By Frank Benest, ICMA Liaison for Next Generation Initiatives I’m a mid-career manager in a large water district. The division team that I supervise is involved in water conservation and recycling programs. I also lead several project teams involving internal and external groups. During my career, I’ve participated on a few great-achieving teams and some [...]
Growing the power of women in the workforce is about more than fairness. It could add trillions to our economy, and a new report shows the way. by Julia Burrows, Director of the Governing Institute (Reposted from Governing.com) Every revolution begins with a desire for fundamental change. Ideas are debated, options narrowed, strategy planned and [...]
Guest Blogger Linda Kelly on the Top 10 Reasons Why.......... By Linda Kelly, Town Manager - Windsor, CA In honor of Mother’s Day 2016 and our Guest Blogger's 10th year as a city manager (and with deepest apologies to David Letterman), here are the Top Ten Reasons why moms rock as city and county managers, police [...]
By Marianne Cooper, Ph.D., Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University In their blog post, “New Research Shows Success Doesn’t Make Women Less Likable,” Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman conclude from their analysis of assessments of men and women leaders who have come through their leadership program that “likeability and success actually go together remarkably [...]
By Cheryl Hilvert, Management and Leadership Consultant & Former City Manager, Ohio As I look back on 31 years of local government service I am both pleased, and humbled, by the importance of the work that we people do, the people I have met, and all the many things I learned along the way. While [...]
By Tamara & Paul Letourneau There is an old saying that the smartest person in the room is the person who is not talking because they are listening. The term "two ears and one mouth" means that we are supposed to listen twice as much as we talk. Have you ever given someone direction only [...]
Guess What? It's NOT! By Marianne Cooper, PhD - Sociologist, The Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University There are many things that make the United States different from the rest of the developed world. One of them is that we are the only developed economy that does not provide paid maternity leave. I’m [...]
How Libraries and Police Departments are "Similar?" By Amber Cameron, Strategic Operations Manager - City of Palo Alto, CA Both experience something called Occupational Segregation... “Tell your grandfather about all the women’s stuff you’ve been working on,” my mom says at a holiday family get together. After briefly talking about the ICMA conference this year, [...]
By Mary Jacobs, Assistant City Manager - Sierra Vista, AZ Do you ever look back and remember someone who said something that really inspired you? I remember one of my early bosses out of graduate school. She was commenting on my work product one day, and told me I had the makings of a leader [...]
By Megan Roach, Marketing & Sustainability Manager - Beverly Hills, CA While pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at Chapman University, I applied for a graduate level internship with the City Manager’s Office for the City of Laguna Niguel. I drove to the interview thinking the internship would either define my career path [...]