careful, reflective, analytical approach to finding the next job is easier if the individual has accumulated reasonable savings to cover living expenses during this difficult transition period. It used to be said in the profession that it would take at least one month to find a new position for every $10,000 in salary sought. That is probably a bit optimistic today; therefore, careful, conservative personal financial management geared to creating and maintaining the requisite nest egg is essential.
Employment agreements
Because city and county managers serve at the pleasure of elected officials, they are vulnerable to removal from office with little or no notice. As a result, many have requested and received employment agreements—in the form of a contract, a letter of agreement, or an ordinance or resolution—that clarify and formalize terms of employment. Among the typical items addressed in an employment agreement are duties of the manager, termination procedures, severance pay, periodic performance evaluation, salary, and fringe benefits.
ICMA has been promoting employment agreements for managers for several decades, and the number of such agreements has increased dramatically. Between 1992 and 2002 the percentage of managers responding to ICMA surveys who indicated they had an employment agreement of some kind increased from 40 percent to 69.5 percent.18
Severance pay and performance evaluation are crucial in these agreements. ICMA has advocated severance provisions that provide at least six months’ salary following termination without cause, and this amount has been provided in most agreements. A task force finishing its work in 2003 reported that increasingly the time period is a full twelve months, and some jurisdictions are providing even more generous severance pay provisions. ICMA’s Model Employment Agreement suggests that the employing body or individual commit to at least an annual review of the performance of the professional manager and that the employing agency commit to support continuing professional development activities such as memberships, conferences, workshops and seminars, and publications to improve the skills of the practitioner. Thus, the model agreement not only encourages more employment security for the individual manager, it also promotes better management by requiring annual performance reviews and promoting continuous improvement through professional development. Employment agreements are far less common for assistants and department directors because they are employees of the top manager and the general employment rules for the local government apply to them. Their positions are also less subject to the volatility of politics.19
The new job
Steps taken early in a new manager’s tenure, even before the official starting date, can be important to long-term success. Before reporting for duty, a manager needs to learn the specific issues and expectations for the new position. If it is in a community new to the manager, the professional manager must get to know that community and its government by reviewing the local charter and organization chart; reading the local government coverage in the local newspaper; and examining budgets, financial statements, and major reports before arriving on the job. ICMA’s First Time Administrators Handbook provides sound advice helpful to all who are entering a new job:
Managers moving from one community to another are also well served by avoiding the syndrome of “We did it this way in _____.” Building on prior experience is essential as a career develops, but implying that your former government did things better is an invitation to poor relations and poor support from your new colleagues. Build on prior experience and introduce new approaches, but keep the sources to yourself.
Another negative might be described as too much use of “I” and too much reliance on a command-and-control style early in a new position. Seeking opinions and advice from new colleagues who have been in the government and involving and including them in decision making will build the teamwork and support essential for success in local government. Most managers have long rejected a command-and-control style, but the unfamiliar circumstances and the desire to make a quick impression and to demonstrate ability to use the authority implied in any management position sometimes drive managers to an unfamiliar style that, in fact, slows their assimilation into a new setting.
When to move on
The excitement that a new manager feels when hired, the energy generated by new challenges, and the honeymoon with a supportive governing body may begin to fade after the first year or two on the job. Saying no to enough special interests may gradually gain the new manager a group of detractors. Eventually, new governing body members are elected, perhaps after campaigning on the need for change, and some of them may express privately—or perhaps even publicly—a desire for their own manager. Sometimes community satisfaction and the confidence of the governing body remain firmly intact, but the manager’s enthusiasm wanes after several years; the manager may begin to feel that the major challenges associated with the job have been met. In either case, it may be time for the manager to look for new challenges and new opportunities.
