Management Recipes for Success

i
Management Recipes
for Success
Taking Public Works Managers and Leaders
from Potluck to Gourmet

ii
ISBN: 978-1-60675-010-0
American Public Works Association
2345 Grand Blvd., Ste. 700
Kansas City, MO 64108-2625
© American Public Works Association, May 2009

iii
Acknowledgments
APWA Leadership & Management Committee (2007-2009)
Richard Coates, Fulton County, GA
Sue Hann, Palm Bay, FL
George Haines, Gillette, WY
John Ostrowski, Vancouver, WA
Gary Strack, Overland Park, KS
William A. Sterling, Greeley, CO
Vanessa Conrad, San Francisco, CA
Diane Linderman, APWA Board of Directors
Ann Daniels, APWA Director of Credentialing
I wish to thank all of the article writers who took the time and effort to
share their experiences with the APWA community.
All of these articles appeared in the APWA Reporter from November 2006
through November 2008. Reprints are available through APWA.
William A. Sterling, P.E.
Editor

iv
Table of Contents:
Foreword - Sue Hann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Executive Summary
Leadership Competencies: A Wrap-up of the
Baker’s Potluck and the Recipes for
Success Series - Bill Sterling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
I. Baker’s Potluck Series - APWA Reporter Articles
A Public Works Leader Needs Oral Presentation
Skills - Sue Hann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Coexisting with the Unions - John Ostrowski. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Interviewing for the Right Skills - Bill Sterling . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Performance Evaluations: An Institutional
Instrument of Torture - Sue Hann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Focus on Your Strengths - George Haines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Leading through Change - Richard Coates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
A Leader’s Legacy - George Haines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Determining Your Level of Service - Bill Sterling. . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Connecting with Your Community - Jim Proce . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Mentoring for the Future - Gary Strack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Creative Problem Solving - John Ostrowski. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Identifying the Skills Needed for Crew Leaders
and First Line Supervisors - Sue Hann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Creative Recruitment - George Haines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
II. Recipes for Success Series - APWA Reporter Articles
Introduction of Recipes for Success Series -
Gary Strack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
A Career in Public Works: Unlimited Potential -
Sue Hann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - John Lisenko. . . . . . . . . . . 71
Being a Role Model - George Haines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Mentoring: What It Is and What It’s Not -
Bill Sterling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
How to Get a Mentor - Gary Strack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

v
Listen with Passion - George Haines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
What a Whirlwind Weekend - Wendy Springborn-Pitman. . . . 93
Leadership and Management Competencies:
Preparing You to Seize Opportunities –
Richard Coates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Setting Career Goals: Managing the Crystal
Ball and Influencing Your Future - Sue Hann. . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
What APWA Has Meant to Me - Bill Sterling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Commitment: Are You Invested? - Sue Hann . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
III. Related Articles by the Committee-Appearing in the APWA
Reporter
Efficiency vs. Effectiveness - Bill Sterling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Is Performance Measurement Stifling Your
Performance?-Part 1 - Sue Hann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Is Performance Measurement Stifling Your
Performance?-Part 2 - Lee R. Feldman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Three to Nine Ways to Save Money - John Ostrowski. . . . . . . 130
Swinging on the Office Grapevine: The Tarzan
Approach to Organizational Health - Sue Hann . . . . . . . . . . 133
Are You Keeping the City in the Dark? The Public
Works Director as Policy Maker - Lee R. Feldman. . . . . . . . . 137
The Bad Boss - John Ostrowski. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
How to Be an Employee: Working 101 - Bill Sterling . . . . . . . 143
IV. Delicious Recipes for Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
V. Contributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

vi
Foreword
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I
live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.” – George Bernard Shaw
Each of us is a leader. Our communities depend on us to deliver quality
services that make our hometowns special. We are uniquely qualified
and uniquely positioned to deliver a better future where we live and
work. What an incredible honor and daunting responsibility, which is
why APWA brings our members together to support each other and con-
tinually raise the bar on what we can accomplish.
The Baker’s Potluck and Recipes for Success series can help you make
that difference in your organization and in your community. This
compilation of articles gives you a snapshot of what you need to know
in the leadership and management arena from the public works perspec-
tive. Whether you need some ideas about how to “connect with your
community” or you need to know how to manage through a downsizing
economy, the Baker’s Potluck and Recipes for Success series will give you
the tools you need to reinforce your leadership skills.
Leadership and management advice is everywhere, but the American
Public Works Association (APWA) offers its members a view of these
issues directly from public works practitioners—the men and women
walking in your shoes. The series of articles will tell you what you need
to know about issues such as ethics, commitment and mentorship
and will inspire you to think differently about goal-setting and career
choices.
So, if you’re hungry to learn about leadership and management, read on
and enjoy the smorgasbord of thoughts that will motivate you to take
your leadership to the next level.
Sue Hann, P.E.
APWA Director-at-Large

1
Executive Summary
A “Wrap”-up of the Leadership Competencies
Series…as reported from the kitchens of the
Leadership and Management Committee
(Originally published in the December 2008 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
By William A. Sterling, P.E.
“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and
knowledge.” – Plato
The Leadership and Management Committee has completed four series
of articles on leadership/management competencies: “The Baker’s
Dozen,” “The Baker’s Menu,” “The Baker’s Potluck” and “Recipes for
Success.” The articles for “The Baker’s Dozen” and “The Baker’s Menu”
were published in a book titled Building on the Basics: Core Competencies
for Public Works Managers, which is available at the APWA Bookstore.
This article will provide a summary of the two most recent series of
articles: “The Baker’s Potluck” and “Recipes for Success.”
“The Baker’s Potluck” series started with an article written by Sue Hann
titled “A Public Works Leader and Manager Needs Oral Presen-
tation Skills,” and was published in the November 2006 issue of the
APWA Reporter. Jerry Seinfeld says, “According to most studies, people’s
number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death.” Yet, in public
works, communication is one of the most important skills you need for
a successful career. The article provides some practical ideas on how to
develop your public speaking skills in a low-risk environment and tips
on how to make public speaking fun rather than frightful.
In the December 2006 edition of the Reporter, the series continued with
an article by John Ostrowski titled “Coexisting with the Unions.”
Experience teaches us that, in dealing with unions, the following prin-
ciples might be helpful. First, management should treat all employees
fairly and with respect and as part of a team. Second, be aware that
treating people as just described doesn’t mean you’ll be free of unions.
No matter how good your relationship is, union representatives have a
responsibility to represent their members. Look for common goals.
“Interviewing for the Right Skills” was the subject in the Janu-
ary 2007 issue. This article, written by Bill Sterling, discussed that the
recruitment of new employees is one of the most important tasks a man-
ager will undertake. Meeting candidates face to face provides the best

2
opportunity for gathering information about their skills and experience.
While an interview is one of the most basic forms of screening, inter-
viewing can be a complicated and time-consuming process. There are
three major items to look for in the interview process: hard skills, talent
and soft skills. This article stresses the soft skills.
In February 2007, Sue Hann wrote an interesting article on “Per-
formance Evaluations: An Institutionalized Instrument of
Torture.” Almost everyone has some experience with performance
evaluations, but is that experience dragging down or building up your
organization? If performance evaluations only serve as a means by
which to aggravate employees and supervisors, then the time is right to
take a new look at how to apply this awkward tool in a more useful and
positive way.
In the March 2007 issue of the Reporter, George Haines wrote about
the subject of your strengths in an article titled “Focus on your
Strengths.” In this article, George asks the question that, as a leader
in your organization, are you going to spend your time with your best
people making them better or spend time trying to fix their weak areas?
After all, the reason you hired them is that you saw something in them
that you considered strength. Keep investing in that strength and you
will see great returns on your investment.
“Leading through Change” was the title of an article by Richard
Coates, published in April 2007, in which he illustrated ways of meeting
the challenges of leading an organization through a major downsizing.
It is necessary for the leadership to keep the staff morale from totally
bottoming out during a time of change. Although downsizing may be
on the horizon, a leader must maintain some level of employee loyalty.
This article showed how providing additional training and leadership
opportunities can go a long way to maintaining morale.
The second half of “The Baker’s Potluck” series began with an article by
George Haines titled “A Leader’s Legacy.” This article, published in
May 2007, discussed that legacy isn’t about you and what you’ve accom-
plished. What are you doing to cultivate successors? There are four aspects
of shaping a legitimate leadership legacy: character, choices, conduct and
consequences. Your character, choices and conduct are the seeds you sow.
Consequences are the results and a reflection of the other three.
“Determining your Level of Service” was an interesting article
by Bill Sterling. This article was included in the June 2007 issue of the
Reporter and discussed the difference between what you had to do and
what you could do. Just doing the best you can is no longer acceptable.
The best public agencies commit to delivering at a certain level and
prove that they can deliver. Establishing service levels is the key to ac-
complishing this.

