I have to be honest, as a freshman in college, I would never have guessed that I would be giving a speech at my graduation. For starters, I wasn’t sure I wanted to graduate college, but I was all too aware that not doing so would have devastated my parents.

I couldn’t pick a major because I wanted to save the world, and I couldn’t figure out how to do that in a life drawing or physical anthropology class. Finally, it was during an intro to public administration course that I started to learn how to save the world, so I declared my major half way through the semester and I haven’t looked back since.

Because this room is full of current students, highly informed graduates, brilliant professors and others dedicated to public service, I don’t need to explain how public administration is the key to saving the world. I’ll explain it for our guests, however, like my family, who I’ve been told still don’t quite know what I’ll do with a public administration degree.

Basically, everything we complain about in life exists because there aren’t enough people dedicated to working in the public sector. Anything we don’t complain about, we are happy with because it is taken care of by public servants.

It is easy to identify the public employees that directly serve the public, from teachers to firefighters, but every professional is also regulated by public servants who protect the common good. Architects must receive approval for bridge designs from employees in federal agencies to ensure they are safe, because without that oversight the public could be in danger.

We often talk about frustrations with bureaucracy, but the extra paperwork we fill out on job applications protects us from discrimination, and the long lines at the DMV exist because people care that our roads are safe. We take public servants for granted, and hopefully we will always be able to.

Public administrators are entrusted with our tax dollars, which we all just finished paying a few days ago, and I studied public administration to ensure that, in the future, those taxpayers can live a life that is safe, full of opportunity, and above all supportive, so that anyone can change the world in their own field, be it drawing or anthropology.

Looking around this room, there are many people who have dedicated their lives to serving others, and on behalf of my class I want to say to them: We’re coming for you, and we’re going to take your jobs.

My classmates and I are clearly well-educated, impassioned, and we are committed to getting better, even after we graduate. We will continue to improve because we know what you know: that serving the public is the most important job you can do.

So to anyone who isn’t afraid to take on a new college graduate, I hope you challenge us in our attempts to take your job, because when we are all doing our best, the public wins, and we all win.

That being said, I also want to thank you. It is because of dedicated public servants that I could spend my life figuring out how to contribute to the world while you make complex choices to protect my future. I want to thank my professors as well, because their research and skills are unmatched in our field, and their passion captivated me so that I could become passionate myself.

And finally my family, especially my parents and fiancé, who didn’t care what I studied, as long as I was happy, and in my mom’s case, a graduate. She always said she gave her kids names that would look good on a diploma, and to support that she has probably given more money to KU for her five kids’ tuition than most of the people who have campus buildings named after them.

Thank you all for letting me speak tonight, and I look forward to seeing what an amazing world we can create together.

This past weekend, we took our kids back there to spend Spring Break with their grandmothers who still live in the area.  While we were there, we took a walk around town to share memories from our childhood.  We started our walk through the alleys of downtown, which revealed something that we couldn’t have seen had we taken the sidewalk—almost all of the remaining buildings, emptied long ago of their businesses, were caving in.  I felt overwhelmingly sad realizing that in the not too distant future each of these buildings, remembered so fondly from our childhoods, would be reduced to rubble.

What does our small town have to do with your personal brand?  Basically, a brand is your identity, the way that you differentiate yourself from everyone else.  In order to create your brand, any brand really, you must first understand who you ARE and who you want to BE in a way that it influences what you DO and subsequently, how others see you.  Getting this kind of clarity gives you a blueprint for your future, informs the kind of tools you’ll need (skills, expertise, etc.), and allows you to make decisions about what kinds of materials you’d like to use (what you really need vs. what you can let go of).

Had our small community developed its identity consciously, perhaps defining that it wanted to always be a vibrant community, these buildings would never have been allowed to deteriorate and crumble.  Taking the time now to build your personal brand will prevent you from climbing a career ladder, only to find years down the road that your ladder has been propped up against the wrong wall.

Here are a few steps to get you started building your own personal brand:

Step 1
Understand who you are, especially your strengths. Make a list of what you perceive to be your strengths, then add any feedback you’ve received over the years from supervisors, colleagues, friends, family, and even strangers.  Pull out annual evaluations and/or any assessments you may have taken and re-read what they say about you.  This step helps set the context for the next few steps.  When you’ve got a pretty good combined list, you’re ready to move on.

Step 2
Define who you want to be and what impact you would like to have. Ask yourself, what difference do I see myself making in this world?  By the end of my career, what impact would I like to have had?  You may not completely know the answer to this yet, but you should feel okay about making a “best guess” based on where you are in your career path.  For some people, this is an evolutionary process.

Step 3
Define what you want to be known for. Ask, what do I want people to see when they look at me?  What do I want others to say about me to other people?  Articulate the value that you uniquely offer to others.  This step is important because this is the outward expression of your brand, i.e. what others see and experience as your unique value.

