Biggest Decision Council Will Ever Make

In case you missed the news, here is an excerpt from the Benicia Herald story about the City Manager's announcement of his retirement. Following this story is an article by another city manager, Rick Cole, who titles it, "The biggest decision the council will ever make". And indeed it is.

I am interested in your thoughts for what you would like in a city manager. Please share your ideas and suggestions in the Comments link below this post. I will compile them and share them with the council. The council will be discussing how to select a city manager, what are the qualities of the next city manager, and should we have an interim city manager while the search is on, among other issues.
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BENICIA HERALD ARTICLE:

Benicia city manager to retire in July
Top staffer was hired in 2003; replacement talk under way
By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter, The Benicia Herald, April 9, 2010

Jim Erickson, Benicia’s city manager since 2003, has announced his retirement. When he leaves the job July 15, Erickson, who turns 65 next month, will be ending a public service career that began 39 years ago when he became assistant city manager of Vacaville.

Read More...
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RICK COLE ARTICLE:

The Biggest Decision a Council Will Make
By Rick Cole
City Manager, Ventura

It’s been decades since there have been so many city manager opportunities – the sea change that our profession has been predicting is now coming to pass as baby boomer managers retirements add to the usual rate of turn-over. Many of California’s most distinguished managers have called it quits in the last couple of years, seemingly at an increasing rate. Recently a half dozen major cities were in the hunt – and some national searches have come up short, with cities turning instead to keeping their interim managers from inside.

Choosing a city manager is the biggest decision a Council will make, but few are prepared for the challenge. While responsible recruiters certainly help, our profession also has an obligation to assist Councils in working together for successful results. Obviously, good succession planning by city managers is important so that cities have viable inside choices. But if a wider search is expected or desired, our profession has a large stake in promoting successful outcomes.

As one of the few people who has been on both sides of the city manager hiring process in California, I’ve talked to Council members and Mayors from many cities about the City Manager hiring challenge. Almost invariably, they are naively unprepared for the obstacles they face.

Many simply assume that by hiring a recruiter, conducting interviews and picking the “best” choice, they have fulfilled their responsibilities. They almost never realize how difficult it is to successfully recruit in today’s fiercely competitive environment.

Here’s a quick checklist of the key elements of a successful search:

Thinking through the process. Most cities hire a reputable recruiter,although some go it alone. But most elected officials erroneously assume that the recruiter can and will do it all. They neglect the other vital places they can and should participate.

Achieving consensus on what they are looking for before beginning the search. Most elected officials lack experience in hiring a chief executive. They figure that they will interview the candidates and pick “the most qualified.” Not only do they fail to come to agreement as a group, they often individually fail to identify what the organization and the community really need in a new chief executive. Too often they simply react to the last manager – seeking to replace the qualities in a person they liked or find the opposite qualities from a person they didn’t. Even if views aren’t that subjective, they are often too narrow – “we need someone who can help revitalize downtown” or “I want someone who can stand up to our Police Chief” etc. Over the four years the average manager spends in a city (and much longer in many cases) the issues will change, so the leadership approach and the character of the person selected will count much more than specific expertise,viewpoints or experience.

Actively participating in the recruitment: Once a Council has achieved consensus, they can play an important role convincing well-suited candidates to apply. This can’t be a “free for all,” of course – it is best handled by the Mayor or a Council appointed search committee working closely with the recruiter. But with the most sought-after candidates having had their pick of opportunities in recent years, an elected official can carry great weight in persuading potential candidates to apply. Happy in my last job, I would never have become a candidate in Ventura if the Mayor had not personally talked to me at length to convince me that I might be a great fit.

Prepare for the interviews: Even experienced professional
managers often overestimate their interviewing skills. A group of
elected officials seldom are prepared to get the most out of the
highly artificial process of assessing a candidate in 45-60 minutes.
Without a thorough preparation on what to be looking for, what
pitfalls to avoid and how to ask fruitful questions, at the end of a
long day, each councilmember will have their own subjective
reactions (“I thought he came across as arrogant,” “I really liked his answer on what he’d do to reduce gang crime,” “she seemed nervous” etc.) These impressions are not an accurate measure of future performance potential.

See for themselves: Recruiters usually do a good job on checking references, but there is no substitute for some or all the Council members going to the local community to check on their final choice before signing on the dotted line. More councils are taking this step and it often not only helps solidify the choice, but also gives insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the person they are hiring. We all have them – and the vital relationship between council and manager starts with understanding them.