3
Following up, in the July 2007 issue was an article by Jim Proce titled
“Connecting with your Community.” This article contained “tid-
bits” on how you can get your community more involved in your public
works activities. We all know public works folks typically haven’t been
good about marketing and self-promotion; many of us seem to fear it
and avoid it. In today’s public works departments, you have to “connect
with your community” and you have to do it all and more, with less!
The article provides some innovative ways to make that very important
connection with your community.
“Mentoring for the Future” was the subject of a great article written
by Gary Strack and published in the August 2007 Reporter. This article
is about preparing those who will follow us in leadership roles for the
future of our profession. It discusses the desirable qualities of a mentor
and some aspects of a mentor/protégé relationship to get the most out
of the relationship. The timing of starting a mentoring relationship is
considered as well as why this is so important for the future.
We all have problems to solve, so the next article, included in the
September 2007 issue of the Reporter, gave us some hints on problem
solving. The article on “Creative Problem Solving,” written by John
Ostrowski, discusses how public works is all about motivating people
and solving problems. If we solve our toughest problems, we’ve done
half the job. Most creativity theory says that we need to find a way to
tap into our innate creativity and release it through a technique like
brainstorming. Another approach is to tap into the knowledge of your
peers using the APWA infoNOW Communities. Something completely
different is the system called TRIZ—the theory of Inventive Problem
Solving (the Russian letters make the acronym work). TRIZ is not about
compromising, but finding ways that can be used to resolve conflicts.
The subject shifted somewhat in the next article, “Identifying the
Skills Needed for Crew Leaders and First Line Supervisors,”
written by Sue Hann and published in the October 2007 issue of the
Reporter. So you worked hard and earned that promotion to supervisor—
what’s in store for you now and what skills do you need to succeed? The
article is in a question-and-answer format that addresses everything you
always wanted to know about being a supervisor but were afraid to ask.
The final article in “The Baker’s Potluck” series, “Creative Recruit-
ment,” appeared in the November 2007 issue of the Reporter. This arti-
cle, written by George Haines, discussed how creative recruitment is not
just about innovative ways to get out your message and attract people
you otherwise might not reach. It’s also about making sure that, once
you generate interest, you take the proper steps to hire the right people.
When you hire the right people, not only do you solve your short-term
issues of filling a position, you are creating the foundation for develop-
ing and retaining the future of your organization.

4
That’s a wrap on the third series, “The Baker’s Potluck.” It is hoped that
the above summary will give you some insight into the series. If you want
to learn more about the series, contact the staff at www.apwa.net. They
will be happy to help you find more sources on information about these
topics.
“Your imagination has much to do with your life…It is for you to decide how you
want your imagination to serve you.” – Philip Conley
The fourth series, entitled “Recipes for Success,” was introduced in the
December 2007 issue of the Reporter with an article, “Recipes for Suc-
cess,” written by Gary Strack. As a bonus, an “edible” recipe would be
included with each article. These tried and true recipes are as reliable as
the authors and subjects of the future articles. (Editor’s Note: The recipes
can be found in Chapter IV of this book.)
“A Career in Public Works: Unlimited Potential” is the title of
an article written by Sue Hann and published in the January 2008 issue
of the Reporter. The public works profession is known for its challenges
and opportunities. It is a place where you can truly make a difference
in your community from anywhere in the organizational chart. So,
figure out where you want to be and design a path to get there!
The next month’s article, “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished,” was
written by John Lisenko. The theme of this article, appearing in the
February 2008 issue of the Reporter, is that “doing the right thing” is not
always easy. It is more about what we ought to do in situations where
we are presented with alternative courses of actions. These situations are
called ethical dilemmas. Public works practitioners encounter ethical
dilemmas on a daily basis. After describing the nature of these dilemmas
and giving situational examples, the author provides a framework for
resolving them.
The series shifted to discussions on mentoring and role models in
the next three issues, beginning with an article titled “Being a Role
Model.” Written by George Haines and appearing in the March 2008
issue of the Reporter, this article began the discussion of mentoring. You
can always learn something from someone else. Watch the behavior of
other people. Find good examples and bad examples. There is no secret
to becoming a role model at home, at work and in your community. It’s
about character.
The next issue of the Reporter, the April 2008 issue, included an article by
Bill Sterling, entitled “Mentoring: What It Is and What It’s Not.”
The article discusses the anticipated retirement of a whole generation
which means a wave of positions will become vacant. The Boomers are
being replaced by the X-ers. The new workers are not in the position to
bring much experience to your organization. How will they learn from

5
the mistakes and successes of those they are replacing? How will they
capture the institutional knowledge of the organization?
The last article on mentoring, “How to get a Mentor,” was printed
in the May 2008 issue and was written by Gary Strack. In this article
he discussed how to find a mentor. A different approach was taken
with this article in that four APWA members were interviewed about
their experience with getting mentors and participating in mentoring
relationships. Although only one member was involved with a formal
mentoring program, each one’s unique experience illustrates how
mentoring does not have to be the same for everyone.
Getting back to leadership and management competencies, George Haines
wrote an article titled “Listen with Passion!” This article was included
in the June 2008 issue of the Reporter. In it, George asks us how well we
listen. Listening is half of the communication process. We only absorb
about 30% of what we hear. Of all the attributes of great leaders, the one
that can make you stand out is the ability to listen. If you put the same
passion into listening as you do your work, people will notice. The day
you become a good listener is the day you become a good leader.
Wendy Springborn-Pitman wrote an article on emerging leaders titled,
“What a Whirlwind Weekend!” In this article, published in the July
2008 issue, Wendy talks about the APWA Emerging Leaders program and
the first class of the Academy. Sometimes the only way to learn is to try
something new or view things from a different perspective. This pro-
gram gives you that opportunity. The program focuses on topics outlin-
ing how to understand and identify the differences between a manager
and a leader; teamwork and consensus building; discussion and debate;
how to deal with the media; and what is ethics or what is ethical. You
will make lifelong friends and begin establishing a network of people
who can help you traverse the obstacles that may come your way.
In the August 2008 issue, an article by Richard Coates discussed the sub-
ject of competencies. In his article, “Leadership and Management
Competencies: Preparing You to Seize Opportunities,” Richard
discussed the subject of helping our members get the most out of their
2008 Congress experience in New Orleans. As public works profession-
als we have to always look for opportunities to continually improve
ourselves. This article listed the many workshops that were available at
Congress to enhance each of the competencies.
In her article “Setting Career Goals: Managing the Crystal Ball
and Influencing Your Future,” Sue Hann gives some insight into
setting goals to further enhance your career in public works. This article
was included in the September 2008 issue of the Reporter and takes on
the subject of goal-setting in a more personal vein.

6
In the October 2008 issue, Bill Sterling talks to his good friend, Augie,
about his involvement in APWA and what the agency meant to him
during his career. The title of the article, interestingly enough, is “What
APWA Has Meant to Me.” The article’s main theme is that you get
out of an organization what you put in. There are so many ways to get
involved and contribute to any organization; you just have to take ad-
vantage of the opportunities an organization has to offer.
And finally, Sue Hann discusses the critical issue of “Commitment: Are
You Invested?” in the November 2008 issue of the Reporter. This subject
matter was extremely important to Sue, as an incoming APWA Board
member and as an outgoing member of the Leadership and Management
Committee; she “committed” to complete this article. Commitment is
sometimes uncomfortable and painful, but it is a key component of the
foundation on which your reputation and your career are built. As such,
managing commitment is an important skill that is essential to a suc-
cessful career. If you invest your time and energy into those things about
which you are passionate, commitment should be easy.
And there you have it, a quick summary of the 25 articles in the last two
series from the kitchens of APWA. It is hoped that the above summary
will give you some insights to “The Baker’s Potluck” and the “Recipes
for Success” series of articles. The interesting thing about the last series,
“Recipes for Success,” is that the committee actually gave the member-
ship real, workable recipes to try out.
“A prudent person profits from personal experience, a wise one from the
experience of others.” – Dr. Joseph Collins
This brief summary was prepared with the help of all of the “Chefs”
of the Leadership and Management Committee. They either wrote the
articles or provided a summary of the articles.

7
I. Baker’s Potluck Series
This series of articles touches on a variety of leadership and management
topics, many of which have been suggested by APWA members.
-- Oral Presentation Skills
-- Coexisting with the Unions
-- Interviewing for the Right Skills
-- Performance Evaluations
-- Focus on Your Strengths
-- A Leader’s Legacy
-- Identifying the Skills Needed for Crew Leaders and First-Time Super-
visors
-- Mentoring for the Future
-- Leading through Change
-- Determining Your Level of Service
-- Connecting with Your Community
-- Creative Problem Solving
-- Creative Recruitment

8
A Public Works Leader Needs Oral
Presentation Skills
(Originally published in the November 2006 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
By Susan M. Hann, P.E., AICP
Yikes!! Oral presentation skills!!! As in talking to a group of people???
The very thought of presenting to an audience—whether friendly or
hostile—strikes fear in the hearts of many public works professionals.
For some, this fear is well-founded, as presentations have only led to
disaster in the past. So, what is it about talking to a group of people that
is so frightening?
For many, the biggest obstacle is the fear of looking silly or stupid or
worse in front of your peers. Unfortunately, in the public works arena,
most of us have no choice but to do presentations, and most of us have
survived looking silly, stupid and worse! However, there are some tips
that can help you become a fearless presenter.
One thing you can do is recognize that presenting is just one of the
many things you do each day that will make you look good or bad or
will get you accolades or fired. Most public works professionals routinely
deal with issues that are much more scary, risky and complex than pub-
lic speaking, so reset your paradigm to think of it as just another aspect
of your job, not something extraordinary.
Another way to reduce your “fear factor” is to prepare, prepare, pre-
pare and prepare some more. Again, think of presenting as just another
aspect of your job. Prepare for a presentation as you would any other
function, such as a meeting with your boss. Practice is always a good
idea, even for seasoned presenters. I do a lot of public speaking and I’m
usually pretty busy, so finding time to practice is always challenging.
So, sometimes I practice my presentation while driving, and sometimes
I go through my presentation while riding my bike alone in the woods.
Talk about looking silly—imagine a middle-aged woman riding her bike
through the woods at 6 a.m. while talking to someone no one else can
see. As you speak your presentation out loud to the invisible audience,
you can make adjustments, try different intonations and experiment
with content. You can also ask yourself questions and answer them, or
better yet, anticipate likely questions and include the answers in your
presentation.
Another preparation tip is to do a good job developing your presenta-
tion materials. If you have researched your subject well, developed a
logical progression of information, confirmed your facts and supported
your deductions and conclusions, you should be absolutely fine.

