City Council Agenda and Packet 2024 01 22 - SP

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Is the Outlier a Problem for the Rest of the Body? For the Municipality? Most people who've had to deal with an Outlier would say that yes, the Outlier is a problem! How? Well, here are some ways: • Anger and frustration build when a council or board has to deal with an Outlier, siphoning away energy that could be spent on more positive endeavors. This is a particular problem if tensions have built to the point that confrontations have begun to occur. No reasonable person wants to attend or view a council meeting and have a hockey game break out! It may be entertaining, but mostly, it's embarrassing to the governing body and to the community. • Healthy teams seek to build a sense of camaraderie and cohesiveness. That's not entirely possible when there's an Outlier. It's not healthy to build a team around a shared hatred of one of its own members, and most reasonable people would prefer not to have that happen. • The Outlier's perspective tends to be oppositional. From a liability standpoint, such a perspective is risky. If you're taking positions on an oppositional basis, are you really meeting your fiduciary duty to look out for the best interests of the entity? • A disharmonious governing body is a dysfunctional governing body. It's been CIRS.Ns experience that liability claims thrive in an environment of disharmony and dysfunction. • Your staff members are affected by the Outlier Syndrome, too. From the staffs perspective, seeing dysfunction on the governing body is a little like watching discord between one's own parents. It's unsettling, distressing, and morale - crushing. • Most importantly, it's a shame for the governing body to lose a potentially valuable contributing member. In a worst case scenario, the Outlier becomes completely disempowered as he or she is ignored and marginalized. But this means that the body isn't running on all cylinders, and is deprived of the valuable perspectives that the Outlier might otherwise bring. Ultimately, the voters, and the community, are the losers. Dealing with the Outlier Syndrome You can't cure an affliction until you recognize it. And you can't recognize what you haven't named and defined. If your municipality is afflicted with Outlier Syndrome, you've taken the first steps towards a cure by naming, defining, and recognizing it! Here are some other steps you might consider. • Confront the issue forthrightly and compassionately in a neutral environment. A council or board meeting is likely not a neutral environment! Perhaps the matter could be discussed as one item on a retreat agenda. Be prepared with specific examples of how the Outlier has negatively impacted the body. 19