For Local Elected Officials and City/County Managers

Developing a cohesive governing board takes discipline, practice, trust, and a set of skills to help navigate divergent challenges and opinions. Differences of opinion are built into our political system. How you handle dynamic situations and differences as individuals affects the productivity of the entire governing board.

Effective governing boards learn to welcome and manage diverse convictions, opinions, and priorities. They respect what each member brings to their discussions. They embrace constructive dissent, learn how to respond to and work through a variety of options and perspectives, and always model a culture of credibility, respect, and honesty with each other.

In this class you will learn important dimensions of effective governance as a knowledgeable and effective public official, including:

• Developing a “conscious culture” that respects fellow Board members and the professional staff.   
• Understanding key elements of group behavior that, when shared, elevate everyone’s performance:

• Relationships and Trust
• Information Sharing
• Teamwork
• Dialogue

Participants in the class will learn proven approaches for creating a group culture that builds trust forged from courage and candor.  You will assess your own board’s governance culture, identify steps to improve your ability to work together that can be shared with others, and explore helpful resources.   

LELA Level:  This is a 101 Level course in the Local Elected Leaders Academy. Participating elected officials will earn 6 credits towards their Practitioner recognition certificate.