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2014.05.30 CC Special Meeting Agenda Packet          REVISED AGENDA EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL Plaza Room - Edmonds Library 650 Main Street, Edmonds SPECIAL MEETING MAY 30, 2014 8:45 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. City Council Workshop facilitated by Jim Reid, The Falconer Group           1.AM-6894   8:45     Welcome, Review Meeting's Goals, Agenda, Ground Rules   2.8:50     Finalize the Cultural Statement and Ground Rules   3.9:45     What Will You Commit to Do to Improve the Situation?   9:55     Break                 4.Removed     5.10:00     Discussion of Culture, Ground Rules, Roles, Relationships   6.11:40     What Should Be the Next Steps in the Process?   7.11:50     What are We Taking Away from Today's Workshop?   8.12:00     Adjourn            AM-6894     1.              City Council Special Meeting Meeting Date:05/30/2014 Time:  Submitted By:Scott Passey Department:City Clerk's Office Review Committee: Committee Action:  Type:  Information Subject Title 8:45     Welcome, Review Meeting's Goals, Agenda, Ground Rules Recommendation Previous Council Action Narrative Attachments 05-30-14 Draft Agenda 05-30-14 Revised Agenda 05-26-14 Draft Cultural Statement 05-26-14 Draft Ground Rules 04-23-14 Interests Form Review Form Started By: Scott Passey Started On: 05/28/2014 09:05 AM Final Approval Date: 05/28/2014  CITY OF EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND LEADERSHIP TEAM REVISED WORKSHOP AGENDA Friday, 30 May 2014 8:45 a.m. – Noon Library Plaza Room, 650 Main Street, Edmonds THE MEETING’S GOALS: 1. Clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Council and the Mayor and his staff. 2. Discuss the qualities and characteristics of the team we want to be and ground rules to get us there. Determine if we’re comfortable moving ahead with these tools. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Refreshments will be served beginning at 8:30. Please come early to enjoy them and be ready to convene the workshop promptly at 8:45. Thank you! 8:45 Meeting Convenes Only the Council will attend the first hour of today’s meeting to allow the members to finish work they began last week. 9:55 Break I. 10:00 Review Agenda and Ground Rules Jim Reid, facilitator At this time the Mayor and department directors will join the Council for the duration of the meeting. II. 10:02 Review Materials from Last Week’s Meeting Jim/Everyone At last week’s workshop, Council members defined a “high performing City Council” and described what theirs could look like a year from now. They also brainstormed potential ground rules to guide how they work together—protocols that could help them become a high performing Council. We’ll quickly review these items so that everyone is “up to speed,” and then focus on them in Session V. III. 10:05 Identify and Discuss Roles and Responsibilities Everyone A goal of this process is to clarify roles and responsibilities of the Council and Mayor. To initiate this discussion, we’ll go around the table to solicit the perspectives of each Council member and Mayor Earling. We’ll take one question at a time, allowing each person to speak before moving to the next question. (NOTE: This is a brainstorming session, so please no interruptions or discussion until the first six questions have been answered and we are ready to move onto a deeper discussion.)  Council members: What do you expect of yourself?  Council members: What do you expect and need from your fellow Council members?  Council members: What do you expect and need from the Mayor?  Mayor Earling: What are your impressions of what the Council members said they expect and need from you?  Mayor Earling: What do you expect of and need from the Council?  Council members: What are your impressions of what the Mayor said he expects of and needs from you? After the Council and Mayor have answered the above questions, we’ll highlight what the responses indicate about the duties of the Council and Mayor, and if there is clarity.  From this discussion, are there key roles and responsibilities of the Council and Mayor that everyone understands and supports? V. 11:10 A High Performing Team and the Ground Rules to Support it Everyone  Could the cultural characteristics (how the Council will work together) be extended to include the Administration so that all of us, working together, could be a high performing team?  Could the ground rules also include the Mayor and staff? VI. 11:45 What should be the Next Steps in the Process? Everyone VII. 11:50 What Will You Do to Help Advance This Process? Everyone  What can you commit to in terms of advancing this work to improve respect, communication, decision-making, and teamwork? Noon Adjourn CITY OF EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND LEADERSHIP TEAM REVISED WORKSHOP AGENDA Friday, 30 May 2014 8:45 – 9:55 a.m. Library Plaza Room, 650 Main Street, Edmonds THE MEETING’S GOALS: 1. Clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Council and the Mayor and his staff. 2. Discuss the qualities and characteristics of the team we want to be and ground rules to get us there. Determine if we’re comfortable moving ahead with these tools. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Refreshments will be served beginning at 8:30. Please come early to enjoy them and be ready to convene the workshop promptly at 8:45. Thank you! I. 8:45 Welcome! Review Meeting’s Goals, Agenda, Ground Rules Jim Reid Only the Council will attend the first hour of today’s meeting to allow the members to finish work they began last week. II. 8:50 Finalize the Cultural Statement and Ground Rules Council  After a week to reflect on the cultural statement and ground rules, do you feel comfortable that they will help improve communication among you? Will they enable you to have more open, honest, and productive conversations?  