Activities

Our recent activities include:

1. Municipal governance ... understanding the roles of Council and staff in making and implementing policy.

2. Increasing women's participation in local municipal government ... a keynote address and open discussion in support of the AUMA task force for women's full participation in local government.

3. The good councillor ... understanding the many aspects of being an effective councillor, from understanding the role of governance, to developing leadership skills, and working well with administration.

Orientation and Strategic Planning

Civic elections were held throughout British Columbia on November 19th, 2005.  Since the election, you have been faced with the challenge of helping those who are newly elected join your council or regional board. You have also been faced with a unique opportunity to identify priorities, establish plans, and solidify teams for the three year term. Over the past couple of months we have been working with several communities, helping them with

°   Orientation for newly elected officials … combining survival information with the realities, demands, and pressures of being an elected official; working as part of a council or regional board and in partnership with staff.

°   Team building for elected officials and staff … understanding the roles and responsibilities of elected officials and staff; learning to disagree without being disagreeable; creating a strong team; being a strategic leader for your community.

°   Strategic planning … pursuing personal priorities and projects within the context of a council or regional board and the community; creating common goals and corporate plans; managing development pressures, the budget, and financial plans.

To discuss an orientation and strategic planning program for your community, contact Johnson & Elligott at the numbers below.

Let’s talk about the future

Johnson & Elligott is an experience-based company that brings together the local government expertise of a former Mayor and a senior manager with a background in municipal finance, planning, and administration. Both share a well-rounded working knowledge of local communities and the challenges faced by councils, police, school and regional boards, and staff, on a daily basis.

Our specialties include:

We understand and communicate in the language of local government. Our focus is helping elected and appointed officials and staff in communities and regional districts plan for the future, solve problems, and work more effectively and productively.

In addition, we partner with other professionals to provide a broad range of services to local government.

Following are outlines of two of our workshops:

The Gavel and the Grovel

How to help your staff help you be a better leader

This workshop looks at how elected officials and staff can work together to become a highly effective and productive leadership team for your community or regional district. Using a hands-on approach, the workshop discusses and demonstrates the importance of;

·   Understanding your role and that of staff

·   Sharing your priorities

·   Committing to common goals

·   Making decisions

·   Working with the system

·   Empowering, supporting, and directing staff

·   Communicating frequently and openly

·   Developing respect and trust

·   Being leaders for the community

The workshop was presented at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities spring convention in Parksville; at the Okanagan Mainline Municipal Association spring convention in Kamloops; and at the Lower Mainland Municipal Association spring convention in Whistler.

Strategic Leadership for Local Government

This workshop focuses on the sometimes strained and always challenging partnership of Council and staff; and what Council members can do to make their working relationship with staff more effective and productive. It covers the following ;

·    Strategic Leadership - a Council driven, practical approach to Municipal business; setting priorities, making trade-offs, and allocating resources; bringing efficiency and effectiveness to the decision making process.

·    The Gavel and the Grovel - helping your staff help you be a better leader; how to develop a sound working relationship between Council and staff.

·    Organizational development - involving staff in the review and change process; matching staff skills to the tasks; coaching staff to bring forward information and reports which meets Council’s needs.

·    Consultation and communication - between Council and staff; with residents, community groups, businesses, other orders of government, regional districts, First Nations, crown corporations, and the press; the need for openness and transparency.

This was presented this spring as a one day educational seminar for members of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities in Winnipeg.

Other Workshops 

We also offer workshops on;

·Working in partnerships - understanding and working effectively in partnerships.

·Business planning - establishing a strategic approach to business for your community or regional district.

·Harvesting achievements - how to manage during the months leading up to an election; pursue your personal agenda within the broader community or regional board vision; address the challenges and minimize the impact elections have on day-to-day business.