The KUPMC Blog

Comments Delivered By Lieutenant Tracy McCullough, Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department
On January 20, 2012

Hello and Good Afternoon,
I would like to personally take this time to welcome you all to the 2012 KU Emerging Leaders Academy. We would like to thank our family and friends for their continued support and for their ability to bring out the best in us. We would like to thank our Supervisors for investing in us and for recognizing that we are Emerging Leaders. Noel, I would like to especially thank you for being a great instructor and for being an inspirational and motivational leader. You welcomed our ideas and our opinions. We were able to build a strong relationship with others because we all realize how important networking and communication can be.

A few weeks prior to the start of the Emerging Leaders Academy, my grandson was born. He was only two pounds and two ounces. I can’t express to you how many times one of my classmates or Noel asked me about his welfare. I immediately knew that everybody had a genuine concern for me.

We talked about our professional goals. Education is very critical to our success. Take the time to invest in your career. Seek out training opportunities. Display good work ethics and be willing to take the next step up the career ladder. In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

We also talked about our personal goals. I don’t believe that I have ever told anybody, with the exception of this class, that one day I would like to have a monkey as a pet. For the most part, my classmates were very receptive of this idea; well, with the exception of John and Carol.

During this class session, we took the strengths finder test. The test was able to determine what our five strengths are. My strengths are self-assurance, maximizer, learner, activator, and arranger. I use these five strengths every day at my workplace. Focus on your strengths and sharpen up on your skills. Use your strengths to motivate and influence others to be successful. A good leader can inspire, motivate, and lead. Be the multiplier in your organization.

I especially enjoyed the Mentor Shadowing Assignment. We were given the opportunity to shadow someone whom we admire. I shadowed Mr. Jeffery Fewell, the Administrator for the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department. I was able to have a one-on-one conversation with him. I asked him some questions about his career, his success, and about his genuine concern for his subordinates. I remember asking him, “Mr. Fewell, how did you build the morale of your troops?” He answered, “I show them that I am human and I show them that I care.” He advised me that determination is essential. Set the example and be selfless.

For all of you Newly Emerging Leaders, continue to strive for excellence and bring out the best in others.

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” – Sam Walton

Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton, Hilton Hotels

Comments Delivered By Craig Weinaug, Douglas County Administrator
On November 18, 2011

As we approach another election cycle, I feel a mixture of excitement and dread as our attention is drawn again toward discussion of public issues. It certainly seems to me that at the state and national levels, some candidates base their entire campaigns on a baseless claim. They tell voters that government is responsible for virtually everything bad going on in the world today. Candidates for elected offices at every level compete to be perceived as the candidate who would eliminate the biggest chunks of this thing we call government.

Even in TV sitcoms and in almost all popular culture, any character part of a mayor, state legislator, or any other public job is almost always portrayed as incompetent, lazy, and/or just plain comically stupid.

Government is rarely presented in public debates or in popular culture as a positive force.

I once had a conversation with a young lady who was working toward her M.P.A. degree. She had interviewed the governor of the state where she went to undergraduate school. When he found out that she was pursuing a career in public service, he could not understand why a topflight student would seek a career in the public sector as her first choice when she could make so much more money in the private sector.

I am here to make an important point that seems to have been lost in public discourse: Government is the means that we have to collectively pay for and provide those services that we collectively need.

Government is not a boogeyman. Government is roads and bridges. Government is schools and libraries. Government is the military keeping us safe around the world, and government is public servants keeping our water and air safe at home.

The vast majority of government workers are public servants who have chosen a career in public service because they want to make better life for all of us.

Government includes our teachers who spend every day of their professional lives giving our children the opportunity to be all that they can be, regardless of the level of success of their parents.

It includes occupational rehab specialists that work with our neighbors with disabilities so they can live with dignity and be productive citizens regardless of the disabilities that they may have.

It includes law enforcement officers and fire fighters that are prepared on a moment’s notice to risk their lives so the rest of us can be safe.

It includes road engineers that devote an entire career in the continuing effort to make our roads as safe as possible and minimize the loss of life.

It includes public health officials who work to protect us all from the outbreak of diseases that would regularly threaten our communities, if it were not for their perseverance.

It includes the social workers at SRS who work to ensure that there is a safety net for the children of our citizens who have lost their jobs.

