Public Service and Urban Governance

Apache Junction is an excellent example of a local government that portrays the ideals of public service and urban governance.

Public service, which is generally defined as a service or public good provided to citizens within a particular jurisdiction, is the basic purpose of any local government. Apache Junction provides services that include: public safety, public works, public library, development services, and many more areas of public need.

The overall good for the city of AJ is the completion of projects and promotion of private individuals to all work together for the common good. Public service in order to be successful requires good urban governance.

Urban governance is broadly defined as a political institution that influences the economic and social aspects of society through policy, participation, and accountability. Good governance is the political authority responding to it's citizens in a way where the overall society benefits from the decisions made by the government.

Apache Junction strives to meet these ideals of serving the public and offering good governance through the services provided by local taxes.

A Contradiction of Terms? Leadership and Internship?

One of the last things people think about when I mention I'm an intern is that the internship is an opportunity to show my leadership skills. And to a certain extent, they are right to assume this.

When people think of "the intern", they think of the guy who is asked to work for free, make a coffee or donut run for the office, do menial office tasks, clean the fridge, someone they can make jokes about, and pass off any unwanted tasks.

All of these examples are obviously stereotypes, but if you've interned with multiple places while you were in high school or college or even out of school like I have, you've had at least a handful of these experiences.

The internship I have in the city manager's office in Apache Junction is antithetical to this stereotype intern. The staff at AJ give me a tremendous amount of respect and allow a lot of input in what I do to help them on projects. The blessing is that they have all been interns before and have seen the benefit an internship has had on their careers. They allow me to lead and add my own creativity to the projects they have assigned to me.

In a sense, it's very difficult to be a leader and an intern. Why? Because you're the new kid on the block, per se. You're just learning about the organization and how everyone interacts with one another.

Are you going to become someone's supervisor in the first month of your internship? Probably not. But you will get to see other people demonstrate leadership abilities around you and ask a lot of questions.

I get to view two leaders in particular in my office: the assistant city manager and the assistant to the city manager. They have a couple dozen projects and items going on at a time and its impressive to see them balance so much work and be able to maintain relationships with people throughout the City of Apache Junction. They have a lot of responsibility and since the current city manager will be retiring soon, the pressure is on them to perform at even higher levels than their position requires.

This internship excites me more than others have in the past. I get to be involved in the city manager's office. Since they all are excellent managers, I get to be in the midst of leaders. Though I may not able to practice leadership, I have the opportunity to observe leaders close up and see what they do on a daily basis. I am excited for all the future learning experiences I have in AJ.

The Presence of a Leader

AJ City Manager George Hoffman recommended an article from the Public Management Magazine, which address the topic of executive presence. The tricky part in learning about executive presence is that it is not easy to define.

Some may say that the presence of an individual leader is one's personality, which can influence a group of individuals. This is a characteristic of a true leader and oftentimes is crucial for leaders to become chief executives of their companies, organizations, or governments.

My experience firsthand observing executive presence is at my full time job at American Express. During my training class, Jim Bush, the Executive Vice President of World Service at American Express, did a visit through the entire building and made a specific appointment to visit the 15 or so individuals in our training class.

He is basically my boss' boss' boss' boss' boss. I have no idea if there's a general term other than VP to describe my relationship to him as an employee...perhaps it's just he's really really important!

As he entered the room, I could tell by his demeanor and the tone of his voice that he was comfortable, confident, and someone who could take charge of almost anything. Being asked a question by him was intimidating even with his relaxed expression.

The article mentions that executive presence is not the same as leadership, rather that it is a byproduct of leadership. Executive presence is built upon the character, trustworthiness, and effectiveness of a leader. Jim Bush has done a lot for American Express, specifically in the area of customer service where he helped establish a prominently used survey question to measure the effectiveness of customer service agents.

The main takeaway from this article is the primary areas of executive presence that I can work on:

• "Seriousness of Purpose": the willingness to be very prepared for major decisions and tasks
• "The Ability to Forge Relationships Built on Trust": being consistent in my actions and developing relationships where I can be counted on to give my all even if I do not always succeed
• "Strong Personal Connection": keeping up clean and neat appearances while maintaining strong and consistent body language as well as being confident under pressure
• "Focused Awareness": the realization of the many dynamics going on around me and how I need to be attentive to the many needs and problems that arise