EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP THROUGH TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES

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EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP THROUGH TOUGH
ECONOMICTIMES

• Charlie Meyer

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What Is The Core Essence Of An Effective Leader?

• How is leadership defined?

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Leadership Definitions
Leader person Leadership process
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Leadership Definitions
Leadership is defined as top executive(s) who
displayed high levels of persistence, overcame
significant obstacles, attracted dedicated
people, influenced groups of people toward the
achievement of goals, and played key roles in
guiding their companies through crucial episodes
in their history. (Collins Porras, 1994) Built
to Last
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Leadership Definitions
Leadership is the process of persuasion or
example by which an individual (or leadership
team) induces a group to pursue objectives held
by the leader or shared by leader and his or her
followers. (Gardner, 1990, p.1) On Leadership
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Leadership Definitions
Principle-centered leadership is cultivating
security, guidance, wisdom and power. (Covey,
1991) Principal-Centered Leadership
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Leadership Definitions
Leadership is that process in which one person
sets the purpose or direction for one or more
other persons, and gets them to move along
together with him or her and with each other in
that direction with competence and full
commitment. Jaques Clement (1994, p.4)
Executive Leadership A. Practical Guide to
Managing Complexity
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Leadership Definitions
The first responsibility of a leader is to define
reality. The last is to say thank you. In
between the two, the leader must become a servant
and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an
artful leader. DePree (1987, p.9) Leadership is
an Art
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Leadership Definitions
Being in Charge Dunlap (1996) Mean Business
How I save Bad Companies and Make Good
Companies Great
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Leadership Definitions
You have to look at leadership through the eyes
of the followers and you have to live the
message. What I have learned is that people
become motivated when you guide them to the
source of their own power and when you make
heroes out of employees and personify what you
want to see in the organization. Roddick (1991,
p. 214) Body and Soul
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Leadership Definitions
Leadership is an intangible quality with no clear
definition. Thats probably a good thing,
because if people knew the definition, they would
hunt down their leaders and kill them. Adams
(1996, p. 287) The Dilbert Principle
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Leadership Definitions
Leaders dont matter. The idea that we should
keep looking for better and better leaders is to
me a statement of the problem . . . strong
leadership absolves people of their
responsibility. Block (1997, p.7)
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Key Factors in Tough Situations

• Being In Charge
• Define Reality
• Communicate Objectives
• Communicate Process

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Being in Charge

• Make every decision
• Tell people what to do
• Tell people how to do it

• Control systems
• Put out fires
• Provide carrot and stick rewards

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Being in Charge

• Develop people to make their own decisions and
  manage themselves
• Unleash talent toward highest priorities
• Create empowered aligned systems
• Provide disciplined focus and execution systems

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Define Reality

• Budget deficit of unprecedented proportion
• Too soft?
• Too hard?
• Lay it all out

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Communicate Objectives

• PURPOSE STATEMENT
• To be a high
• performing, and
• financially sustainable organization that
• is providing superior
• levels of service to
• ensure that Tempe is
• the best place to live,
• work, and play.

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Communication Process (WIGS)

• Freeze increase to compensation and benefits
• Reduce staffing by 179
• Cut non-personnel budgets by 18
• Increase revenue by 1 Million
• Fund OPEB
• Use fund balance to create a soft landing
• Develop a policy for a balanced five-year plan

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Communicate Process

• Charlie,
• Click here.. ?

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Communicate Process Budget Balancing Worksheet
  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
Number of FT permanent positions eliminated first half of the FY   30 -    
Number of FT permanent positions eliminated last half of the FY 74 75 -   -
Changes to salary/benefit policies (annualized reductions -- recurring) - 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000  
Reductions of PT positions, contracted svcs. and non-personnel costs   14.0 4.0 4.0  
Revenue increases (annualized estimate -- recurring)   1,000,000 1,000,000 500,000  
Annual Appropriations to fund the OPEB liability   6,600,000 6,600,000 6,600,000 6,600,000
Non-recurring (one-time) additions to revenue       -  
Non-recurring (one-time) expenditure reductions - -      
Unreserve the 10 million OPEB funds? (Y or N) N
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13






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Communicate Process Projected Revenues and
Expenses
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Communicate Process Unfunded Fund Balance
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Political Savvy

• How does political differ from political
  savvy?
• How do you develop it?
• How do you use it to effectively accomplish
  things?

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What Are The Expectations Of Financial Staff?

• Solely provide information?
• Level of assertiveness if decisions being made
  are not wise from a financial perspective
• Whose role is it?
• CFO
• City Manager

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Conclusion

• Quando omni
• flunkus
• moritati!

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Contact Information

• Charlie Meyer
• 31 E Fifth St
• Tempe, AZ 85282
• [phone]
• charlie_meyer_at_tempe.az