In the absence of pressure from the governing body or other, sometimes subtle, signs of growing displeasure, deciding whether to remain with a particular local government can be difficult. Nevertheless, the decision to remain or leave an organization is made over and over by countless people in various occupations, not just local government managers. Career consultants Barry and Linda Gale report that “above-average” persons typically decide to change jobs approximately eight times during their careers.21 They suggest careful consideration of important aspects of one’s current job as well as personal attributes (see their list of personal values on page 220). Their advice, adapted to apply to local government managers, suggests consideration of the following factors:
Sometimes the manager decides to stay. A manager who is well suited to and challenged by the current position and appreciated by the local government employer need not feel pressured by some rule of thumb that says local government managers should change jobs every six or seven years.22
Personal values relevant to career choice From the following list of jobrelated values, select the six that hold the most attraction for you:
Above-average income
Adventure
Appreciating beauty
Artistic impression
Change
Community involvement
Competition
Contact with people
Creativity
Excitement
Expanding knowledge
Fast pace
Feelings of belonging
Flexibility of schedule
Helping others
Helping society
Independence from supervision
Influencing people
Location
Making decisions
Mental challenge
Moral fulfillment
Physical challenge
Power
Precision
Recognition
Security
Stability
Supervisory responsibility
Working alone
Working under pressure
Working with others
How many of the values you selected does your present job satisfy?
IT
The least enjoyable time in a professional local government manager’s career is the time of being “IT”—in trouble or in transition. Every aspect of these times is before the public, and the manager’s family must also suffer the indignity of performance criticism and, unfortunately, personal attack. It would be nice if people could disagree without being disagreeable, but the media glare and the open nature of local government focus attention on any negative. This is the most unpleasant part of the manager’s job.
The program helps preserve and share some of the wisdom and lessons gained over the careers of senior members of the profession. It is an important, on-the-ground source of support for communities considering the council-manager form of government.
Mark Achen
To cope with these challenges, it is most important to recognize the signs that usually signify a time of trouble. A number of very senior managers have reported that they never saw the problems developing before they were summarily dismissed from the job. Spotting the signs early might help to avoid that final action, or at least it will help to initiate preparation for moving on in a career. Bill Mathis, an industrial psychologist, suggests seven symptoms of a manager in trouble:
When a manager reads one or more of these signs, it is time to reread the previous section.
“In transition” is the euphemism ICMA uses to describe a manager who has been fired. When another professional person loses a job, often only the family knows; but when a local government manager is fired, everyone knows. Recovering from the perceived humiliation of that action—no matter how unjustified—is extremely difficult. A manager who has been fired must go through a mourning period similar to the loss of a loved one. Denial, anger, sadness, and finally acceptance are all phases through which the manager must pass, and denying or fighting any phase delays the entire process. Some fired managers feel it is their obligation to “save the community from this outrage and protect the citizens who are supporting me.” Almost every fired manager receives support from friends, neighbors, and those who feel the firing was unjust. It is rarely enough to cause the council or any other employer to change the decision, and fighting delays getting through the adjustment period.
They ought to call Range Riders the Rough Riders—because you usually need them most when the going gets rough.
Bob Jasper
Personal and professional support for a manager in these difficult situations is available from ICMA. A manager sensing trouble or already fired should contact ICMA, which can generate a strong support network and provide literature tailored for local government managers.24 In 22 states ICMA sponsors 77 Range Riders—retired managers with significant experience who have volunteered to serve as counselors for active managers who want their advice. After a manager has used these support services to navigate the adjustment period, the number-one priority is often finding the next job. Every manager who is IT needs to think through whether moving back into local government service is the right thing to do after such a shock—for both the manager and the manager’s family. Most managers do return to public service. They are committed to their career choice and are not discouraged by a bad experience.
Although being IT is a part of the local government management profession, it is important to remember that in any one year less than 4 percent of management professionals find themselves in these situations. A majority of managers complete successful careers without ever being IT.
The work and life of a manager
The workweek of a typical local government manager is meaningful, frenetic, challenging, demanding, and stressful. The demands are in some ways similar to executive work in any field of endeavor, with complications added by the public nature of the work as well as the role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload that characterize the work.
Role ambiguity
The manager is expected to be an expert administrator who carries out the policy directives of the governing body—even when those directives are imprecise or contradictory, even when resources are insufficient, and even when sufficient authority to perform the task has not been granted. The manager is expected to render sound policy advice; yet many managers believe it wise to refrain from public acknowledgement of a substantial role in the policy process. In some cases, local government managers are denied the authority to appoint and remove department heads and may even possess few realistic options for preventing subordinates from going over their heads to the governing body; nevertheless, managers are expected to maintain control over the entire administrative operation.
