By Kevin Duggan, ICMA-CM

Local government chief executives have many “audiences” that require their time and attention—neighborhood and business groups, employees/employee organizations, other governmental agencies, and so forth.

Yet it sometimes falls beneath the radar how the government’s department heads are particularly critical to the manager’s success. While this should be intuitive, it is possible to underestimate the commitment needed to establish and maintain an effective relationship, not only between the chief executive and the department heads, but also between the department heads and the governing body.

As part of Cal-ICMA’s continued efforts to enhance city and county manager “survival skills” and career success, it developed sessions for League of California Cities conferences this year dealing with the critical relationship between chief executives and their leadership team.

This focus was in part the result of several examples of managers having significant challenges with their elected officials regarding issues about the department head team.

These challenges have included:

• Department heads rebelling against the manager and putting councils in the position of choosing between the manager’s continued employment and the perceived morale of all or a portion of the department head team. In more than one example, it was the manager who ended up exiting the organization.

• Members of the governing body attempting to pressure the manager on who to hire as a department head and when not successful in doing so, threatening the manager’s job.

• Councilmembers attempting to pressure the manager to remove department head(s) whom they viewed as not performing satisfactorily. The manager may not agree with the council’s assessment of performance or may not move as quickly as desired by the council.

• The manager being viewed as not holding department heads to a high enough standard. Sometimes, councils think the manager either is conflict adverse and is not willing to confront substandard performance or perhaps has become more of a friend than a boss and is willing to overlook what the council views as inadequate performance.

• The manager is perceived as being unable to establish and maintain an effective relationship with some or all of the department head team. This can result from the belief that the relationship is strained due to personality conflicts, different perceptions regarding adequate performance, poor communication, or additional reasons.

• At times, less-than-ideal interactions between department heads and councilmembers can be the source of discord. Perhaps one or more members of the council didn’t like the way a department addressed them at a council meeting or responded to a resident complaint.

The same can occur in a personal interaction at a community event or in some other setting. There are also instances when employees or their employee organization representatives complain about a department head. Complaints can also come from residents, community groups, or other sources.

Recognizing all of these potential issues, managers need strategies for working with governing boards, with individual department heads, and with department heads as a group in order to minimize the likelihood of any of these issues becoming a major problem.

Working with the Governing Board

No set of strategies is guaranteed to avoid all conflicts between a manager and elected officials regarding department head issues. Yet steps can be taken to minimize the likelihood of problems:

Before accepting a job leading an organization, a manager can try to make sure he or she understands the basis for the manager’s versus the governing board’s relationship with the department heads.

Is the manager’s authority to hire and dismiss department heads clear? Is it included in a charter, local ordinance, resolution, or possibly state law? How explicit and enforceable are the provisions?

Is there a clear non-interference provision that can be used to fortify the manager’s position if one or more councilmembers gets overly involved in trying to direct department heads?

Consider including in an employment agreement a provision clearly stating the manager’s authority to hire, fire, and direct department heads, including referencing any appropriate charter provisions, laws, or resolutions.

Consider including in an employment agreement a requirement that the manager abides by the ICMA Code of Ethics. Tenet 10 requires members to resist encroachment on professional responsibilities, while Tenet 11 requires that all matters of personnel be handled on the basis of merit so that fairness and impartiality govern decisions relating to personnel matters, including the selection of staff.

Even if it appears the governing board is giving the manager full authority to make any changes deemed appropriate, appreciate the reality that depending on how much controversy comes with the changes, the board’s support may not be unequivocal.

While they may agree that changes—for example, higher performance expectations for department heads—are needed, they may not fully appreciate the level of discord that can result through the process leading to the higher performance.

Avoid surprising the governing board with major changes and issues involving department heads. Simply because some action a manager is planning to take is fully within the position’s authority, that doesn’t mean that catching the council off guard—or not laying sufficient groundwork with the elected officials regarding a proposed change—won’t have the potential of negatively impacting a manager’s relationship with the elected officials.

Create ways for the governing board to provide input on organizational performance and service quality without encouraging board members to get into the detail of how issues and problems identified should be resolved. Governing boards are put in the often-challenging position of being held accountable by the electorate for the overall performance of the organization without the ability to direct departmental performance.

Determine ways to make sure councilmembers feel that they can have some influence (through the manager), by being open to their observations and concerns. It is important, however, to try to get the council to stick to the “what” (what the concern or issue is) versus the “how” (how that concern or issue should be addressed and resolved).

