Far Far Away From My Heart
I thought about driving my car into a bridge abutment on the way home. I asked my new boss, Mike Alison, what he thought about attending my former boss’s retirement party and that was his response. Way back when, when local legend Larry Laschen retired as Vernon Hills Village Manager, the Village Board hired Mike to take his place. I was deemed far too young to be the CAO and Mike was twenty-some years my senior. He was a good guy, treated me well, and did a fine job for Vernon Hills. His bridge abutment quip was testament to his wisdom, that following someone who had served a community as long as Larry did had the potential for swift and certain pain.
A few months later, I moved on from Vernon Hills to be Douglas County’s CAO. It was understood from the start to be a transition for both; me moving into the CAO position and them moving into having a professional County Administrator. It went well by all accounts and two of my direct reports became County Administrators after I left. A little over two years from being deemed too young to serve as city manager of a town of 20,000 that was half built while I was there, the City Council of Davenport tossed me the keys to a city of 100,000. I never forgot that Davenport didn’t have very good choices when they hired me, given all the red flags keeping more experienced candidates from applying. Be that as it may, with the help of a great team, Davenport also went well. Very well, in fact.
By almost all accounts. There’s the lingering task of getting a corporation to tell some truths they’d rather not tell, and that takes time.
I was in the office early for a long day a few months ago and the conference table candy dish was glowing in the morning sun, projecting a heart onto the table. The visual learner in me took note and tweeted it out. A follower noted it was projecting Seaside love and I simply replied “Yep”. I’ll be called today about that very thing and will declare how fond I am of Seaside. I’ll proclaim how much I believe in Seaside’s vision and its future, and how I wouldn’t be leaving were it not for family circumstances that require me to return to the Midwest. I’m quite fond of Seaside. I love my family. That’s the essence of it.
Leaving the work family is never easy. It’s not easy to leave a mission you believe in and people you like. Nor is it easy to watch someone you like leave. That was Mike’s observation at Larry’s retirement party. Hundreds of people raining love and well-wishes upon Larry. Mike and his wife sitting at the corner table, wondering how to take the first tentative steps into a community grieving for a retiring legend. To be able to watch and learn from that was one of the more powerful personal and professional lessons of my life.
Connect and lead. It’s pretty simple. People don’t care what you know until they know you care. So, be authentic. Be caring. Be inquisitive. Take in their concerns, and give back support and kindness. Ask how you can help them, then go about doing just that, and more. It’ll work if you’ve taken good care in picking your new job, to be reasonably confident it’s a good fit for you.
Way back when, the title of my first Masters thesis was, The Relative Utility of City Manager Selection Procedures: Finding One That Fits. I’ve found four so far, and perhaps a fifth and final one. I never really wanted to leave any of them, but family circumstances always held sway. Four work (and four community) families became extended family, with Christmas card lists growing by the dozens each time. That’s a nice burden to bear.
Coming up on a year since I’ve seen any member of the real - not the work - family. I’m happy to serve Seaside, but that’s a long time to be thousands of miles apart.
