When you are holding an off-site local government retreat, it's important to determine what type of goals you want to focus on.   Outside of long-term strategic goals, below are examples of more operational goals that you may want to consider:

1. Operational Goals: These are goals related to the day-to-day operations of the local government, such as streamlining processes, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs.

2. Citizen Communication: These goals are related to increasing awareness of services, promoting new services or recognizing citizens or progress toward key initiatives.

3. Human Resources Goals: These goals are related to the management and development of the local government's employees. They can include improving employee engagement, reducing turnover, or implementing new training programs.

4. Innovation Goals: These goals are related to developing new products, services, or technologies to better serve citizens or others. They can include launching a new apps, or dev

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LeaderGov posted a recent poll on LinkedIn and asked local government leaders what aspects of an offsite planning retreat they valued the most. The number one answer it was team building and the number to answer was goal setting.

Goal setting has many side benefits including collaboration, alignment, vision casting and building a sense of unity around a common idea. 

Below are some ideas to consider as you begin to plan for goal setting at your next retreat.

1. Strategic Priorities Breakout: Ideally your local government should have a sense of your strategic priorities or critical areas you will focus on in the coming 2-3 years.  We recommend a table breakout allowing each table to answer this question:  If we magically had an extra million dollars in cash right now, what are the 3 areas that we would spend it on that would give us the most leverage  today.  Is it technology, DEI, culture, facilities, leadership, community engagement? Then have each table share their input. 
2. SWOT An...

According to a study by the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology, roughly forty-five (45%) of Americans make New Year’s resolutions.  Seventy-five (75%) maintain them for a week and sixty-four (64%) maintain their resolutions for one month.  Only forty-six (46%) maintain their resolutions for more than 6 months. 

As a leader influencing your local government, it’s important to set strategic goals or resolutions for yourself each year – you might call them resolutions for your City, County or Department.  While you probably have a Council or Commission or Manager eager to set goals for you, it’s important to pursue a few goals you see as vital to your team’s success.

The first step is to document your resolutions in writing.   People are 50% more likely to achieve a goal if it’s written down.

A Look Back: Look back on the past year and consider what you did well and what you didn’t do so well.   Consider which projects and initiatives succeeded and why they succeed...