Step 4
Define for yourself why what you want to be and what you want to be known for are important. Values drive behavior, so make a list of values that are important to you.  This step is important because it keeps you focused on the most important priorities when you meet the inevitable barriers along the way.

Step 5
Get clear about what you need to do and how you want to do it. It may be helpful to limit your timeframe to either the next 12 months, or perhaps a little longer, like 3 years.  Ask yourself, what do I really want or need to do in this next year (or next 3 years) that will set me on a path to making the difference I ultimately want to make?  What projects do I want to initiate or complete?  What new relationships do I need to establish?  What additional training do I need?  Think not just about what you yourself would like to do, but also about what your organization or other stakeholders need or want you to do—you may not be able to control every project you take on, but you can certainly control how you carry it out.

One final note, just as a building built in the 1950’s needs to be updated and remodeled, it is important to understand that developing your personal brand is a process–you’ll need to revisit it periodically.

After you’ve had a chance to develop your personal brand, I would love to hear how you’re using it to move forward in your life and career!

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

As you know when Chief Hudson retired I appointed Chief Mattox as interim chief and allowed myself time to think about the appointment of the next chief. Department head positions play a critical role in leading departments, this organization, and, they provide leadership in the community. Selecting the right people to fill those positions is one of the most, if not the most, important decisions that I make in my position as City Manager.

During the past few months, I have worked closely with Chief Mattox and have seen clearly his commitment to the fire profession, the department and the City. As I have gotten to know him better, I have come to greatly appreciate his common sense approach, direct communication style and positive outlook. He is a person of great compassion and integrity, and has already demonstrated the willingness to make the hard decisions that are necessary for strong leadership. I believe he is innovative and will set high standards and expectations, encourage forward thinking, and be open to ideas and suggestions from all staff.

For those reasons, and because John’s extensive experience in the fire service, the roles he has played regionally and nationally in professional associations, and his formal and continuing education have prepared him well, I am appointing him as the Fire Chief for the City of Shawnee, effective today. The fire service is a changing industry, and I believe John Mattox is the best person to lead our outstanding department into the future.

I am proud to serve as the City Manager of a City with such an excellent fire department. I thank you for your support of Chief Mattox, and I thank you for your outstanding public service.

Carol
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We couldn’t have said it better ourselves and congratulate John on this wonderful promotion and opportunity! This is a very deserving honor for him – his leadership, dedication, and commitment to public service shine through in so many ways. We know that great things will happen under his leadership. – The Public Management Staff
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Click here to read the announcement that was on the City of Shawnee’s website.

Craig Weinaug addresses CPM 2011 graduates

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.

I went to a conference recently. The first speaker was from the state department of education and I was ready to listen; in fact, I did listen, but I could not follow her remarks. Why? I simply could not understand what she was saying.

In her first sentence, she used two unfamiliar acronyms. While I paused to decode the first one, I missed several words which followed. The second acronym was completely new to me, so when she said it, I could not understand it all. Thus, in spite of a wide vocabulary, I could not grasp the meaning of her sentence.

The same problem continued throughout her remarks. I spent more time wondering if I had decoded the acronyms than I did absorbing her advice and information. As you can imagine, I was annoyed and frustrated. But suddenly I saw it as a learning experience: I was feeling the same sensations that students feel when they don’t understand the vocabulary or references that I use in the classroom.

In a related incident, I was the speaker at a staff meeting. After I presented an involved list of steps for meeting the goals in the school improvement plan, one of the teachers said, “I would really appreciate a list, so I could keep track of all these things.”

“She already told us we would get one!” said one of his colleagues impatiently, at the very moment that I held up the checklists I was ready to hand out. I paused to talk about his knowledge gap.

“You know, Justin’s comment brings up a common issue,” I said. “He has been here, and he looked pretty attentive, but he still missed, or didn’t remember, that detail. Everyone misses things. It’s human to miss things. Whenever our attention wanders for just a second, we lose a detail or an idea. It’s important to remember that when we talk to the young people in our classes. They will have the same gaps and not because of bad intentions.”

In both cases it was as if the listener was looking at a scene through a window with stickers all over it. He/she missed meaning because parts of the whole picture were obscured by blockages, whether of understanding or attention.

Add these two issues together and you get what I call the Swiss Cheese Syndrome.

Listeners are highly likely to have holes—big and small—in their comprehension of our words, just as Swiss cheese is normally full of holes. We are wise to expect gaps and do what we can to fix them, rather than let the situation make us angry or discouraged.

What can we do?

First, be aware. We have to stop assuming that if we know a given word ourselves, then everyone knows it. We can plan in advance to include simple words in explanations and descriptions. Generally, the more syllables the word has, the more likely for it to be unknown to someone. In addition, content vocabulary and scientific words must be explicitly taught, and then reviewed and used–up to a dozen times for full comprehension by all students.

