Expert: County Bosses Should Refrain From Attending

An expert on business and management said a county commissioner's presence at one of the leadership meetings could lead to a breakdown in trust and empowerment.

It comes down to empowering these team leaders and giving them the opportunity to form recommendations free of outside influence, said Dr. Susan Bach, executive director with the Center for Leadership Development at Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College in Winter Park.

"That is a positive thing for the managers, who now have a greater opportunity at looking at the bigger picture," Bach said.

Commissioners should trust their administrator has assembled the best talent for the job. The administrator, in turn, relies on those managers, she said.

Bach said the team members do the legwork, come up with recommendations that they will have to justify to county commissioners at a later public meeting.

It is at that public meeting, with all five commissioners present, where open discussion among board members should occur and questions asked, Bach said.

"If I was called in as a consultant, I would advise the team be left to do what the team was designed to do, assuming they have clear direction and that the expectations (are) clear," Bach said.

County Commissioner Rose Rocco said she intends to attend an indeterminate number of these leadership meetings because she believes it is her right as an elected official to be privy to any and all information.

But Bach said these leadership gatherings amount to staff meetings, albeit upper-level strategic meetings.

As such, these leaders have the level of expertise to deal with their respective area of focus.

The county administrator knows that or he wouldn't have hand-picked them, she said.

"At some point, commissioners have to trust their administrator," Bach said.

Bach also said there is likely a "culture change" at play here, which is common to business and organizations where the status quo is being tweaked.

"People as a general rule don't like change," she said. "People are far more comfortable in the status quo, even though they may know it's not the best place to be in."

She said change works best when all stakeholders are involved in the process and the rules are clearly spelled out.

It might be prudent to evaluate the process as it proceeds, she said.

When informed of Bach's advice, Rocco said it might work well for business. But this is government.

"As a commissioner who's representing the people, I think that's different," Rocco said. "We should have access to any and all information so we can make accurate decisions. Private business is different from government."