Leadership Matters
HR Professional
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By David Szeptycki and Lauren Edwards

 

York region brings innovation to municipal leadership development

Public sector organizations are rarely viewed as drivers of innovation, however those in the business know there has never been greater pressure to do more with less – and with adversity comes innovation. When the budget axe falls, training dollars are often sacrificed, which can have long-term consequences on the resiliency of an organization and its ability to drive and sustain a culture of continuous improvement.

 

Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, The Regional Municipality of York strives to be a leader in public service delivery and fosters a culture of continuous improvement. In 2013, the Environmental Services department held focus group sessions with staff to identify critical areas for leadership development to help build more cohesiveness and align day-to-day actions with strategic priorities. Feedback from these sessions identified three main areas for improvement: the need for better communication across the department; increased opportunities for collaboration to strengthen relationships and break down natural silos; and additional opportunities for staff development.

 

Borrowing concepts typically used in the private sector, York Region’s Environmental Services department acted on staff feedback and have started implementing a three-year Sustainable Leadership Program that builds on in-house talent, reinforces personal accountability and integrates an element of friendly competition.

 

Through a more progressive and strategic approach to training, the new leadership plan is midway through its first year and is unlike most training programs typically found in the public sector. The plan uses unique engagement approaches, internal and external development tools and demonstrates that when it comes to employee skills development, there is plenty of room for innovation.

 

Developing the plan
Erin Mahoney, York Region’s Commissioner of Environmental Services, wanted a leadership develop program that promoted continuous growth and improvement across the management team. She also wanted a program that would facilitate better succession planning and drive more alignment through the department to achieve strategic goals.

 

The Sustainable Leadership Plan blends formal and informal learning programs, and includes semi-annual leaders’ sessions in the form of half-day classes where the employees are introduced to topics by professional facilitators, exposed to management theory concepts, led through practical case studies and encouraged to complete follow-up work in smaller groups.

 

After the formal learning sessions, the participants are expected to put their learning to use by incorporating new tools and techniques into their daily work.

 

“The program has not only provided me with a number of management tools I can use in my day-to-day management, but has made me more aware of the difference between being a manager and a leader,” said James Steele, manager of engineering for the department.

 

Learning model
The plan spans three years, with each year having a specific area of focus – communication for the first year, collaboration for the second and innovation for the third. Additionally, the plan is closely aligned with larger corporate programs, such as performance objectives and strategic HR goals.

 

To further enhance sustainability and encourage collaboration, the department implemented a peer-mentoring model. As part of this model, leaders were divided into teams of three, or triads. Triads were created purposefully, with employees from different branches across the department and different levels in the organizational structure. By organizing triads this way, participants have an opportunity to influence, interact and learn from colleagues facing different day-to-day challenges. As well, those in senior positions bring extensive management and life experience, integrating an authentic sense of coaching to the program. Triads are shuffled every six months (timed with the delivery of the semi-annual leaders’ sessions), giving participants the opportunity to work with different individuals across the department throughout the three-year program.

 

Triads are required to meet three days, three weeks and three months following each semi-annual leaders’ session to complete small tasks called Leadership Challenges.

 

Leadership Challenges have been designed to help reinforce formal learning, develop new skills and create reflection time for leaders to think about how they are impacting their team.

 

To reinforce accountability for participating in triad discussions, a scribe is elected by each triad to post a summary of their reactions to the Leadership Challenge to an internal website. Posts are submitted to a discussion forum for the entire group of leaders to view on the website, which was developed specifically for the program.

 

“It’s been helpful to read responses from other triads, and the fact that everyone posts responses shows they appeal to everyone,” said Mark Payne, program manager for monitoring and enforcement.

 

A recent Leadership Challenge asked triads to read an article on the importance of recognizing different communication styles within the workplace and then implement one of the strategies within the teams they manage the next time they faced a difficult interaction with a colleague or external stakeholder. After putting the communication strategy into practice, the triads reconvened to discuss their findings, then posted a summary of their discussion to the program’s website to share with the larger group.

 

In addition to providing a safe space online for leaders to discuss their experiences, the information posted to the site becomes a barometer for evaluating the program impact on organizational culture and gauging the uptake and relevance of the Leadership Challenges.

 

Facilitators developed an awards and point-based system to maintain engagement and facilitate the seamless and successful integration of a gamification concept into the Sustainable Leadership Program. Predetermined scoring criteria is applied for each Leadership Challenge and scores are calculated for responses posted by the triads. Points are then tracked and the top scoring triads are listed on the program’s website at the end of each six-month phase. As recognition for earning top scores, triads receive ribbons with their name and program title.

 

HR commitment
From the outset, the vision for the program was to reach well beyond training delivery approaches used in the past and to look across multiple industries at best practices from both private and public sector organizations. The goal was to develop a fun and engaging approach to leadership that would achieve lasting results.

 

Involving York Region’s HR department was an important step to ensure integration with centralized leadership development and reduce duplication of effort. An HR representative who had been working closely with the department for a number of years and who had a strong rapport with the management team joined the program as a coordinator.

 

Having an HR professional involved in the leadership training provided an opportunity to gain a greater, hands-on understanding of the Environmental Services department’s business and training needs while directly supporting HR’s desire to create more on-the-job learning and stretch opportunities.

 

“While the program is still in the first year of rollout, we’re already seeing some impacts on the culture of our department,” said Wendy Kemp, manager, Business Support and Continuous Improvement for Environmental Services. “It’s sending a strong signal that leadership does matter.”

 

What next?
“To say we are pleased with how things have unfolded is an understatement,” said Mahoney. “I am proud of everything the team has accomplished. The foundation is set; all we’re doing is providing the tools and framework to maximize the team’s strengths.”

 

Building on strengths within the organization is a key testament to the approach taken with the Environmental Services’ Sustainable Leadership Program. As the program moves toward the second year of implementation, social media and other collaboration tools may be included to further enhance leadership impact in York Region.

 

David Szeptycki is head, Strategy, Liaison and Policy Implementation and Lauren Edwards is the Sustainable Leadership Coordinator at York Region.

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