City Council Agenda and Packet 2017 08 29 SP

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City of Louisville Focus Group Project — New City Manager Search - August 2017 SUMMARY OF PRIORITIZED CHARACTERISTICS AND TRAITS OF THE IDEAL, FUTURE CITY MANAGER Ramos asked a number of questions during the focus group. Some were designed to trigger thinking among the participants and to hear input from others, to assist them in their own prioritization. The final goal was to aggregate responses, looking for the patterns, trends, and themes — the highest priorities — of characteristics and things to consider in the recruitment and hiring of the next City Manager to lead the City of Louisville into the future. OVERARCHING THEMES As with any focus group process, no consensus is achieved. However, during the discussions, a number of key ideas emerged. Additionally, not all participants agreed with each other on all discussion points. Therefore, the summary consists of themes and discussion points that were frequent during the 1.5 or 2.0 hour sessions. • The three staff groups discussed the need for a leader who has a big picture focus and is a visionary thinker. All saw the benefit of the new City Manager engaging the City in creating a structured process to identify a Vision, Mission, and Core Values for the City. Boards and Commission members also articulated a strong need for a vision to guide the City. • A strong need for a strategic plan was also articulated by staff members, and it was discussed as a need by all groups. A desire to focus on streamlined, measurable goals was seen as helpful. A strong sentiment that the current action list of 40 priorities is too much and not sustainable. • Strong communication skills were also discussed. Keeping employees in the loop is critical to staff success. Genuine communication without getting caught up in the emotional debate was discussed at one resident group. Have an open and inclusive style • Effectively working with Council — the need for strong collaborative and consensus skills and the ability to build solid relationships is required. A lot of discussion centered on a desire for a strong boundary of Council focusing on policy and allowing staff, per Charter, to engage in implementation activities. • Building a healthy relationship with Council and managing the roles and responsibilities effectively was discussed at length in all groups. • Managing a sustainable workload is seen as very important. Staff members are stretched thin. The ability of a leader to set boundaries, say no, prioritize, and stay focused is desired based on a clear set of strategies and goals that all agree to and live by. • Building and developing staff was discussed in all groups. Creating and fostering 6