The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary City Manager: Lencioni’s Wisdom Applied to Local Government

In Patrick Lencioni’s “The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive,” he highlights four key disciplines that leaders should prioritize to build a healthy organization. Today, we’ll explore how these obsessions can be applied specifically to the unique challenges and opportunities encountered by city managers.

Obsession 1: Build and Maintain a Cohesive Leadership Team

As a city manager, your leadership team will include department heads, key advisors, and elected officials. Building cohesion through clear communication and opportunities for collaboration among this diverse group is crucial for effective governance.

Action Steps:

• Foster an environment where team members are comfortable being vulnerable with one another, admitting mistakes and weaknesses.
• Encourage open and honest communication, even when discussing challenging topics like budget constraints or policy disagreements.
• Ensure all team members are aligned on the city’s top priorities and how their roles contribute to these goals.

Obsession 2: Create Organizational Clarity

In the context of city management, clarity is vital to ensure all departments and stakeholders are aligned. This is particularly challenging in municipal government, where diverse interests and complex regulations intersect. Organizational clarity in a city setting means that everyone – from elected officials to front-line employees – understands the city’s direction, priorities, and their role in achieving shared goals. When a city government lacks clarity, it can lead to duplication of efforts, mixed messages to the public, and difficulty in measuring progress.

Action Steps:

• Clearly define and communicate the city’s mission, vision, and core values.
• Establish and articulate strategic priorities for the city, ensuring they’re understood across all departments.
• Develop clear metrics for success that can be easily communicated to both internal teams and the public.

Obsession 3: Over-Communicate Organizational Clarity

In a city government setting, effective communication is key to both internal operations and public trust. Over-communicating clarity doesn’t mean simply repeating information, but rather reinforcing key messages through various channels and contexts. This approach ensures that the city’s vision, goals, and priorities are consistently understood across departments and by the public. It helps align efforts, reduces misunderstandings, and fosters a sense of transparency and accountability in local governance.

Action Steps:

• Implement a robust internal communication strategy to ensure all city employees understand key initiatives and priorities.
• Utilize multiple channels (town halls, newsletters, social media) to consistently communicate the city’s vision and progress to residents.
• Regularly revisit and reinforce the city’s mission and values in meetings and public forums.

Obsession 4: Reinforce Clarity Through Human Systems

Aligning your city’s human resources practices with your organizational clarity is crucial for long-term success. This obsession ensures that the city’s values and priorities are reflected in how you hire, train, evaluate, and reward employees. By integrating clarity into these systems, you create a consistent culture that supports your city’s mission at every level. This alignment helps attract and retain talent that fits well with your city’s goals and values, ultimately leading to more effective governance and service delivery.

Action Steps:

• Align hiring practices with the city’s core values and mission, ensuring new hires are a strong cultural fit.
• Develop performance review systems that reflect the city’s priorities and reward behaviors that align with its values.
• Create professional development programs that reinforce the city’s mission and help employees grow in alignment with organizational goals.

Applying These Obsessions in Your City

As a city manager, embracing these four obsessions can transform how you lead your municipality:

1. By building a cohesive leadership team, you’ll be better equipped to handle crises and make unified decisions.
2. Creating clarity will help align various departments and stakeholders towards common goals, improving efficiency and reducing conflicts.
3. Over-communicating this clarity will enhance public trust and employee engagement, crucial for implementing new initiatives.
4. Reinforcing clarity through human systems will create a strong, values-driven culture that attracts and retains top talent in public service.

Remember, the journey to becoming an “extraordinary executive” in city management is ongoing. It requires consistent effort and a willingness to adapt these principles to your unique local context. By focusing on these four obsessions, you can create a more effective, transparent, and responsive city government that truly serves its residents.

As you reflect on these ideas, consider: Which of these obsessions resonates most with your current challenges? How might focusing on these areas transform your effectiveness as a city manager?

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Seth Winterhalter is President of HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions, dedicated to making stronger cities through stronger leaders. Through executive coaching, consulting, and the Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC), HaltingWinter helps city managers and municipal leaders transform their leadership impact and their organizational culture.