Will they help the Council provide stronger leadership?  Will they help you move forward together as a team?  If not, what is needed to make you comfortable that these tools will improve communications, leadership, and teamwork? III. 9:45 What will You Commit to Do to Improve the Situation? Council  What will you commit to do to improve relations among the Council and make the dynamic among you more positive, collaborative, and productive? 9:55 Break CITY OF EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL D R A F T CULTURAL STATEMENT MAY 2014 WE, THE MEMBERS OF THE EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL, ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO BE A HIGH PERFORMING CITY COUNCIL. OUR DEFINITION OF A “HIGH PERFORMING COUNCIL” INCLUDES THESE QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS. TOGETHER THEY CONSTITUTE THE CULTURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL THAT WE ARE CONSCIOUSLY AND ARDENTLY WORKING TO ACHIEVE. WE ARE WORKING TO CREATE THIS CULTURE PRIMARILY BECAUSE WE SEEK TO BE THE KIND OF ELECTED OFFICIALS THE CITIZENS OF EDMONDS DESERVE, AN ELECTED BODY THAT WILL LEAD THE COMMUNITY TO AN EVEN BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE.  We are working to keep the relationships among us positive and fresh. We are moving forward as a team.  We act more often in concert. Our team is more important than any individual.  We know each other better and respect one another more. We call each other and take each other out for coffee, lunch, or a drink.  Our collaboration is guided by agreement on a set of goals that constitute our highest priorities for the year. They reflect the few “big” things of greatest importance and urgency to the City, the things that will benefit the 40,000 residents of Edmonds rather than a handful of constituents. Our goals and priorities are clear and understandable, and define the outcomes we seek. This allows us to provide clear direction to the Mayor and his staff so that they can accurately understand the our vision and what we intend and expect. 2  The citizens of Edmonds are influential in our decision-making. Their views are reflected in the direction that we are leading the City and our policy decisions.  The Council’s discussions are open and transparent. Everyone who wants to be heard is included, and diverse ideas and opinions are voiced.  We do not make decisions behind closed doors. Some decisions we make and then communicate to the Administration as policy direction or a recommendation. Others are made in conjunction with the Mayor and staff following collaborative deliberation.  We demonstrate respect for our colleagues and those with whom we work and engage by remaining civil to each other, even when disagreeing with one another. We do not lecture each other or posture to make ourselves look better at the expense of colleagues. We do not question the motives and interests of others.  We also demonstrate respect for one another by listening to each other more carefully and hearing each other more accurately.  We use email to communicate only to share factual information or schedule meetings. We do not use it to explain positions or to persuade, cajole, or criticize.  We do not talk about each other with members of the public. When anyone tries to entice us into conversation about a colleague, we decline because we do not need to be drawn into discussions about personalities.  We take the time needed to discuss issues in formats or settings that are conducive to learning, exploring, understanding, and exchanging ideas and concepts.  We employ a variety of techniques to inform our citizens and solicit their views and opinions. CITY OF EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL DRAFT GROUND RULES MAY 2014 These ground rules are intended to guide us to: a) make higher quality decisions; b) employ processes that are understandable to and supported by everyone; 3) work with each other more effectively as a team; and 4) signal to the Mayor, staff, and public our approach to fulfilling our duties as an elected body with responsibility for making policy and leading the City of Edmonds. 1. We are all equal participants on the City Council. We accept equal responsibility for the Council’s success. We have equitable opportunities to voice perspectives, opinions, and ideas. 2. We will focus our time and efforts on our agreed upon goals and priorities for advancing our vision for Edmonds. In working together to adopt a policy initiative, our common interests will be the foundation of agreement. We will identify the positions we agree on before identifying areas of disagreement. If we cannot resolve our differences, we won’t necessarily declare an impasse. We may choose to adopt a policy that contains the positions we agree on, and leave for a future time further discussions on the areas where agreement was not reached. 3. There are no surprises among us. Give each other a “heads up” about what we are hearing in the community or around City Hall, and about what we are going to say or do. 4. Assume the best intentions of everyone. If you find yourself making assumptions about what people are saying or why they’re saying it, ask if your assumptions are correct. Don’t become captive to faulty assumptions. Get the accurate information we need to be able to understand and agree with each other. 5. Speak clearly and concisely to ensure an accurate understanding of what is said and to enable others who have comments to speak. 2 6. Periodically ask yourself “Who’s talking the most?” If the answer is “Me!”, let others speak first. 