Role conflict
Under conditions of ambiguity, role conflict may be extensive. Council members have expectations regarding the manager’s role that may differ from those of the manager, professional colleagues, subordinates, and citizens, or that may deviate from professional norms or even charter prescriptions. For example, the assumption that the manager has full authority over operating departments occasionally collides with council expectations that the manager will assume a more subservient or “responsive” role on sensitive matters, deferring to the council in such cases. Failed attempts by city managers to remove police chiefs—their nominal subordinates in most council-manager governments—are legendary. Such occurrences dramatize the commonplace disparity between the role formally assigned to the post of manager (in this case, management of all municipal operations, including the authority to appoint or remove the chief of police) and the role that the city council may expect the manager to play.
Role overload
Role overload is apparent in the hectic pace and long workweek typical of the local government manager’s job. (Surveys have found the typical workweek to average 53–57 hours.25) Like chief executives in other fields, local government managers rush from task to task throughout the day: a breakfast meeting with community leaders, a staff meeting back at the office, a half hour to dictate responses to letters or answer a few phone calls, a quick visit with a department head to discuss the concerns of a commissioner, lunch at a civic club, an afternoon that proceeds at much the same pace, an evening meeting, and a briefcase full of memos and reports to read at home. Such schedules create a pressure-packed formula for overload; yet considerable evidence suggests that people attracted to the job of chief executive may actually thrive on the frantic pace—right up to the point of burnout.
My daily prayer while serving as a local government chief executive was “God grant me courageous councilors and staff who are not afraid of making mistakes.”
A. Jeffrey Greenwell
In his seminal study of executive roles and work activities, Henry Mintzberg concluded that executives not only tolerate a work situation characterized by fragmented tasks, brevity in nearly everything they do, and almost constant interruptions, but actually prefer that mode of operation for at least four reasons. First, they fear any other pattern would deny them the constantly updated information vital to their effectiveness. Second, they become accustomed to great variety in their work and grow to enjoy it. Third, most of their activities are related to problems or opportunities they consider important; accordingly, they are reluctant to abandon personal involvement in any of them. And, fourth, they recognize that some duties can be performed only by the chief executive and cannot be delegated.26
Personal life
Three aspects of a local government manager’s work exacerbate the usual pressures felt by any executive: a pervasive lack of privacy, a lack of job security, and the consequent almost constant threat of forced mobility. As the operations of local government have become increasingly transparent and media coverage of local officials has become intense, managers cannot expect to shelter any aspect of their personal lives from public scrutiny. Salaries and benefits are set through public action by the council. Because the manager is a public figure, the manager’s personal life may be a subject for media coverage. Criticism of performance is offered in public, causing the family to share in any resulting frustration. Life in a fishbowl can become tiresome.
The lack of job security has been a natural result of the formulation of the council-manager plan: while the council-manager form gives significant authority to an appointed official (the manager), it also makes certain that that manager has no guaranteed term or tenure and can be removed by the employing body at any time for any reason. Absence of job security, coupled with the reality that elected officials submit to the judgment of the voters every two to four years and the current manager’s advocates can lose, lead the professional manager to recognize that a move may be required at any time. Although this forced mobility may be somewhat overstated today, it is still a prerequisite that an aspiring manager accept the possibility of relocation.
Most managers truly enjoy their jobs and balance the challenging work with a variety of hobbies and activities. Doug Harman, former manager of Alexandria, Virginia, and Fort Worth, Texas, is an avid collector of toy soldiers and a historian of the wars and battles they represent; he is also an amateur cartoonist. Chip Morrison, former manager of Auburn, Maine, enjoyed dropping his normal public persona by acting in community theater presentations. Debra Brooks Feazelle of Port Lavaca, Texas, runs in Susan G. Komen Races for the Cure, with a goal of completing all of them in the country. ICMA life member John Goss is true to his California base when he plays jazz saxophone; and Steve Bonczek of Beaumont, Texas, is a model railroader. Programs of state associations of managers show that golf is almost a religion for managers who enjoy the outdoors; the concentration required helps them forget the job while they compete with friends. Tennis is another sport for managers who enjoy competition. It is no surprise that many managers serve as volunteers in the arts, sporting activities, health care, affordable housing, and other quality-of-life initiatives.