The manager also needs to protect his or her authority to select and lead the department head team--the mirror opposite of the immediately preceding point.

Resisting the efforts of governing board members to direct the work of the department heads can be fraught with difficulties, but not doing so usually leads to much greater challenges as the elected officials become emboldened to involve themselves to an increasing degree in the daily management of staff with all the resulting negative consequences.

The manager also needs to work to establish and maintain the professional credibility of the department heads as a team and as individuals. This can be done in many ways, including as early as council candidate or newly elected councilmember orientations.

Communicating to elected officials the education, training, and experience of department heads can help them put in context the foundation that these individuals bring to managing their departments and to making recommendations.

Interacting personally with department heads can also help dispel impressions that others may give council candidates and councilmembers regarding these individuals.

Working with Department Heads

There are times when a manager has the opportunity to select the department head team, but frequently he or she will inherit a team selected by one or more previous managers. Here are strategies for dealing with both circumstances:

As part of job research, and before accepting a job in a new community, develop a good understanding of the department head team, including the team’s strengths and deficiencies and the department heads’ relationship with the governing board. This can include the governing board’s perception of the team.

Discussing the council’s impression of the organization during the selection process, including the department heads, is one way to garner this information. Also, if possible, try to talk with one or more department heads prior to accepting the position.

It might also be possible to get information by talking to peers in neighboring communities, by researching press reports, or by observing governing board meetings.

From the outset, recognize that department heads, both individually and as a group, are a “key audience.” Act accordingly by taking seriously the need to establish and maintain a good relationship, including good communication regarding mutual expectations. Have a plan to get the relationship off to a positive start and to maintain it over the long haul.

Fully appreciate the connection between the relationship a manager can have with the department heads and their relationship with the governing board. Understand that one impacts the other. Determine how to navigate those intertwined relationships in a way that works effectively for all the involved parties.

When undertaking a new job, make it a high priority to develop a good relationship with each department head, regardless of personality or skill level. Try to make it clear that you believe in effective two-way communication and feedback and that you will carefully consider their perspectives on issues before reaching conclusions.

Make personal expectations for department heads, as well as organizational performance, as clear as possible and early in your term as a manager. It is hard to meet expectations when a department head doesn’t fully understand what is expected.

In doing so, however, try to have the process be more in the form of a conversation than a unilateral pronouncement. Carefully listen to views of the department heads regarding their, as well as your, performance.

When laying out expectations, try to do so in a way that does not come across as threatening or intimidating.

Make it clear that you will work with individual department heads and the group as a whole to understand their current circumstances, while working with them to determine how best to advance the organization in order to meet governing board and community expectations.

As should be the norm in all your relationships, try not to overreact to the normal differences of opinion or personal style that can be encountered with department heads.

This is particularly important in the early stages of the relationship when pretty much everything you say and do will be examined and analyzed closely by a variety of audiences, including the department heads.

Exercising emotional maturity can be challenging depending on the circumstances, but it can be one of your most important attributes.

If you are having trouble establishing and maintaining a positive relationship with multiple department heads, especially if it’s a majority of the department head team, view that as a big red flag! Carefully reflect on why that is the case and what could result if that situation remains unresolved.

Fully appreciate how your actions, or inaction, may impact your relationships not only with the department heads but also with the governing board.

Carefully balance the need to adequately support and defend department heads with requiring adequate performance. Recognizing that there can be a wide variance of opinion regarding what adequate performance looks like, make it a priority to have clarity between you, the department heads, and the council.

Work with the council and department heads to find a reasonable balance between expectations, including appropriately setting priorities and providing adequate resources to match the priorities.

When changes need to be made to the department head team, do so carefully and thoughtfully. Handle the exit of department heads, to the greatest extent possible, in the same manner as you would like to be treated if forced to exit the organization. Doing this, or not doing this, communicates a powerful message to the remaining department heads.

Avoid Complacency

It is not really possible to be a local government chief executive for long without fully appreciating the critical role that the manager’s relationship with the governing board will have to the position’s success. While it should be equally clear that a relationship with the department head team, and individual department heads, is also of critical importance, it is possible to become complacent regarding these relationships.

People can also fail to fully appreciate how the department head relationship can significantly impact the relationship with elected officials. By fully appreciating how these relationships are intertwined, and conducting ourselves consistent with that understanding, the likelihood for success will be significantly increased.

Kevin Duggan, ICMA-CM, is West Coast Regional Director, ICMA, Mountain View, California (kduggan@icma.org). He is a former manager of Mountain View.