9
Stand up and get in front of the podium if at all possible. A presenter
who is sitting down and/or hiding behind the podium is a target. As
a presenter you want to be “one with the audience,” so the closer you
can get to the group the more you will be seen as part of the group. I
recently saw a Q&A presentation by a Regional FEMA Director who sat
in a chair about five feet from a somewhat hostile audience. Because
this person was sitting, it was a little hard to hear, but by sitting almost
as part of the audience, this person was seen as part of the group and
treated much more gently.
Personally, I prefer to stand up because I am short and if I sit down,
no one can see me; but sometimes, the situation warrants a different
approach. With experience, you can judge how you can best set up the
room and position yourself to be a more effective presenter. The room
set-up can sometimes convey how receptive you are to dialogue vs.
one-way presenting. Your body language sends a message. Do you look
scared or does your posture and eye contact convey confidence? Also,
check the audience for their body language—are they engaged or are
they sleeping? You can sometimes command attention by randomly ask-
ing questions of folks in your audience.
Make eye contact with your audience, not your notes. I once sat through
an incredible presentation where the highly paid speaker actually read
verbatim many pages of notes. To this day, I have no idea what this per-
son talked about, but I was absolutely stunned at this individual’s lack
of connection with the audience. In order to remember what it is I’m
talking about, I will either put up a few slides that have bullet points on
which I can elaborate, or I will jot down a few notes—large type in bul-
let format. I would rather fumble a little when speaking than read from
notes in a monotone. The unexpected humor resulting from an “oops”
can also endear you to the audience.
If I’m making a particularly difficult presentation, where I’m not com-
pletely sure of myself or if there is a lot at stake (like my job or a lot of
grant money), I will write down the basics of the presentation and give
it to the mirror a few times. By writing down the presentation, it helps
me to focus on the important points and also helps my memory of the
subject matter. Speaking the presentation in advance again helps my
memory and also illustrates any problems or dead spaces in my pre-
sentation. I keep the presentation material with me until the time I am
presenting and continually review it, jotting down additional notes or
highlighting sections.
Another important point is to know your audience. If you can, get as
much information as possible about who will be listening to your pre-
sentation. Is it a small group of your coworkers or a room full of people
you’ve never met? Are they coming to see your presentation because

10
they want to or because they are forced to? Is it a hostile group or a
friendly group? All of these scenarios present different challenges and
may require a different approach, but in all cases you want the audience
to be glad they had the opportunity to hear you speak! You should also
make sure the technical level of your presentation is closely matched
to the audience. A group of homeowners is not the right audience for a
Ph.D.-level discussion of stormwater management. Modify your presen-
tation content, vocabulary and style to fit your audience. Don’t forget to
review your presentation for acronyms that are only known to you.
So, why do you need these skills? Can’t you just toil away in the back-
ground and let somebody else do all the talking? Well, sure you can, but
the person leading the meeting almost always starts out being viewed as
the leader in the room. If you want to be perceived as a leader, you must
be able to inspire others to follow; and, besides setting a good example,
your ability to communicate is one of the most important skill sets you
can have.
Force yourself to accept presentation assignments even when you can
delegate to someone else. This will help you get more comfortable,
establishing speaking to a group as a routine rather than a crisis. In fact,
once you’re done reading this article, go to the APWA website and sub-
mit a proposal to speak at Congress next year! If you’re willing to take
the step to broaden your professional skill set, you can call or e-mail me
and I will gladly help you prepare. I’ll bet that something you have to
say will surely impress your fellow APWA members, and the experience
will give you the confidence to present to folks closer to home!
“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get across, your ideas won’t
get you anywhere.” - Lee Iacocca

11
Coexisting with the Unions
(Originally published in the December 2006 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
By John Ostrowski
The first time I had to supervise union employees was when I became an
assistant county public works director. I took the job shortly after both
the city and the county had experienced a public employee strike. Every
time we tried to hire or promote someone we got a union grievance say-
ing that we had hired or promoted the wrong person. It was really just a
part of the union’s strategy to harass management and vent some anger
that they still had after the strike.
When I got my first grievance like this I went out to one of the job sites
to meet with the union president. We sat in the tall grass and resolved
everything. When I went back to tell my boss that the grievance was
settled, I told him about the discussion I had in the tall grass. I said that
the more we discussed things the more I wondered if I was running my
division or if the union was running it. Actually, I said, “I was kind of
leaning toward the notion that they were running it.”
Since then I’ve had a lot more experience dealing with unions, and
I’ve come to some conclusions that might be helpful to someone who’s
trying to figure this all out. First of all, management should treat its
employees in a way that results in their not needing a union. In other
words, treat people fairly and with respect and as part of the team.
Second, be aware that treating people as I’ve described doesn’t mean
you’ll be free of union trouble. You’ll still probably have grievances and
labor disputes, but you’ll be able to treat those difficulties like they’re
just about business because you know you’re trying to do the right thing
for your employees.
The third thing to remember is that all general statements are wrong,
including this one. Now that we’ve got that out the way, what do you
really need to know? You need to know that no matter how hard you try
to work closely with your union representatives, when push comes to
shove they have a responsibility to represent their members. And they’ll
represent them even if they’re wrong. Some unions just do this and
pretend that their member isn’t wrong, and other unions will actually
try to find a result that gives the member a dignified way to recognize
a mistake and improve. I’ve been blessed through most of my career
with union reps who didn’t take this responsibility for representation to
extremes. The good news is that this only comes up when you discipline
someone. If you did the discipline for the right reason and in the right
way, you won’t have any problems and you’ll just take the grievance
process by the numbers and move on.

12
It’s always good to have a personal relationship with your union reps
that is established before any disagreements occur. I’m not suggesting
that you be buddies, but I am suggesting that you have a relationship
based on mutual respect and with a clear understanding of what you’re
both trying to accomplish. You should be looking for common goals so
that you have an area of agreement to start from whenever something
goes wrong.
The opposite approach can be disastrous. Fighting the union over
something you think you need to manage better only seems to work if
you have all the power anyway. If you have all the power why are you
fighting? I once watched a documentary about the Philadelphia school
system when they had a superintendent who had some great ideas for
improving their schools. Someone advised him to fight the union over
the right to fire teachers. He did and he lost and nobody won. The docu-
mentary interviewed the superintendent and teachers and union of-
ficials. The teachers always talked about the kids and the superintendent
always talked about the kids and the union official always talked about
protecting teachers. I can’t help but think that they should have all been
talking about what was best for the kids. They had common ground, but
they either didn’t see it or chose to ignore it.
I believe that most people get into public service because they want to
improve the world and make a difference. That should give us some
common ground to work with. I’ve been accused of being too optimistic
at times. What I’ve just said could fall into that category. But I’m not sug-
gesting that I have any miraculous cure for the flaws of human nature.
One of those flaws is that we all have some guilt about something. We
also have varying degrees of control over our respective lives. I always
thought that I treated the people who worked for me fairly, but that
doesn’t mean that some of them weren’t still living in fear that they
might mess up sometimes. I know some of them were thankful that they
had a union to protect them. That isn’t the end of the world even if I
might have found it mildly insulting.
Union leaders who know they don’t have much to offer their members
for their dues, however, can take this core fear and manipulate it for
their own purposes. This kind of union leader will use every opportunity
to describe any disagreement with management as another example
of management’s unfair practice of trying to catch employees doing
something wrong. You may not be able to do much more than refute
this statement at every opportunity, but you should probably consider
doing more. You may want to look at how your managers are treating
discipline of their employees to make sure that they are actually trying
to catch people doing something right and only resorting to discipline
when it’s needed.

13
I still think that the majority of union officials are trying to represent
their members fairly. Some are even better than that. I’m currently
working with a union official who sees problems brewing before they
reach the boiling point and works with management to resolve things
in a spirit of cooperation. He is able to suggest things we could do to be
better managers because he sees it as to his advantage for his members
to have fewer problems. He’s hardly a pawn of management, and he’s
always a strong advocate for his members. He’s more than that, however,
and that is what makes him a joy to work with. You should be so lucky.
All of life is about relationships. That’s why I haven’t talked about things
like labor negotiations, grievance processes and arbitration. What I have
talked about is the relationship that you need to establish with your
union. But one size doesn’t fit all. The chart shows the variation and, I
hope, the relative distribution of the types of union officials you might
run into.
• The “Good” union officials are like the one that I just described
who wants to help you manage your workforce better. Nurture
that relationship but don’t take it for granted, and don’t use it to
get an edge on the union.
• The “Not So Bad” union officials are what most of us deal with
on a routine basis. They want to represent their employees, and
some are better than others. It’s with these folks that you can
accomplish the most by finding common ground and treating
each other with mutual respect. And also, we need to remember
that there will be times when we won’t agree, so we need to keep
those disagreements on a businesslike plane.
• The “Ugly” union official is the one who will lie and cheat and,
you hope, eventually get found out by the membership or the
police. All you can do is adhere to your basic principles and treat
your union and non-union employees with respect and help
them be all they can be. You can’t change a jerk, so don’t waste
your time. What you can do, however, is not lower yourself
to the jerk’s level and start mimicking his behavior. This is the
toughest situation to deal with and could make you think that
life’s too short to stay where the jerks have the power.
That last sentence isn’t the most positive way to end an article, so let me
add that the chart is the way I think it really is, and most of our interac-
tions with union officials are not so bad.