Family life
Being part of the family of a local government manager requires special sensitivity and a willingness to support the public service career of the manager as well as the ethical constraints that accompany it. Spouses may find their career and job choices limited by potential conflicts of interest. Jobs that may be perceived as possibly conflicting with the requirements of the local government manager position include: newspaper reporter, real estate developer, and even jobs in the fields of the arts or health care if the employer is funded by the city government. Active participation in politics by a spouse can also cause problems that strain a marriage; in fact, many spouses were attracted to their manager partner because of a shared interest in public affairs. For couples who are both committed to a profession, career conflicts can be even more complicated, and the growing prevalence of dual-career couples may be one of the factors reducing voluntary job change in the profession.
City managers must be able to patiently and expertly respond to all criticism involving city activities, suffer the consequences of city decisions or indecisions not necessarily under their control, work extraordinarily long hours, and subject their families to some of the same pressures.
David R. Mora
Managers’ children are not exempt from special pressures and must learn at an early age that their manager-parent has an important job in the community. Performance at school may subject a child to “You should have known [done] better, you’re the city manager’s child.” This can burden a child, and the situation requires special support from both parents. Other children may hear their parents criticize the city government and/or the manager and take it out on the manager’s child by teasing and ridiculing; this again calls for special parental support. Both children and spouses carry an added burden as they are expected to be ready at any time for contact with elected officials, media personnel, or the general public. In many ways they are volunteer citizen service representatives because the home telephone can ring at any time for the city manager. Children must develop patience, courtesy, and often a good sense of humor.
The potential for forced relocation is a special challenge that calls for good, open communication on the subject as soon as children are old enough to understand. Intermittently uprooting a family, combined with the realization that the impetus for the move may come suddenly, can cause stress in a family, especially when the children are teenagers and family members have become attached to the community.
The unmarried manager
Unmarried managers, while they have many of the same concerns as married managers, often find demands to be even greater and more complex. If a single manager is divorced, family relationships can be a source of pressure; if the manager lives in the same community as his or her children and ex-spouse, the pressure may be intensified. Life in the goldfish bowl can be particularly difficult for unmarried managers in small communities; their social lives are so public that they seek social relationships in other communities to avoid gossipy hometowners. For single managers, life can be especially lonely. These managers may need to make a special effort to develop a support network of colleagues and friends (perhaps from other communities) with whom they can discuss both job-related and personal issues.
Work and life balance
The overwhelming majority of local government managers and their families enjoy rich, well balanced, rewarding lives. They cope with the special challenges of the profession as they recognize they are close to the heart of their community and the work of the manager is improving the residents’ quality of life. The number of second- and third-generation managers is growing; children of local government managers are energized by their parents’ public service commitment. The profession is demanding and stressful, and occasionally this stress can overwhelm a manager or a family member. Recognizing the symptoms of burnout (see page 225) is as important as building and maintaining personal and professional support networks.
Physical symptoms
Fatigue, physical depletion, exhaustion
Sleep difficulties (e.g., insomnia, nightmares)
Back pain
Gastrointestinal problems (e.g., stomachaches, appetite loss, bowel difficulties)
Headaches
Colds and flu
Behavioral symptoms
Job turnover
Poor job performance (e.g., neglectful, mistake-prone, often requiring supervisory discipline)
Absenteeism/tardiness
Overeating or oversmoking
Extended work breaks
Workplace theft
Prone to workplace injury
Use of alcohol or drugs (e.g., tranquilizers)
Attitudinal symptoms
Cynicism
Callousness
Pessimism
Defensiveness
Intolerance of clients
Lack of confidence regarding personal effectiveness or accomplishments
Lack of commitment to profession
Desire to escape from people or avoid going to work
Reduced expectations
Negative attitudes toward self or life in general
Reduced satisfaction with role and daily activities (personal and professional)
Low job satisfaction
Emotional symptoms
Depression
Guilt
Anxiety
Nervousness
Emotional depletion
Anger
Irritability
Tearfulness
Hopelessness
Loneliness
Interpersonal symptoms
Work interferes with family life
Defensive escape or avoidance of clients (e.g., refusal to answer phone, hanging up on callers)
Verbal attacks or even physical violence toward others
Increased tendency to complain of work problems to family and co-workers (“staff gripes”)
Fewer friends
Preference for solitary activities
Lower level of marital satisfaction
Lower quality of personal relations with friends and family
Tendency to display negative emotions and withdraw from spouse or family
More likely to disagree with spouse about children’s discipline
Spouse more likely to feel depressed and shut out
Tendency to feel less involved in family matters, more distant from children, and misunderstood by spouse about pressures of job
Note: The relationship of burnout to general physical health and job satisfaction has been explored extensively. All other symptoms listed, though supported by initial research, should be regarded as probable symptoms.