Second, check constantly. Ask for a student to restate a point. Be sure to call on those average learners, not just those whose hands are usually waving. It is too easy to assume that if one person in the class knows something, then the whole class knows it. Direct your learners to summarize for an “elbow partner.”
Have each student write a summary as a “ticket out the door.” The methods are numerous once we recognize the importance of using them.

Most of all, remember that when you feel like moaning “but I TOLD them that,” it is pretty likely that some of the students are thinking, “I never heard her say THAT.” Just take a deep breath, know that it is the Swiss Cheese Syndrome in action, and try again.

CPM is a nationally-accredited management program and certification in which participants develop and strengthen their management skills through a competency-based curriculum.

The Kansas CPM program is offered on a calendar-year schedule and uses a blended learning approach of classroom hours, online learning, and outside assignments. Along the way, participants complete a capstone project focused on an opportunity for cost savings, revenue generation, process improvement or innovation in their workplace. Over 1,200 people have completed the Kansas program since 1993.

Agamani Sen, Chief Design Engineer for Douglas County, Kans. Public Works (left), participated in CPM in 2010. Her capstone explored how to increase the number of internal design-build projects in Public Works by applying staff expertise in culvert design and installation to some of the County’s smaller bridge projects; she determined that for every bridge that is able to be completed as an internal design-build instead of by consultants and contractors, there is the potential for approximately $150,000 in savings.

Put another way, the savings from any single bridge replacement completed in-house will pay for either one additional small bridge project or two to three culvert projects. In this era of shrinking revenues, this is a profound benefit to the County.

CPM program director Terri Callahan notes that for agencies to continue finding the resources to send staff to the program in such challenging economic times, “we have to make sure the program offers real benefits to sponsoring departments whether in the form of cost savings, process improvement or innovation via the capstone or in the enhanced skills that make for more effective managers.”

For Agamani Sen and Douglas County Public Works, the benefits were real on both sides. Her capstone was a project that Agamani long suspected could generate savings for the County, and participating in CPM allowed her to carve out the time to research the details and create a plan for implementation. Meanwhile, she found the class content to be extremely useful, with topics such as emotional intelligence and project management offering valuable perspectives on different styles of management and allowing her to gain insight about her own approach.

Beyond this, she says that “meeting people from so many organizations, to get outside of my own world, was inspirational.”

“What is inspiring to me,” says Craig Weinaug (KU MPA 1976), Douglas County Administrator, “is the dedication participating staff show to staying on top of their responsibilities while making the time to get all they can out of the program.”

Craig further notes that “Agamani’s project provides very tangible evidence as to why continuing investment in the education of public employees not only benefits the individual, but also the organization. This investment becomes even more critical when revenues are shrinking, and we have to be as smart as possible in how we spend the remaining tax dollars. We send employees to the CPM program every year, and we have always been very satisfied with the results.”

The Public Management Center is now accepting registrations for the 2012 CPM program which will begin in January with locations in the Kansas City area, Topeka, and Hays.

For more information about the program, visit www.kupmc.org or contact Terri Callahan at tcallahan@ku.edu or (785) 296-2353.

The Green Tape Doctor is Leisha DeHart-Davis, an associate professor in the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration. She conducts research on effective organizational rules, which she refers to as “green tape.” Feel free to email her with your questions on creating effective rules for public sector organizations (lddavis@ku.edu).

Is It Time To Write a Rule?

I once interviewed a public manager who told me, “I decide to write a rule when I’m becoming stressed from people coming into my office with the same issue or problem.”

The manager’s comment suggests that rules can solve workplace problems. But when to write a rule is sometimes unclear: on the one hand, managers need administrative capacity to empower action. On the other hand, they do not want excessive bureaucracy in their workplaces.

How do you know when a written rule is needed? Here are three questions to ask:

** What is the worst that will happen if you do not write a rule? Answering this question is a good way to figure out whether a workplace issue is important enough to write a rule. If the worst-case scenario is likely and imposes unacceptable costs on organizational integrity or operational effectiveness, then a written rule may be in order.

** Are you clear on rule objectives? Written rules are well-suited to clear objectives. Even general objectives – reduced personal Internet usage or increased employee professionalism – greatly simplify rule-writing and help focus the rule on what you are trying to accomplish.

** What is causing the issue? Written rules are like the practice of medicine: prescribing the remedy requires diagnosing the ailment. Take time to investigate the causes of a workplace issue before formulating the rule. If the issue pertains to depleted sick leave, talk to employees to find out what’s going on. Written rules are more effective when designed with root causes in mind.

If the worst-case scenario is unacceptable and if you have clear rule objectives and a good grasp on root causes, then your workplace problem is a good candidate for a written rule.

Is there a workplace issue that you solved using a written rule?  What was it?

When the Green Tape Doctor returns to our blog, look for advice on creating logical rules.