By Bill Cahill, ICMA-CM

At 2:10 a.m. on June 7, 2016, Loveland, Colorado, city councilmembers told me in closed session that they "wanted to go in a different direction" and were terminating my contract. After a brief discussion of details, we went out together into public session and announced my termination "without cause." I would continue working about three weeks longer to ensure a smooth transition. End of statement.

All of us in chief executive management positions know that this can happen to any of us at any time, but we don't really expect it to. We know managers who have been fired without cause, and that's why most of our contracts provide severance benefits.

Still, most managers are in their positions because they have been successful throughout most of their professional lives. Being fired can be a new and unknown experience. It certainly was novel for me during my 35-year local government career.

Managers know that a firing can be political, and they don't necessarily see it as a personal failing. They are like major league football or basketball coaches: Fired in one place and picked up again in another.

This insight is limited to those "in the know." It is hard for others—family members, friends, community members—to understand that a firing doesn't necessarily involve incompetence or wrongdoing.

Profound Aftereffects

Even so, termination has a deep and personal effect. Because of the impact and the fact that most chief executives in midcareer do want to obtain a new chief administrative officer position, usually the fired manager will soon move on to another community.

While the personal blow of being terminated can be hard enough for the manager, it will probably affect his or her family members even more. This is easier to deal with if a person moves to a new position.

This, however, is not my case. My age and length of service, and the fact that my wife and I had become empty nesters with the departure of our daughter to college, allowed us to consider a possible off-ramp to retirement and remaining in the community where I was working. That's the option we're taking.

The plus: Not seeking another job. The minus: Seeing people daily who wondered why I was fired.

This factor alone can be especially tough on your partner and your family. Encounters with people you know in the grocery store, at the gym, or on the street become awkward. Conversations that I could bear were harder for my wife, who was also my greatest support. Her understanding and encouragement were crucial to my own well-being.

Support can come from many quarters and is incredibly helpful. Positive messages poured in right after my firing. Professional colleagues around the region, the state, and across the country contacted me, which I was thankful to receive.

Community leaders and members also let me know of their appreciation for my service. The most touching messages came from more than 200 of Loveland's city employees.

Time for Introspection

Since then, having taken months off allows introspection and self-analysis, a valuable side effect of having severance benefits. Severance can mean more than a financial bridge until your next position. (Note to managers: Check your contract and its language.)

My thoughts inevitably became questions: Why did this happen? How could I have prevented it? What mistakes did I make that I could learn from?

There were lots of answers. I knew I had made plenty of mistakes over the five and a half years I served the community as city manager. Some could have been avoided or fixed. And, I might have seen it coming earlier and reacted.

A deeper realization settled in: The fundamental reason might not be fixable. At bottom, the reason is a lack of that "fit" that executive recruiters always talk about finding between an elected board and a chief executive.

With election changes in the council every other year, the group that I once fit with was no longer there. I was working with my fourth council and that is the group that wanted "a different direction."

All in the Fit

So, in the end, an ironic insight: The phrase "different direction" is not a public relations euphemism or some glossing over of the truth. To the contrary: It is precisely accurate because it expresses the lack of fit that is the basic problem.

Further, this is exactly the way that our form of government is supposed to work. We live in a democratic republic. Officials elected by the people hold the reins. It is right and proper that these elected officials work with a professional manager of their choice, one with whom they share a comfortable fit.

A firing that is political does not make it illegitimate. . . .

. . . but it's still not fun!

Bill Cahill, ICMA-CM, manager in transition, Loveland, Colorado (thecahillfam@gmail.com).