As part of his conference closing session address delivered during the "Celebration of Service" in Boston on September 25, newly installed President Simon Farbrother of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, challenged ICMA members to consider the future direction of the local government management profession.

Farbrother discussed how, during ICMA’s first 100 years, professional managers focused on serving as “…the highest level of technical experts. Our jobs were to direct staff and manage the flow of activity.” According to Farbrother, “Councils set policy, and administrators brought [that policy] to life.”

Times have changed, and with them, the environment in which city, town, and county managers work. Farbrother observed that today managers work collaboratively with elected officials, their staffs, and their communities. Thanks to drivers such as life-changing advances in technology, community complexities, and heightened constituent expectations, “[Managers] are now facilitators or moderators of the community conversation” who “offer our expertise to the discussion, but “…are no longer the ‘de facto’ subject experts.

In addition to these external factors, local government organizations also have changed, with staff expectations concerning their involvement in the decisions that affect them paving the way for increased innovation and creativity in the workplace. Managers, on the other hand, now hold responsibility for setting the “tone…norms, and standards of behavior” for their organizations. In short, the role of the professional manager has shifted from one of serving as technical experts to becoming a source of workforce inspiration.

Over the past few years, the issue of the future role of professional managers has generated a number of interesting discussions among the ICMA membership. Early deliberations took place among a group of ICMA members in 2006, and the results of those discussions were summarized in the article, “How Professionals Can Add Value to Their Communities and Organizations” in the March 2007 issue of PM (Public Management) magazine. The topic was later discussed by the ICMA Executive Board in 2011; among members at the 2012 ICMA Regional Summits; at a Big Ideas Conference in November 2012; and again by the board as recently as December 2012. 

As ICMA embarks on its 100th anniversary, President Farbrother challenges members to once again think about the role that professional managers and the association will play in the next two decades and to examine the “value proposition” of professional management. Within the next few months, he will establish a task force of members, including next-generation participants, which will be charged with evaluating the future role of leadership and the supporting role of ICMA in facilitating these changes.

President Farbrother invites you to watch the video above, read the transcript of his closing session address, review the feedback collected from attendees during ICMA’s 99th Annual Conference in Boston/ New England in September, and then consider the following questions, which have been identified by the earlier groups of members discussed above:

1.      What are the forces that will impact local government in the next 10 to 25 years?

2.      What challenges do those factors present?

3.      What are the implications for the local government management profession?

4.      What leadership and management competencies will be required of professional managers?

5.      What are the implications for leadership and management development?

6.      What should be the role of ICMA and affiliates in addressing these challenges?

Share your thoughts with President Farbrother and your colleagues by posting a comment to this article in the space below. Then watch this space for news about the new leadership task force and other thought-provoking observations about the future of the profession. We look forward to your feedback.