Building High Performing Council-Manager Relations

Presenters: Michael Letcher, President/CEO, BridgeGroup LLC
William Stipp, President, Leading Edge Consulting Group (Councilmember, Goodyear AZ)

Description:

The governing process in this new environment of political division and agendas is challenging. How can public managers be more proactive and less reactive in working with their governing boards? There are a lot of theories on how to work effectively with your governing board, but very few examples of practical tools to make it happen. In this Workshop ,Bill Stipp, a City Councilmember from Goodyear Arizona, and President of Leading Edge Consulting and Senior Associate for the Mercer Group Associates and Mike Letcher, President and CEO of BridgeGroup LLC and Senior Associate for the Mercer Group Associates will present six (6) tools to work more effectively with your governing board. Do these tools work? The answer is yes! We will provide examples from our experiences and clients that are currently effectively using the tools. In this “hands on” interactive session, participants will learn how these tools work and have opportunities to discuss in small groups how they might be used in their communities.

Learning Objectives:

• To develop shared governance systems with your board to improve their relationship with one another and the manager, and in setting clear expectations for the manager on running the organization
• To create effective strategic plans to guide the priorities of the governing board
• To develop a shared governance evaluation system for the board and manager
• To develop a collaborative budget development process with the board
• To create effective board workshops and retreats