Support networks
Support networks made up of family, friends, and professional associates can reinforce other stress-management strategies. Close confidants who can help a manager assess a stressful situation and design a control strategy to deal with the source, who can provide honest and trusted advice to a manager tempted by escape strategies, and who can encourage and perhaps participate with the manager in an exercise or health maintenance program can be of major benefit.
Few people other than local government managers themselves fully grasp the problems and pressures in their environment. Their job is the only one of its kind in their jurisdiction; no one else shares precisely the same perspective. Nevertheless, a support network can be formed of persons who understand at least part of the pressures and who have the manager’s interest at heart. The crucial element of a support network is someone—often a spouse—who offers unconditional support, a sympathetic ear, and, ideally, an unshakable emotional foundation.
Trusted department heads or other work associates—especially those whose mutual interests and personalities bind them to the manger in a friendship extending beyond their occupational ties—may form part of the support network. They, more than most others, understand the problems and pressures of their shared work environment. Colleagues who hold similar positions in other communities may be another important element of the network. They can offer camaraderie at professional association events and expert advice on difficult or sensitive issues. Whether they offer serious advice or simply swap war stories, professional colleagues can help a manager view matters philosophically and keep events in perspective. Finally, personal friends who have no occupational ties can offer diversion, relief from daily pressures, and an outsider’s view of troublesome matters, even if their grasp of the manager’s professional world is limited. Personal friends who share a common spiritual faith may be especially comforting, particularly during trying times when managers face unfair public criticism, emotional upheaval of a family crisis, or a sudden job loss.
The support of colleagues provided through a variety of networks has helped me throughout my career, providing both professional and personal counsel. Serving as state association president in Pennsylvania and as a member of the ICMA board has expanded my horizons and shown me that there is never a reason to be lonely at the top.
Tom Fountaine
ICMA has helped develop and maintain a series of professional support networks available to local government managers. There are 48 state associations of managers and 11 associations that are especially supportive of assistants. The state, and even substate, management associations encourage assistants to get together professionally. Professional associations also provide support for women—who are currently still in the minority among managers—in the local government management profession. The National Association of County Administrators (NACA) is open to professional managers who work in county governments, and the National Association of Regional Councils welcomes directors of regional councils. Those who practice local government management as department directors will find a plethora of professional associations in the fields of, for example, finance, personnel, and public works. The National Forum for Black Public Administrators and the Hispanic Network have already been mentioned. Finally, a great many local and regional groups provide a venue for managers to work together on common interests and support each other personally as well as professionally. Local government professionals have a tendency to bond; they recognize that, although the profession can be a lonely one, no manager need be alone.
A person must consider four personal questions when evaluating a career or job choice:
A good match?
A recent study of managers’ style preferences, with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, found that three style preference out of a total of sixteen constituted 49 percent of all managers’ preferences. The ISTJ (introverted, sensing, thinking, judging) style was indicated by 23 percent of managers who responded to the survey. Persons who prefer this style have been described as practical, logical, thoughtful, matter-of-fact individuals who are traditionalists and stabilizers. They have also been described as “doing what should be done.” A smaller number, 14 percent of managers, indicated a preference for the ENTJ (extroverted, intuitive, thinking, judging) style. They have been described as “life’s natural leaders.” And 13 percent indicated a preference for the ESTJ (extroverted, sensing, thinking, judging) style—“life’s administrators.”28 These three types—who might otherwise be seen as moralists, leaders, or administrators—probably comprise the major types found in the local government management profession. They meet the combination of dedication to continuous improvement, independence, and commitment described as “the reformer” on page 228. However, these three types together describe only half of all local government managers. The profession has room for a variety of work styles—the key is to know what yours is.
