Village Manager's Message
Dear Village People,
This past week, I had the privilege to attend the Illinois City/County Management Association Conference in Bloomington. I got to the conference just in time to check in at the hotel and then rush off to the Legacy luncheon. To be honest, I did not know what to expect from the luncheon. It turned out I was one of three males in the audience, as the group is dedicated to supporting women in local government. The guest speaker was Joan Wells, who was named the City Manager of Champaign on my anniversary date in 2024. Ms. Wells talked about what drives and motivates her is her faith. She stated she started her career by sending two job applications in the mail over twenty-five years ago. She applied to the University of Illinois and to the Champaign Police Department. Ms. Wells was a powerful speaker who knew how to keep an audience hooked on her stories about her career path. The University sent her a “bong” letter, but the Champaign Police Department hired her to be their Public Information Officer. She stated as a black woman, she had to assert herself as she had to fight to get a seat at the table with “white men”. She remembers being in a police meeting with the Police Chief and two Deputy Chiefs. She spoke about how one of the Deputy Chiefs kept talking over her and not really giving her a chance to speak. It got to a point where she eventually had to point at the rude person and loudly say: “Do not interrupt me again!” From that moment on she was able to find her voice and show her leadership. Ms. Wells was able to move up to the position of Deputy City Manager. Her confidence, humility and care for her staff is what resonated with me the most. I talked to her afterwards, as I asked about a family member who worked with her. Ms. Wells was gracious as she told me how much she enjoyed working with my cousin Shelly.
My second favorite speaker of the conference was Seth Winterhalter. He talked about something near and dear to my heart: “work-life balance”. The twist in Mr. Winterhalter’s speech is that he believes Balance is “B.S.” He went on to say you can make a goal to enjoy your life away from the public sector. He said that no matter how many hours you work in a week 50-60-70 hours, it will never be enough for your elected body or the public. He said no matter how many civic functions he attended, he would always be asked to appear at more events. He said the only way he could survive with his sanity, his happiness, and his health intact was to care less about his job. He also learned to say “no” to some of the obligations placed before him.
He was suffering from burnout before he knew his life had to change. He was also starting to not like his job. He knew he had to fight for himself because balance really is BS. Having energy and tension are so very important to thrive in a very chaotic environment. Mr. Winterhalter believes that tension is actually good in the workplace. He stated that aimlessness is worse than tension. Something that happens to me more often than I care to admit is being reactive, and he states, “Reactive leadership dilutes clarity, shortens patience, and erodes impact.” The speaker says in order to thrive in the tension, you need to: 1) Name what pulls you, 2) Clarify the push, and 3) Prioritize your intentions.
For me personally, I know I am not afraid to speak up and use my words. I also know that tension and stress will get channeled in a way to help me and, in essence, help others in the workplace to keep moving forward. I hope the words of these great speakers can help you too.
Always Listening and Learning.
View the full weekly report here. All weekly reports can be found on our website's Document Center.
Mike Rivas
Village Manager
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