Weinstein mrpa 2011

Framing the Value of Parks and Recreation

MRPA Annual Conference 2011: Back to our Future September 22, 2011

“Business ethics is so…negative.”

Empower others to improve the world

Learning across Contexts

Among my teachers…

Agenda

• The Power of Purpose

• Values for Public Service

• The Ethics of Engagement

• Sisyphus angered gods through a variety of antics. “Accounts vary.”

• His sentence was the worst thing the storytellers could imagine for a smart, engaged person.

Way, way back to our future: Learning from Sisyphus

Purpose

Expectations

Performance

Pride

A virtuous cycle

Examples Abound

Aspects of our Purpose

ELA’s Foundational Values for Public Agencies

• Excellent Public Service

• Sound Stewardship of Resources

• Fairness

Excellent Public Service

• Valuable contributions to the community • Attentive to community needs • Leadership in establishing community

priorities • Pervasive professionalism: competence and

service – External: Follow-up, appearance, etc. – Internal: Ongoing improvement

Sound Stewardship of Resources

• Thoughtful expenditures: – Aimed at sufficiency. – Attentive to total cost and value

• Investments and expenditures linked to mission and community priorities.

• Maintenance and conservation. • Commitment to ongoing improvement. • Informing community of true value proposition.

Fairness

• Consistent treatment • Safety, adequate materials and

equipment • Honest and open information sharing • Appreciation for time and effort • Respect

Please share your thoughts.

Current value set based on

50+ working groups and

interviews.

Do you have something to

add?

cweinstein@ethinact.com

651-646-1512

The Old Employment Model: “Master-Slave”

See Eugene Genovese, The Political Economy of Slavery: Studies in the Economy and the Society of the Slave South, 1965.

Not all slavery

structures were/are the same.

Slavery didn’t

pay off for anyone

Measuring Engagement

• Retention • Safety • Customer Service • Productivity • Profitability

Source: Gallup Q12 Summary

• Clear expectations for performance

• Adequate materials and equipment

• Ability to succeed in assigned roles

• A supervisor who cares about subordinates • Co-workers committed to quality work • Opportunities to learn and grow

Source: Gallup Q12 Summary

Employee Engagement Drivers

Best Practices from Hospice Care

• Group sessions to process, share (and grieve).

• Individual relationships pervade teams and enterprise.

• Culture of mutual support and awareness

The oldest leadership seminar

• Safety and comfort

• Tactical information

• Problem-solving

• Strategic decisions

• Who are we???

If we aren’t telling stories, others surely

are!

Thank you for your attention!

Chad Weinstein

Ethical Leaders in Action, LLC

cweinstein@ethinact.com

651-646-1512

“We enable ethical leaders to achieve

extraordinary results”