I have gone through personal and professional challenges during my career—from the loss of my first wife to cancer to moving to serve different towns in Maine—but this profession has given me both the support I have needed and the opportunity to improve the quality of life for neighbors in towns I have loved.
Don Gerrish
The reformer A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat.
It is his peculiar function to embrace the hopeless cause when it can win no other friends and when its obvious futility repels that thick-necked practical, timorous type of citizen to whom the outward appearance of success is so dear.
His persistence against stone walls invites derision by those who have never been touched by his religion and do not know what fun it is.
He never seems victorious for if he were visibly winning he would forthwith ceased to be dubbed “reformer.”
Yet, in time, the Reformer’s little movement becomes respectable and this little minority proves that it can grow, and presently the Statesman joins it and takes all the credit, cheerfully handed to him by the Reformer as a bribe for his support.
And then comes the Politician, rushing grandly to the succor of the victor.
And all the crowd.
The original Reformer is lost in the shuffle then, but he doesn’t care—
For as the great bandwagon which he started goes thundering past with trumpets, the crowd in the intoxication of triumph leans over the side to jeer at him—a forlorn and lonely crank, mustering a pitiful little odd lot of followers along the roadside and setting them marching while over their heads he lifts the curious banner of his next crusade.
Richard S. Childs, executive director, National Civic League, 1927.
Know thyself
Local government management is a profession that requires continuous self-evaluation and enrichment of personal competencies. ICMA suggests that all members “periodically assess their competencies” and has worked with managers to develop two instruments—the Applied Knowledge Assessment and the Management Practices Assessment—to assess knowledge about the skills required for success and the practical application of that knowledge.
Aspiring managers should take the Applied Knowledge Assessment at least once early in a career and periodically thereafter every decade or so. Results from the first 1,700 assessments indicate that the greatest strengths of managers are in media relations, functional and operational expertise and planning, and technological literacy. On the other hand, many managers’ knowledge of quality assurance, citizen service, financial analysis, democratic advocacy, and citizen participation could be improved. Those preparing to enter the profession should develop competence in the substantive areas deemed most important by elected officials. Careful review of current literature and job advertisements can give a clear indication of elected officials’ priorities. Those considering entry should take the Applied Knowledge Assessment early so as to target their personal professional development.
It is too early to report any results from the Management Practices Assessment, but some managers, with reported success, are beginning to use this 360-degree instrument in their annual performance evaluations. Annual assessment by the council or employing official is a vital tool for a manager who wants to continuously update personal knowledge of performance. It is surprising—yet not surprising—how many managers and councils resist the annual evaluation. The evaluation must be conducted in public in many states, or the results must at least be reported to the public, which can engender criticism by the public and open the door for community controversy. Many individual members of councils have never participated in a performance evaluation, and conducting one as a group almost seems unnatural, or very difficult at best. In addition to using ICMA’s Management Practices Assessment as a tool to make the job a bit easier for the council and to introduce the traits and competencies that the profession deems appropriate for evaluation, some managers have encouraged their councils to use the services of a professional facilitator to help make the assessment a bit smoother for both parties. Whether one uses the instrument, a facilitator, or both, the annual evaluation is critical for the relationship and for the individual manager’s self-knowledge.
A local government manager leads a challenging and fascinating life … doing varied and interesting work that improves the quality of life for all residents in the community. Working for elected officials and with dedicated public servants has been a truly rewarding career. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Bruce Romer
A fourth assessment tool beyond the Applied Knowledge Assessment, the Management Practices Assessment, and the annual performance evaluation is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which attempts to identify “the 16 personality types that determine how we live, love, and work.” Many managers have used the assessment to help identify their own strengths and weaknesses, and some have asked their families, management teams, and councils to take the assessment with them to improve team understanding.
Take a minute to look at yourself as a leader. Do you have the qualities to make a valuable leader to your group? Answer the questions associated with leadership attributes, skills and knowledge and put yourself to the test. After you have looked at yourself as a leader, answer the questions at the end.
Attributes …
Skills …
Knowledge …
What trait were you proud to say describes you? • Was there any trait you would not consider desirable? • What trait are you trying to make more descriptive of you?
