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 Being able to educate others about the value implications of their choices.

Emotional and Personal Attributes

According to author Edgar Schein’s research, there are essential traits that characterize the
effective manager:

 Capacity to be stimulated by emotional and interpersonal issues and crises, rather than
become exhausted or worn down by them.

 Capacity to bear high levels of responsibility without becoming paralyzed.
 Ability to exercise power and make difficult decisions without guilt or shame.
 Capability of absorbing the emotional strains of the uncertainty of interpersonal conflict,

responsibility, and other stressors. Donald Wolfe’s research concluded that a public
manager needs to have:[8]

Today’s local government professional is not expected to be superhuman . . . or so we hope.

 A spirit of inquiry into how things really work, including a commitment to one’s own
learning and growth.

 An integration of one’s personal self—who the person is—into one’s professional work.
 A commitment to public service values.
 The capacity to function independently without limiting one’s ability to collaborate.

Today’s local government professional is not expected to be superhuman . . . or so we hope.
However, the widely varied knowledge, skills, talents, and personal attributes that appear
necessary for success certainly encompass enough breadth and depth to involve a willingness to
grow continually and to learn from others through one’s entire career.

[1]This article is taken in part from John Nalbandian, ―Educating the City Manager of the
Future,‖ which was published in H. George Frederickson and John Nalbandian, eds., The Future
of Local Government Administration: The Hansell Symposium (Washington, D.C.: International
City/County Management Association, 2002). A version of the original article also was prepared
at the request of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) as input into its 2002–
2003 strategic planning process.

[2]Frieder Naschold with Glenn Daley, ―Learning from the Pioneers: Modernizing Local
Government, Part 1,‖ International Public Management Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1 (1999), pp. 25–
51; John Nalbandian, ―Facilitating Community, Enabling Democracy: New Roles for Local
Government Managers,‖ Public Administration Review, Vol. 59 (May/ June 1999), pp. 187–198.

[3]H. George Frederickson, Steven Maynard-Moody, and John Nalbandian, ―How City Officials
Face the Community.‖ Unpublished manuscript. (Lawrence, Kansas: Department of Public
Administration, University of Kansas, 2002).

[4]Donald A. Schon, Beyond the Stable State (London: Maurice Temple Smith, 1971).