Nonprofits
Communicating a clear path
How to set a clear direction
By Brian Horn
Smart Business Tampa Bay | January 2009
Page 1 of 2
Pam Iorio
mayor, Tampa
When Pam Iorio became
the mayor of Tampa in 2003, she and her executive
team focused on strategic goals
for the city and its 4,700
employees.
She also made it a point to
walk new hires through those
goals to ensure that they understood their role early in the
process so they knew what to
focus on, which helped them
avoid distractions.
“I think it’s awfully important
because otherwise, you are
pulled in a million different
directions,” says Iorio, who
managed a fiscal 2007 budget
of $298.9 million. “That’s probably the same whether it’s the
private sector or the public sector. Every day, somebody wants
to pull on you and say, ‘Yes,
and what about this?’ But, if
that’s not part of your strategic
vision, then you have to give
that less time and less energy
than something that is part of
your strategic vision.”
Smart Business spoke with
Iorio about how to communicate
a clear direction to employees.
Be clear about your mission. The
important thing is, one, during
the hiring process, that you are
explaining to the person as
you’re hiring them how they fit
into the mission. That’s very
important so they know, ‘I was
hired to be the administrator
for neighborhood services by
the mayor, and in the interview process, she identified
the goals that this organization
is trying to achieve and how
I’m part of that.’ That’s very
powerful because then a person is hired with that sense of
mission.
It’s a little bit more difficult
when you assume leadership
and you’re dealing with people
... who have perhaps worked
under other leaders who didn’t
have those same goals. Now
they have to readjust. I think
again, though, the key is to
spend time with those individuals. Make sure they are in the
right positions.
If you are keeping them,
make sure that their talents
are being used. Sometimes
people are misplaced. Then,
again, show them how this
mission overall helps the company or helps the community.
You can get a sense whether
people get excited about that.
People like to come to work
with a sense of mission, and
that’s a point that leaders often
forget. Everyone knows that
we all have to work; that’s a
given. But when you are able
to come to work with a sense
of mission — ‘I’m growing the
company, I’m providing a community service, I’m doing
something important for the
community, I’m increasing the
company’s value, and in doing
so, the company is able to
employ more people,’ [or]
however it is you see your role.
It is very important that people
feel that their time at work is
meaningful. That’s very important to instill that in people.
It can’t be about the paycheck because that’s just not
meaningful enough.
