Presentation to Minnesota Recreation and Parks Association 2011. Focusing on leading with a sense of purpose and defining actions in terms of core values of public service.

1. Framing the Value of
Parks and Recreation
MRPA Annual Conference 2011:
Back to our Future
September 22, 2011

2. “Business ethics is so…negative.”

3. Empower others
to improve the world

4. Learning across Contexts

5. Among my teachers…

6. Agenda
• The Power of Purpose
• Values for Public Service
• The Ethics of Engagement

7. Way, way back to our future:
Learning from Sisyphus
• Sisyphus angered
gods through a
variety of antics.
“Accounts vary.”
• His sentence was the
worst thing the
storytellers could
imagine for a smart,
engaged person.

8. A virtuous cycle
Purpose
Pride Expectations
Performance

9. Examples Abound

10. Aspects of our Purpose

11. ELA’s Foundational Values for
Public Agencies
• Excellent Public
Service
• Sound Stewardship
of Resources
• Fairness

12. Excellent Public Service
• Valuable contributions to the community
• Attentive to community needs
• Leadership in establishing community
priorities
• Pervasive professionalism: competence and
service
– External: Follow-up, appearance, etc.
– Internal: Ongoing improvement

13. Sound Stewardship of Resources
• Thoughtful expenditures:
– Aimed at sufficiency.
– Attentive to total cost and value
• Investments and expenditures linked to
mission and community priorities.
• Maintenance and conservation.
• Commitment to ongoing improvement.
• Informing community of true value proposition.

14. Fairness
• Consistent treatment
• Safety, adequate materials and
equipment
• Honest and open information sharing
• Appreciation for time and effort
• Respect

15. Please share your thoughts.
Current value set based on
50+ working groups and
interviews.
Do you have something to
add?
cweinstein@ethinact.com
651-646-1512

16. The Old Employment Model:
“Master-Slave”
Not all
slavery
structures
were/are
the same.
Slavery didn’t
pay off for
anyone
See Eugene Genovese, The Political Economy of Slavery: Studies
in the Economy and the Society of the Slave South, 1965.

17. Measuring Engagement
• Retention
• Safety
• Customer Service
• Productivity
• Profitability
Source: Gallup Q12 Summary

18. Employee Engagement Drivers
• Clear expectations for
performance
• Adequate materials
and equipment
• Ability to succeed
in assigned roles
• A supervisor who cares about subordinates
• Co-workers committed to quality work
• Opportunities to learn and grow
Source: Gallup Q12 Summary

19. Best Practices from Hospice Care
• Group sessions to
process, share
(and grieve).
• Individual
relationships
pervade teams and
enterprise.
• Culture of mutual
support and
awareness

20. The oldest leadership seminar
If we
• Safety and comfort
aren’t
telling
stories, • Tactical information
others
surely
are! • Problem-solving
• Strategic decisions
• Who are we???

21. Thank you for your attention!
Chad Weinstein
Ethical Leaders in Action, LLC
cweinstein@ethinact.com
651-646-1512
“We enable ethical leaders to achieve
extraordinary results”