Lead Like a Mayor
Our curriculum included meetings with various high-level officials to hear their perspectives on national security challenges and leadership. One of the most interesting encounters was with Nir Barkat, the Mayor of Jerusalem. Consider the timing of my visit…just months into the Arab Spring that threatened stability in Egypt to Israel’s south; early days of the Syria Civil War that challenged Israel’s security in the Golan Heights; and well into Iran’s nuclear program development that—if completed—would pose an existential threat to Israel. There was even talk of a possible third Intifada that would most certainly impact safety and security in Mayor Barkat’s city. And despite these many security threats, I was surprised to learn that Mayor Barkat was spending most of his time that week planning Jerusalem’s first-ever Urban Beach Party. He explained the logistical challenges of bringing in over 80 tons of beach sand, organizing a volleyball tournament, and arranging a beach-inspired BBQ with a live DJ. And one of his biggest challenges…dealing with a group of angry Ultra Orthodox Jewish rabbis who were threatening to protest, calling the event, "a terrible spiritual deterioration, such that has never before existed in Jerusalem."
So I asked Mayor Barkat, “why bother?” After all, Jerusalem is one of the most conservative cities in the world, and is just a 45-minute drive from some of the nicest beaches on the Mediterranean Sea. Mayor Barkat explained that young people, especially Israeli Jews, were leaving Jerusalem to live and work in other cities, such as Tel Aviv, that offer more exciting cultural and recreational activities. I later learned that the demographic trends in Israel are shifting, and the Arab population of Jerusalem has been steadily increasing relative to the Jewish population since the conclusion of the Six Day War in 1967. In fact scholars from the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies estimate that Jerusalem will have a majority Arab population by 2035—a fact that could significantly impact Israel’s case if it hopes to negotiate a final settlement with the Palestinians who also claim Jerusalem as their capital.
Not only that, but the Jewish population in Israel is significantly older than the Arab population—a trend that is expected to continue since Jewish women are increasingly choosing career over family, and Arab families tend to have more children on average. And so in order to draw young people to Jerusalem, and keep them there, Mayor Barkat had to provide activities young people like. Hence a Jerusalem Beach Party!
This visit got me thinking about the role that local leaders like mayors play, and how Mayor Barkat was impacting national and historical trends by acting at the local level. And then in 2013 Political Theorist Benjamin Barber published a book entitled If Mayor’s Ruled the World in which he argues that decentralized local governments are more in tune with their constituents, and have a greater impact on people’s lives, than state Governors or national leaders. And as Barber listed out the attributes of Mayors (and other local-level leaders) it occurred to me that this might be the leadership model we need for our organizations. I will summarize Barber’s points below, but I highly recommend his Ted Talk on the same topic:
Mayors are pragmatists– They get things done—they are problem solvers. They either make things happen, or they are quickly replaced.
As an example, Barber relates a story involving another Jerusalem Mayor, Teddy Kolek, who served Jerusalem for over 30 years. He was in a meeting with a group of squabbling religious leaders, arguing with each other about access to the holy sites. Mayor Kolek finally interrupted and told the group, “spare me your sermons and I’ll fix your sewers.” That’s what Mayors do, Barber says. They fix sewers, and keep police on the streets to provide security, and make sure the busses run on time.
Mayors are homeboys (and home-girls)– They live in, and generally come from the communities that they serve. They have a deep connection with the people, and a strong sense of what is going well and what isn’t. You see them at the grocery store, and can visit them in their office with little fanfare.
In 2009, Georgia senator Kasim Reed was running for mayor of Atlanta, and was losing badly. In a Ted Talk he describes how he turned things around:
As Reed tells it, he was going door-to-door campaigning in a development called Mechanicsville, when he called on an older woman named Ms. Davis. He explained all of the things Atlanta had going for it: it’s the cradle of the civil rights movement, has the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, has the busyiest passenger airport in the world, multi-cultural events and restaurants, and so on. And he told her he had ideas to make Atlanta even better.
Ms. Davis stepped out of her house and asked him to follow her across the street. She showed him the community pool that used to have water, but was now being used by kids to shoot dice. She pointed out the gazebo where families used to have picnics, and was now covered with gang graffiti and occupied by youngsters playing loud music. She told him, “I don’t eat at restaurants, and even if I did I’d have to take the bus. But I don’t feel safe going out at night anymore.” And about that airport, she said… “Baby, I don’t fly.”
From that interaction, Kasim Reed says he realized that until you see a city through the eyes of those most in need, your are never going to reach them. He completely changed his platform to focus on local-level issues, and he won the election. From this experience, Reed says that if leaders don’t take care of the basic needs of the people, they cannot do anything aspirational. But once you take care of those issues—the non-sexy, but important issues—they will listen to the issues you care about.
Mayors have higher trust levels– In the United States, only 18% of Americans approve of Congress. But rates for mayors are generally over 70%. Politics aside, consider the mayors who have declared their cities “sanctuary cities” for immigrants. Think about that for a minute…the Nation is debating what will be our immigration policy—an issue that is typically decided at the federal level—and some Mayors are saying, “until this gets sorted out, you are safe in my city.” No matter your political views, you have to respect that these cities are working to build trust and make their citizens feel safe.
Mayors Work Together– In his talk, Barber points out that cities are profoundly multicultural, participatory, and democratic. He says that 17thcentury political institutions—sovereign nation states—are not equipped to deal with complex 21stcentury issues like climate change and immigration. But cities, which is where participative democracy was born, are delivering real solutions. Every year the U.S. Conference of Mayors meets in Washington DC to discuss these issues and to share best practices. Other city officials, like Police Chiefs, often move from one city to another to implement innovative practices that helped reduce crime. Mayors of cities and suburbs form coalitions and solve issues together. Citizens join open consortiums and volunteer their time to make their cities better for everyone. Cities face common issues head-on, and share best practices freely.
And for all of these reasons, I think "Lead like a Mayor" is the right leadership model for us to follow. How many times have we reorganized our organizations hoping that will change behavior or solve communication problems? Maybe the answer lies in our ability to create activist employees who work for the betterment of our community and organization. I believe that we are the Mayors, the city councils, and the school board members of our organizations who must routinely work across all organizational boundaries.
As leaders, we must be pragmatic. We must solve problems and not pass the buck or kick the can. We must pay attention to the fundamental issues like work-life balance, fair and flexible policies, and diversity and inclusion.
We live where the mission meets the customer, and we know best what needs to be done, and how to do it.
We are in the best position to build or lose the trust of the workforce. When they ask us whether the new technology is going to work or if we support the bosses’ new plan, we have to be able to speak to the details and link back to their work or they will believe it’s not worth knowing about and it will fail.
And most of all, we are better when we work together. Not for our own purposes, but for the good of the mission and our customer.
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