Public leaders in the US are typically rewarded for cleaning up after a crisis, but not for preventing problems that would have avoided the mess in the first place.

“In the aftermath of the BP spill, the public praised government leaders who led the cleanup, found new jobs for out-of-work Gulf shrimpers and determined BP’s culpability for the loss of 11 lives and untold environmental damage. Unfortunately, public leaders, who anticipate problems and work to protect the resources we own in common, typically go unrewarded – or they are criticized as obstructionists,” says Georgianna Bishop, president and founder of the Public Sector Consortium (PSC).

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Released by The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina

NEWPORT, RI – Leaders from Rhode Island’s cities and towns converged on the Pell Center at Salve Regina University on Friday, March 20, 2015, to report on a year’s worth of effort to improve the responsiveness and efficiency of local government. Part of Leadership Matters—a joint initiative between the Pell Center and the Public Sector Consortium, of Cambridge, MA—the innovation conference highlighted the work of the three Rhode Island communities to participate in the program’s inaugural year: Pawtucket, Middletown, and Newport.

Newport’s Municipal Workers Improving Customer Service and Operational Efficiencies

Focus on Leadership Practices and Effective Problem-Solving Enabling Positive Change

Released by The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina

NEWPORT, RI – The need to balance increasing customer expectations with limited available resources certainly is nothing new for most employees these days. The City of Newport is no exception, although the workers’ “customers” are the citizens. Continuous improvement to the quality of service with the resources at hand is gaining momentum with Newport’s municipal workers, thanks to help from a local leadership development program.

BUILDING BRIDGES IN PAWTUCKET’S MUNICIPAL WORKPLACE
PAVES THE WAY FOR LASTING IMPROVEMENTS

Investments in Leadership Practices and Workplace Culture are Paying Dividends to the City

PAWTUCKET — Leveraging new leadership tools and problem-solving skills, city leaders are seeing improvements in process efficiencies, smarter use of budgets, and even improved interdepartmental relationships.

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In an era when leaders are constantly challenged to “think outside the box,” insights from experts on how to better understand important decisions and the best ways to make them can help show the way. That’s what brought Mayor Donald R. Grebien, accompanied by Finance Director Joanna L’Heureux, to a recent two-day leadership session conducted at the Pell Center at Salve Regina University in Newport.

The weekend session, called “Leadership Matters” and part of the Systems Thinking for Public Leaders Program, was co-sponsored by the Pell Center and the nonprofit Public Sector Consortium, whose stated purpose is “to support leaders in their efforts to create and sustain high performing public organizations that serve the public good.”