It includes the psychologists at our community mental health centers who work to meet the critical needs of our neighbors with mental health disorders. In many cases, the services of our mental health centers make the difference between a productive life and a life spent in and out of jail or worse.

It includes building inspectors who try to assure that our businesses and homes are safe and secure for us to live and work in. Government includes the emergency communication specialists that can quickly direct virtually any type of emergency personnel to meet a citizen’s need, and when needed, they can even give instructions to someone on the scene to clear the air path of a suffocating citizen.

It includes the garbage collector who picks up your trash and safely disposes of it in a sanitary landfill, and the public works employee that makes sure that when you flush your toilet that your human waste flows away from your house safely and does not flow back into our lakes and rivers until that sewage is clean and harmless.

It includes court officials who spend their entire careers balancing our constitutional safeguards against the need to incarcerate those who are a threat to our safety.

Government includes economic development specialists who work hard to make sure that our state retains and attracts jobs for all of us, including our children.

It includes the army enlistee who risks her life on the other side of the globe to keep us safe.

Government includes every member of this graduating class.

We are engaged in a great debate in this country and in this state about how much government we can “afford,” and it is an important debate. There are no easy answers.

There are always going to be people who want to distort the debate by characterizing what we do as somehow inferior or unnecessary or inefficient. Don’t let those charges go unanswered. Do your job well, do it with pride, and stand up for yourself and your colleagues.

We strive to find the balance between the services that we provide as public servants, the investments our communities need to make for the future, and the taxes it takes to support that vision without passing the bill on to the next generation.

And at every level of government, in every department or division or agency there are dedicated and determined public employees who are working every day to help our elected officials to strike the best and most appropriate balance.

Government is what we do. It is the work that you have dedicated your careers to and by earning this degree I know you are committed to doing it well.

Public service is a high calling. It is essential to who we are as Kansans and as Americans. Let’s perform that service with pride.

Is there a more often longed-for yet less often achieved workplace goal than bringing change to one’s organization?

The desire to shift the way things are in some large or small way likely reflects an innate creativity that’s part of the human condition. We long to leave our mark, and we can usually imagine some change in the conditions around us that would allow us to more effectively do so.

And yet, we simultaneously resist – consciously or not – many of the efforts those around us make to bring about organizational changes. What’s up with that?

Fortunately, many able thinkers have taken on this question. Here are a few resources for those interested in pondering this conundrum and putting their own change propositions in the best position for success.

First, a talk: on Wednesday this week (3/2), Dr. Marlesa Roney will present a talk on Effective Organizational Change at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park. Click here for details.

Second, a fabulous post from Heidi Grant Halvorson’s “Succeed” blog on the tendency to believe that whatever is older is better and the way this interferes with embracing the new.

Third, from Psychology Today: a leadership researcher and consultant’s look at the psychology behind habits and what managers need to know about brain research to help them work effectively with staff to overcome old habits and embrace the new.

And finally, a new book from ASTD called The Change Book, which invites us to “change the way you think about change.” Looks promising.

What tips can you share about successful organizational change projects you’ve observed or implemented?

The first ASPA luncheon of the 2010-2011 series will feature speaker Tom Coyle, Planning and Development Director for Kansas City, Missouri. He’ll provide an update on current sustainable development activities in Kansas City, Missouri. Topics include the new development code, streamside protection, stormwater management, and other programs focused at promoting sustainable development.

Location: Hereford House Restaurant & Hollywood Room | 100 East 20th Street | KCMO 64108
Date & Time: Wednesday,August 25th, 2010 @ 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Cost: $20
Registrations: Please email with your lunch choice to aspakc@gmail.com or visit us as www.aspaonline.org/ASPAKC/

About Tom Coyle: Mr. Coyle has been the Planning and Development Director for the City of Kansas City, Missouri since 2005. In this capacity, Tom oversees the coordination of all elements of private development within the City.

His background includes planning management in the states of California, Texas, Oregon, and Missouri. He has also served as a contractor for the Army on a base expansion at Fort Irwin, California. He holds degrees in public administration and city planning from San Diego State University. He is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute. He has attained certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Tom lives in the Northland and his daughter, Kelsey, is a sophomore at Park Hill High School. His hobbies include long distance running and coaching his daughter’s softball team.

