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As we continue our week-long exploration of Patrick Lencioni’s insights for city managers, today we turn to one of his most popular works, “The Advantage.” You may notice striking similarities between the core concepts in this book and yesterday’s discussion of “The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive.” This consistency isn’t a coincidence—it’s a powerful reminder of a crucial truth in leadership:
Healthy organizations don’t need constant novelty. They need unwavering commitment to fundamental principles.
The parallels between these books reinforce the critical importance of these concepts. They underscore a reality often overlooked in our quest for innovative management techniques: the most effective leaders and organizations aren’t necessarily those chasing the latest trends. Instead, they’re the ones who consistently and clearly practice a set of core disciplines.
For city managers, this consistency is particularly crucial. The complexity of municipal governance demands stability and clarity, not a constant parade of new initiatives. As we explore “The Advantage,” keep in mind that its power lies not in introducing revolutionary new concepts, but in providing a framework for implementing timeless principles of organizational health with renewed focus and vigor.
Let’s dive into how Lencioni’s concept of organizational health can transform your approach to city management, building on and reinforcing the ideas we discussed yesterday.
Lencioni argues that a healthy organization has integrity – it is whole, consistent, and complete, with management, operations, strategy, and culture fitting together and making sense. In a city context, this means:
Action Step: Assess your city’s current organizational health. Are departments working in silos? Is there a sense of unity towards common goals?
Lencioni posits that organizational success requires two things: being smart and being healthy. Most city managers focus on being smart – strategy, finance, technology. But health is often overlooked.
Smart in city management might mean:
Healthy in city management looks like:
Action Step: Evaluate your focus. Are you spending more time on ‘smart’ initiatives at the expense of organizational health?
A key insight from “The Advantage” is that organizational health is a multiplier. It amplifies the impact of your ‘smart’ decisions.
Example: A well-planned city initiative (smart) might fail due to interdepartmental conflicts or lack of public trust (health issues). Conversely, a healthy organization can turn even imperfect plans into successes through unity and commitment.
Action Step: Identify a recent city initiative that didn’t meet expectations. Analyze whether ‘smart’ or ‘health’ factors contributed more to the outcome.
Lencioni presents six questions that every organization must answer to become healthy. Let’s adapt them for city management:
Action Step: Gather your leadership team and work through these questions. The process of answering them is as valuable as the answers themselves.
Unlike many management theories that view meetings as necessary evils, Lencioni sees them as crucial to organizational health. For city managers, this means reimagining:
Action Step: Audit your meeting structure. Are your meetings driving clarity and alignment, or are they sources of confusion and frustration?
As we’ve seen, many of Lencioni’s core principles in “The Advantage” echo those from “The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive.” This repetition serves to underscore a vital truth: the path to exceptional city management doesn’t require constant reinvention. Instead, it demands the consistent, clear, and continued practice of fundamental disciplines.
The real challenge—and opportunity—for city managers lies not in discovering new techniques, but in the daily commitment to these proven principles:
As you reflect on “The Advantage,” consider: How can you recommit to these core principles in your daily practice? What would it look like for your city government to focus not on the next management fad, but on the consistent application of these foundational concepts?
Remember, the most effective city managers are not those with the most innovative techniques, but those who most consistently apply these timeless principles of organizational health.