1 James Svara, quoted in Bill Hansell, “Professional Management: A Significant Contribution of the Council-Manager Form of Government,” Public Management (May 2002): 24.
2 George L. Hanbury II, “The Function of Leadership Styles and Personality Types among City Managers” (Ph.D. diss., Florida Atlantic University [UMI/ProQuest Digital Dissertations, AAT no. 9998892], May 2001), 163.
3 State of the Profession Survey Results, 2000 and 2002, reported in ICMA Newsletter, various issues.
4 State of the Profession Survey Results, 1992–2002, reported in ICMA Newsletter, various issues.
5 Compensation 2002: An Annual Report on Local Government Executive Salaries and Fringe Benefits (Washington, D.C.: ICMA, 2002); and U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational Wages in the United States as of July 2002” (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2003).
6 Hanbury, “The Function of Leadership Styles.”
7 State of the Profession Survey Results, 2002, reported in ICMA Newsletter, various issues.
8 Richard J. Stillman II, “Local Public Management in Transition: A Report on the Current State of the Profession,” The Municipal Year Book 1982 (Washington, D.C.: ICMA, 1982), 163.
9 ICMA Report of the Task Force on Continuing Education and Professional Development (Washington, D.C.: ICMA, 1994).
10 Henry Mintzberg, The Nature of Managerial Work (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1980).
11 Tari Renner, “Appointed Local Government Managers: Stability and Change,” The Municipal Year Book 1990 (Washington, D.C.: ICMA: 1990), 41–52.
12 State of the Profession Survey Results, 2002.
13 David N. Ammons, “Reputational Leaders in Local Government Productivity and Innovation,” Public Productivity and Management Review 15 (Fall 1991): 19–43.
14 “Standards for Professional Masters Degree Programs in Public Affairs, Policy, and Administration” (Washington, D.C.: National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration [NASPAA], 2003), Standard 1.3, http://www.naspaa.org/accreditation/seeking/pdf/OFFICIAL_DOCUMENTS_2003_standards_only.pdf.
15 “Inside the Year Book,” The Municipal Year Book 2002, xii.
16 Douglas J. Watson and Wendy Lassett, “Long Serving City Managers: Why Do They Stay?” Public Administration Review 63 (January–February 2003): 71–78.
17 Hanbury, “The Function of Leadership Styles,” 164.
18 State of the Profession Survey Results, 2002.
19 In addition to the ICMA model agreement, see also Ron Holifield, The Public Executive’s Complete Guide to Employment Agreements (Tampa, Fla.: Innovation Groups; and Washington, D.C.: ICMA, 1996).
20 First Time Administrators Handbook (Washington, D.C.: ICMA, September 2000).
21 Barry and Linda Gale, Stay or Leave (New York: Harper and Row, 1989).
22 Arlene Loble, “Becoming a Risk Taker—and Then a City Manager,” Public Management (March 1988): 19.
23 Bill Mathis, “Seven Signs of a Manager in Trouble” (Washington, D.C.: ICMA, December 1990).
24 See Betsy Sherman, “ICMA Support to Members in Transition,” Public Management (1992), accessed online at http://www.icma.org/main/ld.asp?from=search &ldid=14491&hsid=1; Michael Roberto, “10 Points of Change during Transition; or, Can Someone Throw Me a Rope in This Quicksand?” Public Management (June 2001), 15; http://www.icma.org/upload/library/IQ/500599.htm; and Jerry W. Johnson and Nolan Brohaugh, “The Emotional Aspects of Job Loss,” Public Management (January 1992): 6; http://www.icma.org/main/ld.asp?from=search&ldid=14488&hsid=1.
25 Respondents to a 1985 survey reported average work-weeks of 56.6 hours for city managers and 52.7 hours for assistant managers; see David N. Ammons and Charldean Newell, City Executives: Leadership Roles, Work Characteristics, and Time Management (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989). Local government managers reported an average workweek of 63 hours in 1980; see Stillman, “Local Public Management in Transition.”
26 Henry Mintzberg, The Nature of Managerial Work.
27 Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge (New York: Harper & Row, 1985).
28 Hanbury, “The Function of Leadership Styles,” 121; Sandra Kriebs Harsh, MBTI Team Building Program (Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1992); and Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen, Type Talk (New York: Dell Publishing, 1988).