7. Listen to each other carefully and consciously to ensure that we hear accurately what was said. To improve listening, we may ask each other questions of clarification. We may also engage in “active listening” by summarizing what we believe was said by our colleagues. 8. Do not lecture or posture to make yourself look good at the expense of others. 9. Don’t use or try to reduce the use of hyperbole or exaggeration. 10. In making a proposal, provide sufficient context and rationale so that everyone has a better understanding of why you are making it. Context may contain information such as historical background, your previous experience addressing the issue or similar issues, or what you have heard from the community about the topic. 11. Conflict is expected because of our different backgrounds, philosophies, and styles. We’ll use it constructively to produce more creative solutions than any of us could come up with on our own. We acknowledge conflict can only be constructive if it’s focused on substantive issues, not on personalities. Therefore, we will not shy away from disagreeing, but we will not tolerate personal attacks. 12. If the Council is moving toward a decision and you find you cannot support it, let everyone know that and the reasons why. This may lead to changes that reflect your interests and allow you to support the decision. 13. Restrict the use of email to the exchange of factual information or to schedule meetings. Don’t use it to influence or persuade, to argue or criticize. 14. When you have a disagreement with a colleague or anticipate that colleagues may not support something for which you are advocating, call them, or, better yet, meet face-to-face to see if you can resolve your differences or at least understand each other better. 15. If the Council’s processes, agendas or facilitation techniques are not working for you, say so, and we’ll work to change them. Notes from the interviews of early April An Image of a well-functioning team: “The Council and Mayor should be like an eight- person crew team with its oars in the water simultaneously.” Interests and ideas: 1. Have a positive impact on the City’s future. Be a source for good. Lead a good city to the next level. 2. Serve as role models in the community. 3. Strengthen trust and faith in government. 4. Strengthen communication and understanding within the Council, between the Council and Mayor, and between the elected officials and the management team. No surprises. 5. Increase respect, trust, professionalism, teamwork, courtesy, and civility among the City’s leadership—elected and appointed. 6. Strengthen the city’s position in the region. 7. Robust, meaningful dialogue and policy discussions among the Council. 8. Robust, meaningful citizen input. 9. Be willing to try new things and not be too beholden to traditional ways of doing things if they are not working. 10. Make decisions more efficiently. 11. More unanimous votes, fewer 4-3 votes. 12. Have a more open, inclusive, and understandable or accessible decision-making process. 13. Make decisions based on facts. 14. Provide comprehensive information that the Council needs to be able to make quality decisions, and provide it earlier. 15. Once a decision is made, stand behind it and don’t revisit it. 16. Mayor could step back to give the Council space and time to discuss issues and proposals. Don’t focus on four votes but instead let the entire Council weigh in. Even if some disagree with a proposal, the contributions of all seven Council members could strengthen it. 17. Assume the best of intentions on the part of others. 18. Recognize people make mistakes. Be forgiving. Don’t kill them because of a mistake. 19. Overcome us vs. them thinking and acting. 20. More frequently ask the Council for its vision and then develop goals and strategies to help achieve that. 21. No campaigning for each other’s opponents at election time. 22. Even if you don’t like the fact I am on the Council, respect the will of the voters. 23. Listen carefully and accurately and respectfully to citizens’ opinions, but don’t be overly influenced by just one or two or a small handful. Find balance among the competing interests of the community. 24. Reach consensus on a few big things for the City. 25. Designate a meeting each month as a study session. Don’t film or record. Create an atmosphere of exploration and learning and trying on new ideas to see if they fit. 26. Reduce the size of the Council packet. The fact that they have been in the area of 1000 pages illustrates that the Council is getting too much into the weeds. 27. What do you need to know to make a good decision? When does information become an obstacle because it is too overwhelming? 28. Run stuff more through the Council president 29. Give the Council president a two-year term, not just one term. 30. Stop communicating through email; the emails are embarrassing and will be kept for at least ten years. Do you want them to be your legacy? The historical record of what and who you are? 31. No bad-mouthing a Council decision in public. 32. No bath-mouthing each other and the Mayor in public or to individuals, including each other and constituents. 33. Vote and move on. 34. No surprises. 35. Approach decisions by first identifying different and common interests. Exercises for future meetings: Define what a well-functioning City Council would look like Acknowledge each of us is part of the problem and now needs to be part of the solution Define roles and responsibilities of Council vis-à-vis the Mayor What is your learning, leadership, and decision-making style? What is your personal vision for the City? What ground rules would be helpful to you in working together? Training on what it means to be an elected official What do you see as your greatest strength? Greatest weakness?