Private help for ‘more positive culture’
Private-sector expertise to help remake the corporate culture at Nanaimo city hall is expected to begin some time next month.
Nanaimo said in a request for proposals that “accepted norms of the corporation are embedded and have been reinforced over many years.”
These are not supporting the organization, particularly when it comes to managing change, the city said. “These norms contribute to what many successive reviews over a number of years have termed a ‘toxic environment.’ ”
The goal is a “more positive culture,” Nanaimo said.
Training will cover the city’s 10 senior managers and 50 other managers.
Tracy Samra, Nanaimo’s chief administrative officer, said she wants to invest in staff so that they are equipped to deal with change. That has included altering the city’s procurement systems, business planning, and formats for writing reports to council.
“I was hired to modernize the city of Nanaimo’s administration and operations,” she said.
Although the city has invested in workplace training, Samra said there has not been a lot of investment in leadership.
“It’s well known that the work environment … has been challenging for a long time,” said Samra, adding that senior staff are eager to proceed with the process.
“There’s a new level of frankness among the senior management team. All of us want to do everything that we can to improve the working environment and to switch the focus off of the conflict onto what good things our staff are doing.”
Nanaimo has given a general guideline of $75,000 for the work but said the city wants proponents to offer a recommended approach and related fees.
The project is intended to: • Develop self-awareness of current leadership practices. • Support flexibility and constructive leadership styles. • Develop foundation skills such as communication and stress management. • Develop awareness of the current corporate culture, both its productive and unproductive aspects. • Establish a link between the corporate culture and individual leadership practices. • Establish commitments for shared responsibility, personal accountability, and being productive.