14
Interviewing for the Right Skills
(Originally published in the January 2007 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
“Success in any business is 85% ability to relate to other people and attitude
and only 15% job knowledge and technical skills.”
- Carnegie Foundation, 2005
The recruitment of new employees is one of the most important tasks
a manager will undertake. Meeting candidates face to face provides the
best opportunity for gathering information about their skills and experi-
ence and, ultimately, matching the right person to the job and to the
organization. George Haines, in his article on succession planning for
our next-generation leaders (APWA Reporter, September 2006), says that
in order to develop a great team, “you need to recruit and hire not only
good people, but the right people.”
While an interview is one of the most basic and accepted forms of
screening done today, interviewing can be a complicated and time-con-
suming process. The higher the level of the position, the more complex
the interview becomes. The candidate has to learn about the organiza-
tion, the role, and the details of his or her responsibilities. He or she has
to not only put his or her best qualifications forward in a relatively short
period of time, but has to form enough of an opinion about coming on
board with the agency. The employer has to check the resume, check ref-
erences, decide if the fit is there and make an offer. The candidate then
has to decide if the offer is acceptable. This process continues until you
both feel comfortable enough to commit or not commit. But, are you
conducting the interview in the manner that you reveal the true value
of this prospective member of your team?
There are three major items to look for in the interview process:
• Hard skills
• Talent
• Soft skills
Hard skills could include such items as education, certifications, licenses,
specialization and experience—the technical abilities.
Marcus Buckingham, in his book First, Break All the Rules: What the
World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, indicates that in addition to
the standard interview (i.e., references, qualifications, experience and
technical expertise), you should be interviewing for talent. This tal-
ent interview has but one purpose: to discover whether the candidate’s
recurring patterns of thought, feeling or behavior match the job. The

15
best way to discover a person’s talents in an interview is to allow him to
reveal himself by the choices he makes. Buckingham continues: “Great
managers, when selecting someone, select for talent...not simply experi-
ence, intelligence or determination.”
What do we mean when we use the term talent? Some define talent
as the natural ability to fit the position (i.e., attitude, drive, personal
charm). Buckingham defines talent as “any recurring pattern of thought,
feeling or behavior.” Talent cannot be taught. Talent consists of your
verbal skills, poise, sense of humor, smile, self-confidence, attitude and
integrity. Talent can also be defined as the quality of a person’s charisma.
Talents explain the why of a person (drive), the how of a person (how he
thinks), and the who of a person (how he relates). Each person’s talents
are enduring and unique.
“People don’t change that much. Don’t waste time trying to put in what was
left out. Try to draw out what was left in. That is hard enough.” - Marcus
Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest
Managers Do Differently
For the remainder of this discussion I will concentrate on “soft skills,”
also known as “people” skills. Each person has a combination of hard
and soft skills. Hard skills are easily defined, while soft skills are more
difficult to put into writing. Hard skills can be accepted without meet-
ing the person, as these skills are reflected in their resume; soft skills can
only be confirmed by meeting the person.
Hard skills, talent and soft skills are distinct elements of a person’s
performance. The distinction among the three is that knowledge can
be taught, experience can be gained; talent is unique to each person,
whereby soft skills can be acquired. Combined, these three elements
create an enormously potent employee. My experience is that when it
comes to job offers, the soft skills goes a long way in determining who
gets the job. When all of the candidates’ work experience, education and
other hard skills are equal, the candidate with the best soft skills will get
the job.
In order to assess someone’s soft skills you must meet them. Remember
the phrase from your report card—”Works and plays well with others”?
That is a critical soft skill and there are many more, all of which are im-
portant for any job. The bottom line is that your hard skills may secure
an interview, but your soft skills will get you the job; both skills are vital
in your job search. In addition, while hard skills may get you the job,
soft skills will help you keep your job.
What are some soft skills? There are many soft skills; most are related to
people (or interpersonal) skills. I think some of the more prominent soft
skills are:

16
• Effective Listening
• Accountability
• Assertiveness
• Conducting Effective Meetings
• Time Management
• Group Process
• Delegation
• Goal Setting
• Team Building
• Stress Management
• Problem Solving
• Motivation
• Leadership
• Interviewing
• Effective Communication
• Managing Resources
Kelly Pierce points out in eSight Trend Watch: Increased Value of Soft Skills
that “There is a growing recognition that interpersonal (soft) skills are
not simply helpful in business today; they are essential....”
I believe that all of the above soft skills can be categorized into four basic
groups:
• Problem Solving
• Communication
• Personal Qualities and Work Ethic
• Interpersonal and Teamwork
What are employers looking for? It depends. Every employer seeks a
different mix of skills and experiences from a prospective employee. But
the one thing they look for consistently is soft skills.
This article will not discuss in any detail the soft skills as presented
above. Many others more competent than I are able to discuss those
skills in greater detail. I would refer the reader to a new APWA publica-
tion entitled Building on the Basics: Core Competencies for Public Works
Managers. This book lists some 26 skills, or competencies, that are
important to managers. Suffice it to say that the acquisition and use of
soft skills is important to your success, whether in hiring a new em-
ployee or applying for (or keeping) a job. A recent study conducted by

17
the Center for Creative Leadership concluded that an estimated 40%
of all new managers failed within the first 18 months on the job. The
highest reason given was a lack of soft, or people, skills. As we progress
along our career path and move from one job to another, the experience
and knowledge we mastered through our most recent jobs tend to help
determine what job we can get in our next move. In other words, hard
skills will help you land your next job; however, over time, these hard
skills may become outdated.
A corollary to this is that when you look over a long period in your
career, how you got into your current job generally does not have too
much to do with the hard skills you previously gained. I graduated and
practiced as a civil engineer, with an emphasis in water and sanitary
sewer design. My most recent position was that of director of public
works (by the way, the department did not have the responsibilities of
water and sanitary sewer). I believe it was the development and mainte-
nance of my soft skills that led me to the career path as a director. Many
critical soft skills (or competencies) such as communication, leadership,
team building and problem solving skills have challenged me again and
again throughout my career.
So how do you prepare your interview for a new employee or prepare for
that exciting new position? Hard skills got you the interview; soft skills
will win (or lose) the job. Some examples of questions you or the organi-
zation might prepare for include:
Problem Solving
• What are the critical factors you look for in evaluating the work
of others? How did you develop these concepts and how, specifi-
cally, do you use them?
• Describe a situation in which you found yourself to be very good
at analyzing a problem and deciding on a course of action.
• Describe a situation in which you had to solve a problem without
having all the information you needed. What did you do and
what happened?
Communication
• Tell me about a time when you “put your foot in your mouth”
and what happened?
• What has been your experience in dealing with the poor perfor-
mance of subordinates?
• What types of experiences have you had dealing with irate citi-
zens?

18
Teamwork
• Describe the types of teams you have worked in and tell me what
worked well and what did not.
• Give me an example of a situation in which you managed or led
a team and were able to create a high-morale, high-productive
work group.
• Tell me about a time when you had difficulty getting others to
work together and how you handled it.
Interpersonal Skills
• Describe how you developed relationships with others when you
were new on your current job.
• Describe a time when you had problems with a supervisor and
had to communicate your unhappy feelings or difficult disagree-
ments. Tell me what you did and what happened.
• When you are dealing with coworkers or citizens, what really
tries your patience and how do you deal with that?
All of the above questions are geared towards what I call soft skills;
but you normally don’t put them on your resume. Another thing you
should notice is that the questions are open ended, requiring the candi-
date to give answers that may reveal their soft skills ability. These types
of questions require a story in response. You may not even be prepared
to answer these types of questions at the interview; but you should.
It isn’t your purpose to sit there and hope the right questions will be
asked. Remember, the interviewer is looking for your personal accounts,
not the “textbook” answer.
“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
References:
First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
by Marcus Buckingham
Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham

19
Performance Evaluations: An Institutional
Instrument of Torture
(Originally published in the February 2007 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
By Susan M. Hann, P.E., AICP
As a supervisor, one of your responsibilities is to evaluate a fellow hu-
man as to his or her worth to your organization and then put it in writ-
ing. Eeek! That doesn’t sound like a very fun thing to do! Well, how do
you handle this gem of an assignment?
1. You ignore it and hope no one notices.
2. You check all the “leaps tall buildings in a single bound” boxes and
send off to HR—thinking your employee will jump for joy when
he/she receives it and work even harder for you.
3. You do a credible and accurate job evaluating your employee’s
performance and find yourself immersed in a lengthy grievance
hearing that includes a discussion of all of your shortcomings.
Most supervisors have tried all of these approaches during their careers—
probably with very poor results. This explains why I have never heard a
supervisor say, “Wow—I can’t wait to give Sue her performance evalu-
ation. I think we will really connect and afterwards I can look forward
to an unprecedented improvement in her performance. I am so grateful
that the HR department has provided me with such an effective manage-
ment tool!”
If the standard performance evaluation systems aren’t dicey enough,
you might be in one of those organizations that ties compensation to
the performance evaluation. Once you have committed your position
to writing, the next episode in the drama involves “supervisory com-
parisons.” You will hear things like, “His boss gave him a 92.6 so he got
a 3.2% raise, but you only rated me an 85.3, so I only got a 2.7% raise,
but I’m better than him, so IT’S NOT FAIR!!” Good luck creating positive
feelings in this environment.
Or you could be in an organization that requires periodic goal setting
and measurement of performance against goals. That sounds okay, but
thinking that through in the context of public service can make your
head spin. This system can work well if you are making X number of
widgets each day, but when you are juggling three zillion priorities, it is
tough to make a list and check it twice. Goal setting has its place, but it
can also lead to overemphasizing some activities at the expense of oth-
ers: “Joe filled 2,436 potholes this year, up 2.8% from last year, but he
was unable to remember to wear pants to work.”

