Serving With Pride in the Public Eye

Book excerpt: This book is about the difficulty of serving in local government. It’s about finding meaning in public service and developing a deep sense of pride in making a difference to the well being of our communities. I wrote this book to provide hope and guidance to my colleagues in administration and their political partners as they work through difficult times and climb over tremendous obstacles. It is a true story that shows what can be achieved when we are prepared to lead, when we instill a sense of urgency in the workplace culture, when we act to become part of the solution and not part of the problem, when we encourage people to have fun in the workplace, when we show people we truly care about them as human beings, when we reach out to solve contentious issues without the traditional adversarial techniques, when we become accessible as managers to clients, staff and City Councillors and when we tirelessly seek to communicate from the top to the bottom and across the silos through to the clients and back again to Council. It provides important insights on how to manage the complex and often strained relationship between administration and elected officials. It shows what can be achieved when we work as a team regardless of our administrative or political roles towards shared goals. It’s about striving for success, not as a goal, but as a journey that never ends.