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A model to strengthen leadership in state and local government

State and local government leaders, who already shoulder vast responsibility, are increasingly being called upon to meet the needs of the public. In this moment, it is especially important that leaders recommit to public service values and to strengthening their leadership skills. 

Leadership skills are the “how” that drives the “what” of your mission. Whether that involves stakeholder management, service delivery, or disaster response, strong leadership skills enable greater impact. 

We’ve had the privilege of talking to many state and local leaders recently—including participants in our AI Government Leadership Program—and find they are grappling with many complex leadership challenges, including how to: 

• Innovate and scale creative solutions to pressing problems 
• Collaborate and build trust with stakeholders 
• Manage resources and complex projects effectively 

Our Public Service Leadership Model provides a roadmap to both strengthen the skills and commit to the values that leaders need to tackle the challenges they face. Below are some reflection questions and examples of how our model’s four competency areas—Becoming Self-Aware, Engaging Others, Leading Change and Achieving Results—equip state and local leaders. 

Becoming Self-Aware: How can you stay anchored in complex times?  

Urgent, competing priorities and an influx of new information make it easy to default to a high-stress state of being. This inevitably reflects in your leadership presence which impacts how effectively teams operate.  

Leaders serve as models that others may emulate. It pays dividends to the team and organization if you have strategies to stay grounded and focused. For instance, being disciplined about engaging with community members to stay connected to mission and having trusted peers who can be thought partners on complex topics. Explore what works for you so you can best lead others. 

Engaging Others: How can you collaborate effectively with various stakeholders? 

At the state and local level, leaders often interact closely with their constituents while coordinating with outside organizations and other levels of government—sometimes with overlapping jurisdictions.  

This collaboration requires understanding different interests and adjusting communication to effectively build trust with stakeholders. Try an exercise with a colleague who takes your perspective, while you take the perspective of someone else you need to collaborate with. You might be surprised at what you learn and how you change your approach.

Leading Change: How can you innovate within resource constraints? 

State and local government leaders have always been responsible for stewarding taxpayer dollars and managing complex budgets. As more responsibility cascades through levels of government and traditional funding sources shift, leaders need to be more adaptable than ever.  

Whether it is enlisting new partners, consciously reprioritizing or pursuing pilot projects, it is crucial that leaders innovate. When doing so, they’ll also need to bring others along to maximize chances of success and include change management principles like clearly articulating vision and generating small wins.

Achieving Results: How can you make data-driven decisions that deliver measurable outcomes? 

States and localities have and will continue to deliver many of the critical front-line services the public relies on.  

It is important to think strategically to achieve positive outcomes for communities. A data strategy can prioritize resources, drive process improvement and improve transparency and customer experience. This helps leaders develop goals and metrics that drive accountability at all levels and enables team members to operate autonomously toward shared goals. 

We also need skilled state and local public leaders who exemplify the principles at the center of our Public Service Leadership Model: commitment to public good and stewardship of public trust. These values produce principled leaders essential to our democracy—creating an innovative and impactful government that effectively serves people across this nation.

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