20
Seriously, goal setting is a positive step towards defining expectations
and measuring performance, but both supervisor and employee will
need some flexibility to deal with the ever-changing priorities and
infinite variables in government work. I might want my design team to
finish the Yellow Brick Road Extension design by the end of the year,
but I can’t hold them accountable for that project if the Emerald City
Expressway project lands in our lap mid-year and takes priority.
Another helpful tool in this process is the one-size-fits-all evaluation
form. For example, let’s take the attendance category. This should be
easy to quantify—right? If your employee shows up 40 hours per week
and takes no sick days off but all holidays and vacation days earned,
should that be rated as “below, meets or achieves” expectations? Poll ten
supervisors in your office and see if you get the same answer. If your em-
ployee has earned leave and chooses to take it, is that okay or not? Is the
employee who calls in sick every other Friday for mysterious reasons any
better or worse than the employee who is out for five weeks under the
provisions of the Family Medical Leave Act because their child is sick? If
attendance is a quagmire, just imagine the difficulty passing judgment
on such esoteric concepts as “dependability.”
In most organizations, whether intentional or not, the performance
evaluation process is geared towards the negative. What should the em-
ployee do better; what areas need improvement? If a supervisor checks
the “pretty darn good” box, the next logical question from the employee
is “Why didn’t you check the ‘incredible, but humble’ box? What am I
doing wrong?” The entire conversation between employee and supervi-
sor drifts towards the negative.
In some organizations I have seen forced rankings of employees, so
that not all employees can be ranked “perfect.” The system requires
some number of employees to be ranked “somewhat less than perfect”
and “quite a bit less than perfect.” This is an interesting way to build a
team—clearly identify the weakest players and inspire them to under-
mine the strongest players. No wonder many supervisors would rather
have a root canal than do performance evaluations.
So, what’s the point? As a supervisor, you are stuck in a system that is
dictated by your employer. What can you do to get out of this periodic
requirement to hurt your employees’ feelings while causing them to
distrust you as a supervisor? Is there a better way?
Yes—and the better way is pretty simple. Provide your employees with
continuous, direct and honest feedback and accept honest feedback
from them. Talk to your staff and discuss issues regularly. If you are
going to provide negative feedback to your employees during a formal
evaluation, it should not be a surprise. It should be a confirmation of
something you have been telling them repeatedly through the year.

21
Similarly, frequent positive feedback is even more important. Praise good
behavior and good results openly. Provide work-related counseling. Lead
your team to do a better job by providing guidance and giving them op-
portunities to learn from mistakes without dire consequences.
A performance evaluation should be a continuum, not a point in time.
On the day of the performance evaluation, an employee should already
know the likely discussion points. If you and your employee have a radi-
cally different view of their performance, then you (as the supervisor)
are not doing a very good job communicating your expectations.
The performance evaluation meeting can also be used as an opportunity
for the supervisor to request some feedback from the employee about a
variety of issues—including the supervisor’s performance. Ask questions
like, “Are there things I’m doing that are keeping you from doing your
best work?” Or, “Are there things I could do differently that would help
you do your job better?” This can help open the door to better commu-
nication and will also provide for a more balanced and less confronta-
tional meeting.
So, how do you get on track to turn the performance evaluation into a
more positive experience for both the supervisor and the employee? If
you are the supervisor, start by scheduling yourself for some face-to-face
time with each of your direct reports at least once per week. Find out
what issues they have and inquire if you can help them. Let them know
about any issues you might have. Use this as an opportunity to discuss
any priority shifts.
This doesn’t need to be a formal meeting; just put it on your calendar as
a reminder and stop in to talk with your direct reports. Random schedul-
ing works better as it is more informal and comfortable for conversation.
As you talk with your employees, make a list of commitments made
on both sides and make absolutely sure to follow through on yours. If
you’ve told your employee that you will get the employee better soft-
ware by the end of the month, make sure you do it! Help your employ-
ees to follow through on their commitments. If you follow this system,
by the time the annual employee performance evaluation rolls around,
it should be a pleasant conversation about how well you work together.
If you are an employee and you are wondering whether your boss is
about to fire you or erect a statue to you, it is time to start the conver-
sation on your side. Make an appointment with your boss and check
in. Ask how you’re doing; ask if there are things he/she would like you
to do differently; ask for some feedback on your work. Follow up by
periodically checking back with your boss on how you’re doing. This
will minimize any surprises later and give you an opportunity to take
corrective action before your shortcomings are committed to your
permanent record!

22
This informal system of continuous communication is really all that
is needed to maximize performance of the organization. So why do
we continue to torture ourselves with the more formalized approach?
Perhaps it is because “we’ve always done it this way!” In our organiza-
tion, our city manager has chosen not to do formal written evalua-
tions of his department heads, but he definitely provides continuous
feedback. Do we know what he expects? Absolutely! Personally, I’m
grateful that he doesn’t give me a check-the-box type of evaluation
that goes in my file. I might get “A” for dependability, but I’d defi-
nitely receive “A” for neatness.
Bob Behn in his January 2006 issue of Bob Behn’s Public Management Re-
port suggests that government should end the practice of annual person-
nel evaluations. His thoughts can be found at http://www.ksg.harvard.
edu/thebehnreport/January2006.pdf.
“This employee should go far, and the sooner he starts, the better.”
“The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.”
“His men would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity.”
“He doesn’t have ulcers, but he’s a carrier.” 
Source: James S. Higgins’ Refrigerator Door
<http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/hum1/performance_reviews.htm>

23
Focus on your Strengths
(Originally published in the March 2007 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
By George Haines
“Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask
them, they look at you with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of sub-
ject knowledge, which is the wrong answer.” - Peter Drucker
Are you one of the 20%? That’s the number the Gallup organization
came up with when they asked more than 1.7 million employees in
101 companies in 63 countries whether they had the “opportunity to
do what they do best every day.” That means 2 out of 10 people believe
their strengths are in play every day at their jobs, which also means
that 80% of us aren’t using our strengths on a regular basis. Much of
the information that I will weave into my article comes from works by
Marcus Buckingham. I highly recommend his books First, Break All the
Rules; Now, Discover Your Strengths; and The One Thing You Need to Know.
He also has a DVD series called “Trombone Player Wanted” that focuses
on strengths.
If you have read previous articles that I have written, you will note I
have made a career change. It has been quite a year. You would figure
a job change is traumatic enough, but add to that dealing with cancer
surgery and six months of chemotherapy, all the side effects, and the
mental gymnastics that results from that process and you realize that
it is a lot to deal with. Fortunately I used these experiences to help me
refocus myself on what are the important things in life and where I want
to dedicate myself to be the most productive, to make the greatest con-
tribution, and to do so while utilizing my strengths. That is one reason
why this subject interested me so much.
Think about this. From our earliest days at home, in school, and now
in the workplace, we have been told to spend our time improving our
weak areas instead of making our strengths even stronger. It seems that
everyone is more than willing to point out our deficiencies but not focus
on what we’re good at. When you received your report card and got an
“A” in math and a “C” in English, I bet you were told that you need
to bring up that English grade. Buckingham suggests that we look at it
differently. The response might be, “Wow, an “A” in math, keep up the
good work. Let’s get you into the honor’s math program.”
In a previous job, I attended a working session where we were told to
write down the weaknesses of the other people in the room and their
part of the organization. We were then given our list of deficiencies so
we could come up with plans to improve. We didn’t spend one minute
celebrating our successes or our organizational strengths. Even in follow-