The Mid-America Regional Council’s 14th Annual Regional Assembly is coming up!

Friday, June 25, 2010 • 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Crown Center, 2345 McGee Street, Kansas City, Mo.

$40 per person or $350 for a table of 10. Includes lunch.
Click here to register online or call 816/701-8398

The keynote speaker will be Patrick Phillips, CEO of the Urban Land Institute. MARC will also present its annual Regional Leadership Awards at the event. The awards honor those in the community who have advanced a vision of a strong, healthy region, demonstrated commitment to its growth, and encouraged others to support and work towards that vision.

It’s a fun day of preparation and anticipation around the Public Management Center as we get ready for the annual Certified Public Manager networking conference tomorrow and Wednesday!

As always, the highlight will be the session where this year’s students get to hear about the top capstone projects from last year. Each participant in CPM completes a capstone project where they identify a plan for process improvement, cost savings, or revenue generation for their agency.

Last year’s top five capstones were:

* Steve Hewitt, City Manager, Greensburg, KS: “Rebuilding Greensburg’s Economy”
* Katie Howard, “Department of Agriculture, and Steve Zink, Department of Labor: “Inspections for Stationary Anhydrous Containers for Agricultural Use”
* Tanner Lucas, City of Garden City: “Integrating Social Media Technologies into City of Garden City Communication Plan”
* Gabe Ramirez, Southwest Medical Center, Liberal: “Implementation and Evaluation of the Outreach Clinical Laboratory Services at Southwest Medical Center”
* Sunni Zentner, Department of Administration: “Paycheck Modeling Tool for State of Kansas Employees”

Click here to learn more about CPM. Enrollment for the 2011 program will begin in September.

The ASPA Greater Kansas City chapter invites you to celebrate their 50th anniversary at the annual awards dinner. It will be held on Wednesday, May 19 at The Villa, 4120 Baltimore in Kansas City, Missouri. The cost is $45 / $35 for full-time students.

The chapter will recognize the 2010 award recipients in a number of categories. Of special note: Dr. George Frederickson of KU Public Administration will receive the award for Distinguished Public Administrator of the Year at an Academic Level. Congratulations, George!
Additionally, Lieutenant Jodi Andrews of the Shawnee Police Department and KU MPA student, will receive the Stanley Fisher Memorial award.

For more information or to register for the awards dinner visit http://www.aspaonline.org/ASPAKC/.

On Monday, April 12, join us at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park for a presentation by Steve Adukaitis, Retired, Director of Management Operations, FEMA Philadelphia Regional Office.

The fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the City of New Orleans is approaching. Mr. Adukaitis was assigned to the City in the weeks following landfall and spent the following 8 months assisting local officials in their initial re-entry and recovery efforts. He will review his personal experiences and offer some lessons learned based on his work with the City of New Orleans and surrounding parishes. His observations are applicable to government and community officials at all levels who will be called upon to respond to a “big one” in the Kansas City area.

The presentation is scheduled for 4:30pm in room 155 Regnier Hall. The Edwards Campus is located at 127th and Quivira in Overland Park.

Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and University of Kansas alumna, will give the 2010 Dole Lecture. The free event is open to the public and is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 19, at the Dole Institute of Politics. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Bair has spent most of her professional life in public service, beginning her career as a civil rights attorney in the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 2007, Bair warned of the impending sub-prime mortgage crisis. Bair organized a meeting to persuade financial institutions to reduce monthly payments, but bank investors were not convinced.

Forbes magazine named Bair the second most powerful woman in the world in 2008 and 2009 for her role as chair. She also made Time magazine’s “Time 100” list of the most influential people of 2009.

Read more about Bair and the Dole lecture.

The Kansas City chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) have teamed up to sponsor an April 19th program called “The Future of Local Government: Exploring Adaptive Leadership.”

The event will feature a presentation by Ed O’Malley, President and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center, followed by a panel of public sector leaders and educators. The panelists will include:

* Kay Barnes, Director, Center for Leadership, Park University
* Kirk Davis, City Administrator, Gladstone, Missouri
* Emmett Perry, Assistant Professor of Management, Helzberg School of Management, Rockhurst University
* Mike Scanlon, City Manager, Mission, Kansas

For more details or to register, visit the MARC website.