City Manager Interview Question:

Tell us how do you define success?

Submitted by: Muhammad

I find a lot of value in setting goals, outlining the steps required to achieve those goals, and then completing those steps. This not only allows me to break down the big picture into easily actionable parts, but also gives me a good overall idea of what needs to be accomplished. Each box I check off on my list of tasks is a small success on the way to the larger finished project. I was tasked with leading a team of seven employees last year. We had been assigned the massive task of reorganizing a technical manual library that hadn't been updated in years. It was an overwhelming task overall, but by breaking it down aisle by aisle, and even shelf by shelf, we were able to take what felt like a monster project and turn it into easy to accomplish tasks. I also included rewards and incentives for completing sections to keep us going. Not only were we able to finish by the deadline, but by adding the fun and challenge elements to the project, we remained motivated and weren't burned out at the end, in itself a major success.
Submitted by: Muhammad