24
up meetings, the lead-in to discussions about mission and vision was the
question, “What aren’t we doing now, that we could be doing to achieve
our mission and vision?” Rather, I would ask the question, “What are we
doing that works and is successful that we can make even better to serve
our customers?”
How do you know what your strengths are? Some people think a
strength is something you are good at. However, you can be good at
things that make you feel empty. A strength has a yearning quality to
it. It’s something you keep coming back to, that you look forward to
doing. It makes you naturally inquisitive and it has a restorative qual-
ity. It doesn’t drain you. Simply put, a strength is an activity that makes
you feel strong. One thing that makes me feel strong is photography. It
renews me. It makes me feel good. I can’t wait until the next opportu-
nity to get my camera out and take photos. At work, things that give me
strength are activities that focus on employee development. I feel strong
when I see one of my employees get an award, a promotion, or when
I receive positive feedback from a customer about something that an
employee did for them. Two of my key people received promotions and
I couldn’t have been more proud. I know that by investing in employee
development, individuals become successful and, in turn, it benefits the
organization. By joining my current organization, I have the opportu-
nity to impact many more people through leadership development plus
other training and consulting services, and the reward for me will be the
feedback I receive when the training we give makes a difference in the
lives of individuals and organizations. That gives me strength!
Who is the best person to tell you what your strengths are? YOU ARE!
We’ve grown up expecting our teachers, our parents, a guidance coun-
selor, our HR department, or some test we take to tell us our strengths.
In reality, no one can tell you what you like and don’t like. The key is to
find out what you like and try to spend more time doing it. Free yourself
up from the things you don’t like, the things that drain you, and spend
more time on the things that make you feel strong. It won’t happen
overnight. It is an incremental journey. This sounds easier than it is.
After all, when you go to work, your time is not your own. Sometimes
you just have to suck it up and do what you are tasked to do. However,
your plan should be to find out what you don’t like and stop doing it.
Don’t invest yourself in things that have no return. Stop doing it and see
if anyone cares!
When I talk about spending time working on your strengths, it doesn’t
mean ignore your weaknesses. You should learn to manage around them
and minimize their impact on the organization. If you are not good with
details, make sure you have someone on your team that likes dealing
with structure and detail. If you know what you want to say, but don’t
know how to package it into something that will be received well by

25
your team, make sure you have someone that can take your content and
turn it into something creative. I like doing PowerPoint presentations. I
can take some pretty dull content and with some graphics, photos, and
more creative use of language, turn it into something that will keep the
attention of the audience. It gives me strength and I look forward to do-
ing this type of work.
Here are a few myths that Marcus Buckingham relates to us regarding
strengths:
MYTH: As you grow, you change.
TRUTH: As you grow, you become more of who you already are.
As children, we developed patterns of behavior that carry through life.
It is our foundation and we continue to grow and develop in that mold.
Think of the things you were known for as a child and see how they
have carried over and developed into adulthood.
MYTH: You will grow the most in your areas of greatest weakness.
TRUTH: You will grow the most in your areas of greatest strength.
You already know that what you are weak at bores you, frustrates you,
and drains you mentally. You will never get the return on investment
trying to improve your weak areas. Spend your quality time doing things
and developing the areas that give you the most enjoyment and fulfill-
ment. Spend time making your strengths even stronger. That is where
you will grow the most.
MYTH: A good team member does whatever it takes to help the team.
TRUTH: A good team member deliberately volunteers his strengths to
the team.
There are five seconds left in the game and your team needs a three-
point shot to win. Are you the one who gets the ball to take the shot or
are you the one who makes the in-bounds pass or sets the screen? Each
team member plays a role. You should play the role that brings out your
strengths. You shouldn’t be forced into a role that isn’t your strength
just to pitch in. It is your obligation to let the team know what you can
offer. When you put all the strengths of the team together, you get syn-
ergy, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
As Buckingham indicates in Now, Discover Your Strengths, there are two
assumptions that guide the world’s best managers:
1. Each person’s talents are enduring and unique.
2. Each person’s greatest room for growth is in the areas of his or her
greatest strength.

26
There are too many people in life and in the workplace ready and will-
ing to pour cold water on you and douse any spark of energy, your ideas,
your desires, and creativity. They are the fire-fighters. You are the fire-
lighter. You have talents and so do your people. Here is my challenge to
you. As a leader in your organization, are you going to spend your time
with your best people making them better, keeping the spark going, or
spending time trying to fix their weak areas? After all, the reason you
hired them is because you saw something in them that you considered a
strength. Keep investing in that strength and you will see great return on
your investment. The same goes for you. If you’ve never really thought
about your strengths, do so, NOW! Then you can answer the question,
“Am I one of the 20%?” I hope you are.
“Identify the areas in which you are most likely to add unique value to your
organization—something no one else can match—then leverage your skills
to their absolute max. That’s what your employer expected when he put you
on the payroll! More importantly, leveraging yourself generates the greatest
and most satisfying return on your God-given abilities.”
“Upgrade your performance by playing to your strengths and delegating your
weaknesses. This one decision will do more to enhance your productivity
than anything else you do as a leader.”
Both quotes by Andy Stanley, from The Next Generation Leader: Five Es-
sentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

27
Leading through Change
(Originally published in the April 2007 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
By Richard Coates, P.E.
The past two years of my career I have been challenged with motivating
employees while facing future downsizing. Fulton County, Georgia, has
been going through some major incorporation moves over the last two
years and it may not be over yet. Fulton County’s population is about
900,000 people, half of which reside within the city limits of Atlanta.
Prior to 2005, another 225,000 people lived in one of the other nine
cities sprinkled throughout the county. That left the remaining 225,000
people living in the unincorporated portion of the county.
In 2005, the City of Sandy Springs was born, which incorporated 85,000
people. In 2006, two more cities were born: the City of Johns Creek,
which incorporated 70,000, and the City of Milton, which incorporated
20,000. So that currently leaves about 50,000 people in unincorporated
Fulton County. That is a 78% downsizing of the permanent population
going from unincorporated to incorporated service areas. Later this year,
the remaining 50,000 people will vote on incorporation.
Fulton County’s public works department is divided into two major
divisions: the Water Services Division (a water and sewer utility in the
county) and the Transportation Division. The service areas of the two di-
visions are not the same. The Water Services Division’s service area is not
based on political boundaries. Their customer base is 96,000 accounts
and is unaffected by these incorporation changes.
The Transportation Division, however, serves the shrinking unincorpo-
rated portion of the county. Prior to 2005, the Transportation Division
maintained about 1,700 centerline miles of right-of-way. Today our total
is 800 miles. That is a 53% reduction in pavement, signals, sidewalks
and grass to maintain.
Prior to 2005, we had about 450 total positions in the department. Half
of these positions supported the Transportation Division. Since then,
120 of the 225 transportation positions have been eliminated, corre-
sponding to the 53% service area reduction.
My challenge has been and still is:
1. To keep the staff morale from totally bottoming out.
2. To maintain some level of employee loyalty.
3. To continue to maintain a strong level of service deserved by the
public.

28
To meet these challenges, I first had to get a clear understanding of the
parameters that I had to work within. In order to successfully under-
stand these parameters, I needed to bone up in an area that I really don’t
enjoy—the County’s personnel policies and procedures. I had to particu-
larly hone in on the Reduction in Force (RIF) Section. There were some
key parameters that were important for me to realize:
• RIF is based on seniority. The total number of years of service
with the County is king...but it isn’t that simple.
• You only compete with the employees with the same title as
yours when it comes to who gets RIF’ed. For example, if you
have a Maintenance Worker that is deserving of a promotion
to Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO), you need to think about
how he/she competes in their current position title compared to
their potential new position title. If their current position title
has a lot of employees in it with less years of County service,
they would be better off not being promoted into a position
title where many of the employees have more County years of
service than they have. The County does not allow for RIF’ed
employees to go back to previous position titles where they
might not be RIF’ed (the “bumping” system). For example, an
Engineer II cannot go back to and compete with the Engineer
I titles. Based on seniority, they simply lose their employment
with the County.
• The RIF does not cross department or fund lines. Therefore if
an HEO is subject to being RIF’ed in public works, they will not
bump a less senior HEO in another department. They simply
lose their employment with the County. Also, the RIF only
affected the General Fund. You can see where this may further
complicate things in a department like ours where there are
general fund positions (Transportation Division) and enter-
prise fund positions (Water Services Division) of the same title.
We had employees of the same title within our department in
which the more senior employee was RIF’ed due to the fund
that they were paid from. We had instances where a staff mem-
ber with over ten years of service was RIF’ed over a person with
less than a year of service.
As you can imagine, maintaining my three goals of morale,
loyalty and service with these parameters was quite a challenge.
Here are some of the things we did to help meet these goals:
• Self-imposed hiring freeze - This is a tricky one. On one hand
we are telling employees that help in the form of additional
resources is NOT on the way. We did not want to hire folks and
then have to lay them off within a year. On the other hand,

29
we knew that the more vacancies we had at the end of the year
the fewer layoffs there would be. This meant that the employ-
ees were asked to work overtime more, be flexible and to do
a little extra at times. This was important because we wanted
to maintain the same level of service to all of our current
225,000 citizens while at the same time plan for the future of
only 50,000 citizens. For the most part employees appreciated
the fact that their leadership was thinking about their future
employment. Also, this was an opportunity for me to lead by
example. There was a period where I personally had to wear
multiple hats. At one time I had two direct report positions
(Engineering Administrator) and a first-line supervisor position
(Traffic Operations Manager) vacant at the same time. I wore
these hats as long as I possibly could. The first-line supervisor
was the most challenging. I did that for about three months
before I had to give in and hire someone. One of the Engineer-
ing Administrator positions ultimately was eliminated and the
other one is still vacant.
• Self-imposed freeze on promotions - I really like this one. We
got particularly good results from this decision, which was
implemented because we do not have a “bumping” policy as
explained above. I would place an employee in an acting role as
a reward for doing a little extra. It let the employee know that
we were not just trying to take advantage of him/her because
he/she was a good team player. This is where I built loyalty with
key employees.
• More training opportunities - Employees were allowed and en-
couraged to take advantage of more training opportunities than
usual. This served two purposes. For one, it gave the employee
a chance to get away from the workplace. As you might imag-
ine, our workplace was a bit more stressful than usual. It also
gave the employees an opportunity to make themselves more
marketable, which is especially important when a job change
may be necessary. Most employees viewed this opportunity as
positive. Whenever a move is viewed positively it is a morale
booster.
• Maintain visibility - I took every opportunity I could to look an
employee in the eye and sincerely ask, “How are you doing?”
This is much easier today than two years ago. At one time the
Transportation Division had employees spread out over nine
different locations and across 50 miles. Today we are down to
just four locations. I think it is important that employees know
that their leadership really does care. The best way to show that
is through one’s actions.

