Guest Opinion

Review shows city is in good hands

By Jody Carson

, Nov 28, 2009 (5 Reader comments)

When you make a major purchase – like a new house or car – it is common to check your purchase from every angle to ensure that it is worthy. A thorough inspection is the key step to guarantee that from all perspectives, your investment is sound.

Earlier this year, the city of West Linn City Manager Chris Jordan and department directors were evaluated using a “360-degree” performance appraisal approach. Darrell Beck and Associates conducted the performance appraisal at the direction of the city council.

The 360-degree review involved collecting perceptions about the city manager and department directors’ job performance and the impact of that behavior on the city from each individual’s peers, supervisors, and direct reports.

The city council’s goal in requesting a 360-degree review of management staff was to ensure that the city’s managers are operating at peak efficiency, and we believed that listening to multiple employees from the city organization was an innovative and helpful way to do this. Personnel is the greatest city expense, and the city council wanted to check in and see how the West Linn management team was performing.

I am pleased to report that the 360-degree appraisals indicate the West Linn management team is exceptional. The following quote is from Mr. Beck:

“The city of West Linn’s overall score of scores (the average from all respondents for all participants on all questions) were the highest I have seen in memory, for any executive group, public or private. The city should be proud of such a fine leadership scorecard, by the people who work with and for you. These kinds of results cannot be coerced and they cannot be bought. They can only be earned by day to day leadership behavior.”

The 360-review included 60 areas of inquiry for each member of the management team. The aggregated results show that the top ten “strength” areas for the management team are:

* Shows commitment to the priorities of the organization.

* Is knowledgeable in his/her area of responsibility.

* Is trustworthy in his/her dealings with others.

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