brightertown

It’s that time of year when you reflect on what went well and what can make next year better.

If you share the experience of many local leaders, 2021 was a swirl of COVID response, local business recovery, cranky residents, decent revenue, and getting two years of work done in one.

We’re all starting to get a grip on managing a town as we live through “interesting times.” Here are ideas to help 2022 be a little smarter, a little better aligned, and a little more relaxed.

Work on the key messages. This will help guide perceptions about what your town does and what it stands for. This isn’t an exercise to do alone. Look at your demographics and psychographics, think about the underlying fears and frustrations behind the comments on Facebook, ask people in the grocery store what they would like to hear and read about that would help them feel more optimistic about their community. Then look at your calendar and communication opportunities to deliberately weave your key messages into the discourse – over and over again. Ideally, find allies in other visible organizations who buy into those messages and also weave those same messages into their communications.
Get credible data. In a climate where trust is weak, building buy-in and alignment takes quality, third-party information to help people who disagree set opinions aside and discuss ways to improve the statistical outcomes. These data may be from a community survey, benchmarking, or looking at demographic and economic information and considering how that could change the needs and perspectives of the community. But framing decisions on solid data will improve the quality of the conversations, the transparency of decisions, and ultimately drive more effective action.
Expand conversations. Communities are changing right now, and the people who have lived in their community the longest and “knows everything” about it are the people who may be slipping the furthest out of touch. Which populations are never at board, council, and committee meetings? New residents, new issues, and new technologies have created a massive shift in the past two years. Be deliberate in talking with people under age 25. Ask what they would like to see in an “ideal community.” Do the same with seniors at the local assisted living. Do the same with new business owners. Do the same with religious leaders serving minority populations. Schedule at least one of these conversations per week, and schedule workshops/focus groups out in the community at least once each quarter. The resulting stories and relationships will give your efforts extra strength and resilience in the year ahead.
Build systems. What activities are you and your staff doing regularly? Quickly jotting down a list of steps, a check list, and alerts for landmines will make that activity easier to delegate and easier to train. You’ll likely see improvements in how you do it when you think about it for a few minutes. Staff levels are thin now, and turnover will only increase in 2022. Quick and dirty check lists will be a gift to your future self.
Delegate more. You already know this is healthy, but it’s hard when you can to the task twice as well in half the time. But consider two things: 1) those new and younger staff are hungry to have a bigger impact, and they will go somewhere else soon if you don’t give them opportunities; 2) it might take you half the time, but there are things you can do with that time that are much more impactful. Don’t do a $10 task over two hours when you have the skills and relationships to create two $10 million impacts in that same time.
Measure better. There is an old saying that what gets measured gets done. Each person in your local government should have 1-3 measurable outcomes that are tied to strategically important outcomes that they can control. This might be simple like asking 5 residents some prepared questions and sharing the feedback each month, or it could be more complex like increasing use of the parks. Do local businesses have crime concerns? Create a checklist of the most common security risks that your police department runs into, and measure how many businesses each officer visits to share the list and say hello.
Ask for support. You don’t have the funding, the staff, or the time to do everything that needs done. You would be surprised at the resources that residents and various organizations would be happy to provide if you partner with them for specific challenges. For example, the security risk checklist could be shared by the local chamber of commerce. Painting downtown trash cans could be done by local scouts. Church youth groups might be interested in picking up litter in the parks. Residents might put together a friends-of-the-parks group to trim back the brush on walking trails. And residents also will approve bonds and millages if they are specific and resonate with their values and the key messages you developed.
Take time to celebrate success. This should be done regularly and with intention. People don’t want to be stuck on a dirty work barge. They want to be on the party boat to enjoy achievements and strengthen relationships. If you take time to reflect on the great things going on in the community, there are plenty of things to celebrate (and reinforce with your key messages). Spending $200 on pizza and ice cream (or beer!) to talk about the goals, the efforts, and the successes will create a massive return on investment in engagement and energy for the next goal. If you’re not the party type, it’s not hard to find a staff member or community member that would be delighted to set it up for you. There also are local organizations that would be happy to buy the beer if you can’t cover it with your purchase card.

Consider each of these eight areas as you relax of the holidays with your favorite beverage and your favorite company. For each of the points above, jot down some ideas about how you can make 2022 a little smarter, a little better aligned, and a little more relaxed.

May your year ahead be the best one yet.

PS: As a shameless plug for ourselves, Cobalt offers several quality non-profit programs that can help with the areas above. You can learn more at www.Cobalt360.org.

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For more information on how Cobalt can help you adapt and thrive in the changing demographic, economic and social environment, visit the Cobalt website or reach out to us by email. Let us know if you need anything at all for benchmarking or research data; we are here for you.

Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations measure, benchmark, and affordably engage communities through high-quality metrics, mobile geofencing data, surveys, and dynamic population segmentation. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help.