30
During my many visits with the employees, I would always encourage
them to keep a good work ethic. I expressed to them that although
we were downsizing, there was growth all around us. The Atlanta
metro area is experiencing growth in both the private and public sec-
tors. I explained to employees that it was not unusual for me to get
inquiries about fellow employees...that is, the really good employees.
The best thing employees can do while facing downsizing is to keep
up their work effort and protect their reputation. Employees with the
best reputations will be employed somewhere. I network frequently
with my counterparts in the area. Everyone is always looking for good
workers; they are always in high demand. Now I’m not surprised
when I go to APWA meetings and someone asks me confidentially
about one of my employees.
Having an open and honest dialogue with the employees about the
situation and providing information when it becomes available will help
employees understand the process and not view you as being unfair.
Most people realize that life is not always fair. Typically when employ-
ees cry out for fairness, they are really just asking you not to treat them
unfairly. They know that you cannot control all the unfair situations
in life. However, when employees may be facing an unfair situation,
a leader should immediately and accurately inform them of the situa-
tion and how it may affect them. This is easier said than done. It was
extremely difficult to stay out in front of media reports. I was always
amazed when I would show up at a work site first thing in the morning
and hear reports from the employees prior to being informed myself. I
would simply respond that I had not been made aware of the specific
issue but would inform them immediately once I was informed.
So what happened to the 120 people that occupied those eliminated po-
sitions? They went in a lot of different directions. Of the 120 positions,
about 100 had become vacant through retirements and job changes.
Because we gave considerable advance notice of potential layoffs, many
took this opportunity to test the market for a better opportunity—and
many of them found one. A number of employees went to work for
the new cities via their private service provider, CH2M Hill, or one of
their subcontractors. My colleagues at neighboring counties and cities
hired some. And some went to the private sector. Throughout their job
searches it was important to support the employees in their endeavors.
There were some employees that needed some encouragement to move
on, who would have been very satisfied to hang around until they were
simply laid off. The problem with this is I would have had to lay off a
less senior person that may have really wanted to stay. So, well before
the deadline to lay off employees, I moved employees into the positions
that they would ultimately end up working in after incorporation was
over. As anticipated, many of these employees went ahead and retired
or moved on, thereby creating more vacancies. These are the employees

31
that recognized the importance of Stephen Covey’s Quad II Activities
(Preventive Maintenance, Relationship Building, Recognizing New Op-
portunities, Planning and Recreation). They are probably Who Moved My
Cheese experts, too.
Due to some of these proactive measures, only three permanent employ-
ees were laid off of 120 positions eliminated. The other employees that
did not move on to outside employment found positions in the Water
Services Division or other County departments.
In June 2007, the remainder of the citizens in the unincorporated por-
tion of the County will vote on cityhood. If they elect to become a city,
that will eliminate the need for the current Transportation Division of
Fulton County. This relatively successful transition to date has made
what is going to be a major vote in June, a “much to do about nothing”
amongst many of the remaining transportation employees. Simply put,
they now know that they have options. The contrast between employee
anxiety in 2005 when Sandy Springs became a city and 2007 when the
entire County could become incorporated is remarkable.
In 2005 when Sandy Springs incorporated it represented a loss of about
20% of the Transportation Division’s service area. The employees
were very worried about their future with the County, and morale was
extremely low. The reality of the situation was a very manageable one.
Without much effort, we were able to absorb the employees that were
affected by this into other positions in the division.
Now, two years later, we are looking at potentially eliminating the entire
division. The employees now recognize and hopefully have confidence
that they will not be treated unfairly regardless of what happens with
the vote in June. The contrast in employee morale and attitudes is re-
markably high in the face of potential job eliminations as compared to
two years ago when no jobs were at stake, just job relocations.
Employees recognize that the leadership is willing to help them through
these times whatever their desires are. Some want to stay, some want
to retire, some want to go to another government, some want to go
private. Whatever their desire is, the leadership needs to be supportive
in helping them reach their goals. This culture allows the employee to
maintain a level of loyalty to the very last day. And that is a win-win
situation for all.

32
A Leader’s Legacy
(Originally published in the May 2007 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
By George Haines
“By asking ourselves how we want to be remembered, we plant the seeds for
living our lives as if we matter. By living each day as if we matter, we offer
up our own unique legacy. By offering up our own unique legacy, we make
the world we inhabit a better place than we found it.” - Jim Kouzes and
Barry Posner, authors, The Leadership Challenge
When I facilitated the Franklin/Covey Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People training program, one of my favorite habits was Habit 2, “Begin
with the End in Mind.” Imagine yourself at your 80th birthday party,
listening to the people in the room reminiscing about the impact you
had on their lives. These people are your spouse, your children, your
former employees, coworkers, bosses, customers, and other people from
the communities where you have lived and served in various capacities.
It would be interesting to peek into the future to see how it will turn
out. The question is, if you could see the future, would it cause you to
change your actions in the present? We’re talking about legacy. Here are
two legacies for someone in a leadership position:
Legacy A
• Improved morale
• Set the example
• Brought out the best in people
• Took care of his employees and they took care of the customers
• Improved retention
• Solved problems without placing blame
• Organization took care of the whole person, families are impor-
tant
• Results achieved through strong relationships with staff and
customers
• Loyal staff would go the extra mile for him 
• Focused on the positives in people, loyal to those who were
absent
Legacy B
• Morale, what morale?
• Held himself to a different standard

33
• Wrote people off and cut them loose
• Took care of his customers at the expense of the employees
• Long-term employees left leaving a knowledge gap
• Always pointed fingers and found fault in others
• No regard for impact on families
• All that mattered were results, period
• Low trust, everyone looked out for themselves
• Focused on the negatives in people, talked about people behind
their backs
If you think this is an exaggeration, you would be wrong. I actually
worked with someone who is living Legacy A and others living Legacy
B. The one who is living Legacy A, I consider my mentor. Even after 20
years we stay in touch and I trust his advice and counsel. He made me
want to be better, to learn, and to grow. Legacy B is a compilation of
the worst traits in people I’ve come across in 31 years of public service.
Needless to say, it was not fun being part of those organizations, particu-
larly when the person with those traits was the boss. In my experience,
organizations with Legacy B leaders experienced loss of trust, declining
customer service, and loss of employees in the 5-15 year range of service
leaving an experience gap. The employees that were left were the new
ones just starting out and those hanging on until they could retire.
Those organizations were also characterized by a closed system of com-
munication where dissent was not welcome and employees were afraid
to speak up. Sound familiar to anyone?
Which legacy do you want to leave, if you want to leave one at all? Also,
you don’t have to be the boss to have the term “legacy” attached to your
life. We all leave a legacy, to our families, our children, our work life, our
community, etc. We all make a difference, but the question is what kind
of difference will you make?
Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t care if they like me as long
as they respect me.” As far as I am concerned, that is nuts. The reality is
that people will be better workers and more dedicated and loyal employ-
ees when they are treated right by their leaders. Respect, dignity, sup-
port, empathy, compassion and confidence are just a few of the terms
that apply. If our leaders treat us like that, we will like them. Kouzes and
Posner say the following: “We will work harder and more effectively for
people we like. And we will like them in direct proportion to how they
make us feel” and “If people don’t want to be liked, then they probably don’t
belong in leadership.”
It shouldn’t take a huge research project to figure this out. However,
there is a crowd out there that equates being liked with not hold-

34
ing people accountable or allowing them to do whatever they want
without consequences. They may be called easygoing or laid back. That
couldn’t be farther from the truth. The fact is, if you are that kind of
leader, there is a large group of people that don’t like you—the high
performers. When there is little accountability, the high performers get
frustrated and will eventually leave your organization. That is not a
legacy you want to leave either.
While on active duty in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps, I had the
privilege of serving President Reagan, providing support while he was at
his ranch near Santa Barbara. A group of Navy Seabees was assigned to
maintain support facilities during his visits, and then we also removed
these facilities at the end of his second term. (Seabees is the name given
to those in the Naval Construction Force and is taken from the first let-
ters of the words Construction Battalion). I will always remember how
he made me and the other Seabees feel when we were in his presence.
He made us feel important and that he cared for each and every man
and woman in uniform. He would participate in reenlistment ceremo-
nies and tell stories. When he was at the ranch, he was there on vaca-
tion, but he always had time for his Seabees. His leadership instilled a
sense of pride in us, and he made us feel good about ourselves and our
contribution to the nation. As a result, we liked him and would work
even harder for our organization. That has had a lasting effect on me
personally and has challenged me to strive to be that kind of a leader.
Legacy isn’t just about you and what you’ve accomplished. Peter Druck-
er said that “There is no success without a successor.” What are you
doing to cultivate successors? John Maxwell said in a recent Leadership
Wired newsletter that he resolved to produce leaders rather than attract
followers, and it is one of the best decisions he ever made.
Maxwell says there are four aspects of shaping a legitimate leadership
legacy:
1. Character - Being and becoming a moral example
2. Choices - Thinking clearly and making wise decisions
3. Conduct - Doing the right things consistently well
4. Consequences - Receiving the results of the seeds that we sow
Your character, choices, and conduct are the seeds you sow. Conse-
quences, #4, are the results and a reflection of the other three. I have
seen the positive side of this when you invest yourself in the develop-
ment of employees. When you give of your time, share your experi-
ences, and lead potential successors down the right road, they will
blossom into the kind of person, leader, and successor that will help an
organization stay strong when you leave. Maxwell says, “We spend our
day either preparing or repairing.”

