How an Ontario mayor is using values-driven change management to set his city on track for success

Financialpost.com
July 29, 2015
By Mitchell Osak



Every business leader knows businesses must adapt to their environment or become discredited and irrelevant over time. But how do you do this as quickly and painlessly as possible?

While there are many leadership styles, the odds of a successful transformation improve when a leader’s values and behaviours are congruent with the mandate of the company, and are seen as aspirational.

Maurizio Bevilacqua, the mayor of Vaughan, Ont., is spearheading significant cultural change, transforming operational productivity, enhancing service levels and improving employee engagement while bringing newfound respect to city politics. His values-driven approach to leadership offers many lessons for people tasked with leading major transformation in any organization.

The mayor is no stranger to the public sector. He has served in government for many years, including as a Member of Parliament for Vaughan for 22 years. In 2010, he left federal politics and was elected mayor of the city. From the get go, Bevilacqua adopted a different leadership style from a typical politician. His approach relies less on command and control management and more on setting the right example and instilling in the culture aspirational, humanistic values.

Values-driven leadership is not new in the private sector. Many of the world’s most successful business leaders - Steve Jobs (Apple), Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines) and Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen (Ben & Jerry’s) - have imprinted similar values in their companies with great results.

Bevilacqua’s values-driven leadership is demonstrated through a variety of practices and programs. For example, positivity, servitude and goodness are regularly invoked as guiding principles from strategy development on down to personal actions at Vaughan City Hall.

The mayor believes in improving employee engagement through small but personal gestures such as praising the dedicated efforts of employees both privately and publicly, placing a personal phone call for special occasions or simply saying thank you. The commitment isn’t just lip service. He and the members of council provided written commitment to the Vaughan Accord - a 12-point document that defines the principles of public service - a promise of responsible, co-operative, transparent and effective governance.

So far, the mayor’s approach has paid off in spades. Vaughan is now among the top municipal performers in Canada in voter satisfaction, economic development and staff excellence. To wit, a recent Citizen Survey revealed that 90 per cent of Vaughan residents are “very” or “somewhat satisfied” with city services overall, while 95 per cent rated quality of life “good” or “very good.” These numbers have all increased during the Bevilacqua’s tenure.

Furthermore, a fresh, business-friendly environment has led to a 18.3 per cent increase in new business creation since he assumed office.

Similarly, his values-driven change has had a positive effect on staff excellence; employee engagement and demonstrated leadership competencies are up 13 and 17 per cent, respectively, compared with 2009.

Mayor Bevilacqua’s leadership style and methods are congruent with other best practice change practices:

Develop an inspiring narrative and values Leaders need to appeal to their staff’s spirit as well as logical brain using a simple message communicated regularly;

Engage all stakeholders Ignoring some groups, especially skeptics, may short change the effort and create unwanted opponents;

Model desirable behaviours Credibility is everything. If leaders talk the talk, they need to walk the walk;

Support your staff Nothing slows momentum faster than a leader who does not help their team overcome roadblocks; and

Be patient Real change takes time, courage and perseverance

Without a doubt, Mayor Bevilacqua is on the right track to transforming Vaughan. Yet, he should be mindful of the sage words of Pericles, Athen’s leader during the Peloponnesian War.

“What I fear more than the strategies of our enemies,” lamented Pericles, “is our own mistakes,” a warning all leaders should heed.