Getting off on the right foot: It’s not enough to finalize salary and relocation details. What are the expectations for the first six months? What kind of evaluation framework will be put in place right from the start? How will the new person be introduced to the organization and the community? These are questions that are too often taken for granted or answered only superficially. But as the cliché goes, there is only one chance to make a first impression. Working together on that (especially if the manager is hired on a split vote) is vital to minimize predictable problems down the road.

We all know that relatively trivial matters can sometimes keep a Council up to the wee hours, whether it’s a stop sign in one jurisdiction or a land use appeal in another. Outgoing managers are not always in a position to help their Councils prepare to choose their successors – and might feel like they are intruding on the Council’s business. But as a profession, we can work with the recruiting professionals to help Councils do a better job of making their most important decision – and the better job they do, the stronger it will make our profession.

--Rick Cole, Ventura City Manager
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As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this is indeed a big decision for the Benicia City Council, and we need to hear your thoughts on what you would like in a city manager. I encourage you to share your ideas and suggestions by clicking the COMMENTS link directly below this post (and read the comments of others). I will compile them and share them with the council.

Thank you for your input.
--Elizabeth

P.S. To get you started, here are some comments I've already received:
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Hi Elizabeth,

Since I'm not quite sure what a City Manager does, but assume it has much to do with ensuring the city's budget is sound, I would think you need an individual who is strong in knowledge and in practical experience in maintaining balanced governmental budgets. I would also hope the person is a team player and is easy to work with and for, is capable of bringing new and creative ideas to the table (thinking outside the box) and is able to find practical solutions to difficult problems in a timely manner. I like someone who doesn't need to be told what to do, but can think one or two steps ahead and be prepared with practical options to present to our city's decision makers. I don't know whether any existing staff fits the bill but I would certainly encourage any current staff to apply if they think they're capable.
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ELizabeth,

I want a city manager who isn't afraid of big industry and will advocare for the city/citizens. I also want someone educated to be a city manager. I want someone who looks out and understand all segments of our community and especially the needs of the poor and the folks on the other side of the freeway. I also want someone who will be able to complete projects. We have way too many uncompleted projects around this community. S/he needs to be able to work with all the members of the city council and especially the mayor.

I think the city council needs to be very clear as to what they want in a city manager and they can do this by having clearly stated goals and objectives. You are going to say that we already have that but what should happen now is that we should review them to make sure they are still accurate.
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ok elizabeth--here is a good starter --
1) nonpartisan --show examples
2) highest integrity--ask candidates to give five best examples in writing of how they showed it--most crucial trait
3) vision--ask what is over the horizon--listen to how they connect trends and ideas together
4) benicia needs a planner-manager---since the road ahead is always full of hairpin turns, ask candidates how they do their strategic planning and what they can teach the city's elected officials that they don't know about it.
If they do not use scenario planning routinely drop them from consideration because all they know is forecasting and in uncertain times that always fails
5) track record --must have been a ceo before--being in a top job is like no other--being required to take full responsibility for every decision and not pass the buck.
KNOW THYSELF ask them to describe in detail their three biggest failures and what they learned from each--we all make errors, some can't learn from them.
---ask what were your top 5 achievements in each of the last three jobs--how did you decide to do each one? who else was involved and why? who took the credit and why?
How long did they stay in each job? why did they leave each job? how do they win friends and influence people?
6) benicia needs a manager who understands the environmental sensitiveness of the sf bay area--ask candidates how they achieved in prior jobs to improve the environmental ambience of their areas in which they worked
7) ask them how they manage conflict--manage gossip--manage anger among others--manage their own anger--
What they believe about how groups with competing agendas should be handled (ensure all the competing leaders hear out the others until they can work together toward common good in the future is best model)
Do they prepare one budget or a best case, worse case and most probable budget each year? (latter shows more sophisticated experience )
8) ask them how they would handle wayward public opinion vs an alternative obvious right path--e.g; if 750 voting citizens and 100 high school students walked in to city hall with a surprise petition to raze the post office and build a huge statue in its place dedicated entirely to the back end of a giraffe, how would they, step by step, handle it? ( did the candidate laugh, take it seriously, offer help, try to dissuade them?)
9) ask them what their own personal goals are--what do they want to achieve in life--how is what they did before part of that plan? how is the new position part of that plan?
10) what is important to Benicia and why? --have they done their homework? can they describe each neighborhood?
what do they think of each shopping center/ what should be the economic engine of benicia? how should Benicia attract visitors?, tourists?, new residents? what should benicia look like in 25 years--how many people?, how diverse an employment base? , relationship to the university of California(if any)? what would make the best collection(& why)of future small businesses in the area from Safeway to the waterfront? in Southampton? etc

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Please click the COMMENT link below to leave more comments!