35
• Preparing allows us to focus on today, while repairing forces us
to clean up yesterday.
• Preparing invests for the future; repairing pays down past debts.
• Preparing increases efficiency, but repairing consumes precious
time.
• Preparing increases confidence, while repairing breeds discour-
agement.
Where is your time spent? Preparing or repairing? If you treat people
like a piece of equipment or a car that has a few miles on it, then you
will never invest your time or pour your life into the development of
that person. You will simply write them off when you are tired of them
or when you see a newer, more attractive model that looks good on the
outside, but is unproven otherwise. You will be constantly repairing, and
your legacy will be nothing more than an example of a leader others
don’t want to follow. You will leave a “track record” rather than a legacy.
Be a leader who has confidence in your followers. Have the belief and
knowledge that they will go on to do even greater things than you have
done as a result of your influence on their lives. People will not remem-
ber how well your organization did in the fourth quarter of 1998. They
will remember the people you developed so that your organization was
able to “adapt, prosper, and grow.” In a relay race, success is determined
by successfully passing the baton. In business and public service, suc-
cessfully passing the baton might just be the greatest gift you can give to
yourself and to the next generation.
Finally, if you start questioning what legacy you will leave, remember
that on the highway of life, you won’t get anywhere by looking in the
rearview mirror. Keep your eye on the road ahead and you can make a
brighter future for yourself and others by starting today.
“Leadership is not solely about producing results....Being a leader brings
with it a responsibility to do something of significance that makes families,
communities, work organizations, nations, the environment, and the world
better places than they are today. Not all these things can be quantified.”
- Kouzes & Posner, from A Leader’s Legacy

36
Determining Your Level of Service
(Originally published in the June 2007 issue of the APWA Reporter.)
Introduction
Just doing the best you can is no longer acceptable. The best public
works agencies commit to delivering at a certain level, deliver at that
level and prove that they can deliver. Establishing service levels is the
key to accomplishing this.
“In order for the agency to be able to plan for the future, it must estab-
lish levels of service to be provided to the community or customer base
for each of the agency’s functional responsibilities. These important
policy summaries are set forth in writing and communicated to agency
customers. This activity may be done in conjunction with the budget
process.” (APWA Public Works Management Practices Manual, 5th Edition)
Definition of Level of Service
What is a level of service? Simply put, it is the agency’s ability to
produce a service within a set time, cost or resource. It’s the ability to
perform. A level of service, linked to an agency’s capability, can help:
• better define what you do
• help prioritize workloads
• manage resources
• set performance standards
• develop major work steps or functions
Level of Service Capability
Reviewing your past performance is important and will, to some extent,
determine what your capabilities are to achieve a certain level of service.
Combined with meaningful performance measures, you are able to pre-
dict, with some degree of accuracy, what your agency’s capabilities are.
By measuring the agency’s ability to, say, sweep your streets four times
per year, and if all things are equal (efficiency, accurate performance
measures and factoring in inflation), it can be equated that an agency
can effectively sweep 1,000 curb miles per year. If growth increases the
agency’s street mileage responsibility, the level of service will most likely
drop if additional resources are not provided, or priorities shifted.
Categories of Service Levels
There are five basic categories of a level of service for your agency (a
service level within a service level, so to speak):
• A level of service that is directed by your governing board
• A level of service directed by surveying the citizens

37
• A level of service adopted for your community when compared
with similar communities (benchmarking)
• The level of service your community can afford or prioritizes
• The level of service that you, as the public works manager,
determines or recommends that your agency accomplish within
the resources given to you
In a perfect situation, these five scenarios would be the same. However,
we all know that public works and the services provided are not perfect
situations. So how do you, the public works manager, try to bring some
closure on the service levels and the priorities? In previous articles, sev-
eral programs and procedures have been mentioned: goals, objectives,
benchmarking, efficiency, effectiveness and performance measurements.
Understanding the agency’s capabilities will provide the manager with
the information which with to set the service levels.
Directed Level of Service. What do we mean by “directed level of ser-
vice”? It is the level of service that is set (or demanded) by others: coun-
cils, citizens, laws, seasonal periods, etc. For example, your agency may
be directed to remove all snow from all streets, down to bare pavement,
within 48 hours. With this directive in mind, the manager determines
the equipment, materials, personnel and budget needed to achieve this
level of service. Another example is the level of sweeping (or cleanliness)
of streets that may be a high priority in your community. The level of
service requested for street sweeping may be “all streets swept a mini-
mum of once per week.” While these two examples may be extreme for
many municipalities, the level of service requirements will dictate the
agency’s capability to provide this service.
Another major factor that will affect a level of service is budget resourc-
es. Limited resources (probably a majority of situations) will require the
public works leader to work within the resources available to strike a
balance between priorities, needs, wants and wishes (sort of a level of
service in itself).
Citizen Surveys. The results of citizen surveys can be an indicator of
effectiveness (or dissatisfaction) of the level of service provided by your
agency. If the surveys indicate a satisfaction of street sweeping efforts
but indicate a dissatisfaction of weed control, the public works man-
ager may want to shift some resources from street sweeping (lower the
service level) to weed control (raise the level of service). To be sure, this
shifting is a balancing act between issues (clean water laws, community
appearance, etc.).
A good public works manager may be more critical of the agency’s levels
of service than the general public. With limited resources, the manager
must balance the levels of service set by the agency (the manager) and the

38
levels of service required (or perceived) by the citizens or the governing
board.
Benchmarking. The term “benchmarking” means the regularly and
widely used measure of work or customer response that meets the expec-
tations of the customers.
Benchmarking can be utilized in two ways:
• Implementing best practices
• Comparing levels of service from similar communities
While not a true benchmarking exercise, it is the latter program which
could be used in the context of recommending service levels for your
community. Keeping in mind the levels of service demanded by your
community, the governing board’s desires and limited resources, a de-
finitive comparison may not be entirely possible.
Public accountability and a move to improve governmental efficiency
and effectiveness bring about comparisons to other municipalities.
While comparing your agency with others, you must be cognizant that
“cities may provide different levels of service and categorize expenses in
different ways.” Recognizing varying service levels and the unique types
of service provided is an essential first step toward making valid service
level comparisons.
All of the above being said, there is some value in researching the levels
of service being provided by other similar agencies. Keep in mind, we
are not talking about costs or best practices; we are only comparing the
levels of service provided.
Affordable Level of Service. This level of service is dictated by the level
of resources available. Driving this level of service may be the priorities
set by your governing body. Certainly, public safety is a critical quality
of life issue. In most cases, this service may be a higher priority than
street sweeping, higher levels of snow removal or street maintenance.
Under these circumstances, it becomes critical that the public works
manager be aware of the agency’s capabilities and the resources avail-
able. The manager can provide the governing body with a service level
on all activities. This information will be useful when citizen dissatisfac-
tion arises or the agency is requested to do more.
Establishment of Service Levels
Most times, a public works manager will be given a set budget and is ex-
pected to provide the most cost-effective and responsive level of service
possible. To set your service levels, you will need the following:
• Performance indicators

39
• Inventory of equipment, personnel and materials
• Time constraints (i.e., seasonal weather)
• The cost to provide the service
In most cases, performance indicators only measure the output (work
accomplished), i.e.,
• number of catch basins cleaned (10,000)
• number of curb miles swept (12,000)
• number of traffic signs replaced (3,000)
• square footage of building maintenance (600,000)
• acres mowed (1,000)
• number of street cut permits issued (600)
• number of potholes filled (25,000)
• number of transit vehicle miles traveled (500,000)
While this information is valuable, it only measures the agency’s accom-
plishments (its output, if you will), and has to take into account a number
of variables (priorities, workload, work plans, goals, objectives, etc.).
Now let’s add a key ingredient to the mix of performance measures—
costs. A word of caution at this time—establishing cost for various levels
of service is tricky at best. Costs can vary each year by such items as
inflation, cost of materials, fuel costs, and inefficiency of equipment
(getting older-higher maintenance costs), aging infrastructure and wages
and experience of the workforce. However, by keeping a record over a
period of time, say five years, a manager can get a good handle on the
agency’s capabilities. All things being equal, a manager now has the
ability to determine the agency’s budget needs. Given the resources, the
manager can now adjust the agency’s level of resources.
Let’s use the same measures mentioned above, but add costs to the mea-
sures:
Service Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost
Catch basins 10,000 @ $25.00 $250,000
Curb miles 12,000 @ $37.00 $444,000
Traffic signs 3,000 @ $135.00 $405,000
Building Maintenance 600,000 @ $1.50 $900,000
Acres mowed 1,000 @ $35.00 $35,000
Street cuts permits 600 @ $250.00 $150,000
Potholes 25,000 @ $4.25 $106,250
Transit vehicle miles 500,000 @ $2.50 $1,250,000

Management Recipes for Success

Management Recipes for Success

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Management Recipes for Success

Similar to Management Recipes for Success (20)

More from Jim Proce

More from Jim Proce (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Management Recipes for Success