MANAGERS IN TRANSITION

How to help your colleagues in need

I recently returned to employment as a city manager following two years in the dreaded "manager in transition" (MIT) status. During that period, I applied for more than 300 state, county, and local positions in public management, planning, and administration.

During these two years, I suffered through numerous difficulties and would have appreciated better support from my local government colleagues. I believe the assistance falls into four categories: visit, listen, assist, and advocate.

Visit: ICMA was extremely helpful in keeping members who are unemployed in the association. ICMA holds monthly conference calls, webinars, and sessions at the annual conference that focus on providing advice to MITs on dealing with being unemployed and on finding employment.

One of ICMA's recommendations to MITs was to stay in touch with their colleagues, to continue to contact them, and to stay involved with their local associations. My suggestion to employed managers is to stay in touch with your colleagues who are seeking employment.

Compare an MIT's situation to having a friend in the hospital or suffering from a lengthy illness. Would you expect that friend to call and ask you to come and visit him or her? It is awkward for MITs to continually contact colleagues to arrange lunch, coffee, or other outings. The longer a MIT has been separated from a position and his or her management colleagues, the more difficult it becomes.

Remember: Take the time to stay in touch with your out-of-work colleagues.

listen: During my time in transition, I was often in one of two moods: angry or depressed. As bad as being angry and needing to vent to someone is, being depressed is clearly a more disconcerting state of mind.

If the MIT is continually in one of these two states of mind, therapy is the preferred advice. Once the health insurance expires, however, therapy may not be available. So lend an ear to your colleagues in transition. Recommend that they participate in healthy lifestyles, physical exercise, or continuing education.

Remember: Listen to your out-ofwork colleague. Let them vent, then help them get in a better state of mind.

Assist: Do what you can to help an MIT recover from a professional fall. If you have an open position that would provide some financial help to a colleague, take the chance and help him or her out. If the individual previously served as a public works director or planner, consider hiring him or her for an interim or subordinate position.

You may have to have an agreement on the period of time that the person can serve, but take the risk. What I found was once a manager, always a manager. In almost every case, hiring managers were unwilling to hire me in a subordinate position for fear that they might be hiring their replacement should things go south with their job.

Most unemployed MITs are likely earning approximately $25,000 in unemployment benefits and most would be willing to accept a position that pays much less than their prior salary and happy to work under a former colleague.

Remember: Take a chance on your out-of-work colleagues. It may be the opportunity they need to help them transition into a new position.

Advocate: MITs need help in obtaining a new position. If you believe yourself to be a true friend to an unemployed manager, reach out to that individual and offer to provide a stellar recommendation.

If you are unwilling to do that, then maybe it is best for you to tell them why you think they should not be a manager and recommend other employment advice.

In this age of Internet slander, there is a great deal of misleading information that might sway officials toward not hiring a person. A strong reference can counter much of the misinformation.

In my case, a former employee of mine was called and asked about my management style. Among the accolades, the employee told the human resources manager that I was such a good manager that he never knew he was being managed.

I believe that a strong reference is one of the reasons I am employed today. Our conversation about his comments, prior to my interview, helped boost my confidence when I needed it the most.

Remember: Let your out-of-work colleague know that you are available to give him or her a strong professional reference.

The bottom line is that at some point in managers' professional careers, we are all faced with forced resignations or other events that leave us in a "transition" status. Take the time to visit, listen, assist, and advocate for your friends and colleagues who are experiencing this difficult situation. They-me includedare in a noble but often thankless profession. It is important that we help each other in trying times.

BY WILLIAM (BILL) DILIBERO, ICMA-CM

WILLIAM (BILL) DILIBERO, ICMA-CM

City Manager

South Padre Island, Texas

[email protected]