It’s not about cutting commissions

Town Manager Jeffery O’Keefe clarifies his position on an assessment of East Hampton’s commissions and committees in the first of a monthly address he will provide to East Hamptonites.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to the Rotary club of East Hampton.  In addition, to updating the group on what is going on in Town, I also took the liberty to talk briefly about leadership.   Particularly, I focused on two books that talk about emerging “leadership styles”.  The first is called “Collaborative Leadership” and the second called “Catalytic Leadership.”

Collaboration, as defined by the authors of the first book, states: “….goes beyond communication, cooperation, and coordination…It is a mutually beneficial relationship between two or more parties to achieve common goals by sharing responsibility, authority, and accountability for achieving results…The purpose of collaboration is to create a shared vision and joint strategies to address concerns that go beyond the purview of any particular party.” Quoting from the second book (Catalytic Leadership) we read “For the first time in human history, we now exist in a truly interconnected world.  Whether we exclaim or bemoan this condition, our behaviors and approaches to solving public problems have not adapted to change.  How do we provide effective leadership to address interconnected public problems with a reduction of fiscal resources, a lack of consensus on options, and the involvement of many diverse, interdependent-minded stakeholders?”

I bring these two items to your attention because this is what drove my request to do a study on our boards and commissions.  I heard the frustrations of many of these committee members about the lack of “collaboration” between some of the groups, as well as some of the frustrations of some of the members who felt they were not really getting accomplished the things the groups were charged to do.  They want to be more “catalytic” in nature and get more things accomplished.  Indeed many of these folks are professionals, run their own businesses, have limited amount of time, and want their time spent on these voluntary boards and commissions to be as productive and meaningful as possible.

All of the above is what motivated me to request the study.  It has nothing to do with throwing folks off of commissions, or “playing” politics.  But it does have everything to do with me helping these boards and commissions in every way that I possibly can.

The Rotary clubs main “motto” is “service above self….”  We would do well to think about this as we wrestle with the many issues that confront us.

Personally, I attempt to look at every request or decision I make from this frame of reference…”is my action intended to build someone or something up…or does it tear them down”  I’d like to hope that I’m always operating from the first principal.

Ray Serra, President of the East Hampton Rotary, impressed upon me what makes East Hampton really special….”it’s the people…”  and I could not agree more.  Just about everyone I have had the privilege to meet or work with have been fantastic and this, I can assure you, will never change.

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