Monday, August 22, 2016

What the Dunn Memorial Should Teach Us All about Leadership

I spent some time on Saturday, August 22nd, at the Gates Mercantile Building in the town of Elbert helping to say goodbye to an old friend, John Dunn.  The function started at 11:00 AM and lasted until 2:00 PM.  The hall was full for the entire event.  It was a tribute to a man who was viewed as a loving family member, a strong civic leader, a good neighbor and an invaluable friend.  I felt honored to be asked to  participate and  to help say farewell.  

If we are being honest with ourselves, most of us have spent at least a little time reflecting on who, if anyone, would show up at a funeral or memorial if we were to suddenly pass away.  It is a human metric that people everywhere use to to measure the impact of their life.  The notion is that, the more people show up, the better your conduct must have been viewed as you travelled along the highway of life.  In teacher parlance, John Dunn passed this test of life value with flying colors.  Nobody is perfect and neither was Mr. Dunn, but when you put his life on the scales of impact of those who were in the room on Saturday, he was measured a success.

The people in the hall on Saturday was a who’s who of leadership in Elbert County.  Commissioner Robert Rowland was in attendance to show his respect.  Sheriff Shayne Heap came to say goodbye.  Community leaders, a whole host of former employees, farmers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, business leaders, teachers, family and friends all showed up to reminisce about John.  The most amazing thing is that there were many people in attendance who would not normally be inclined to socialize together given the current climate of political polarization in Elbert County. They were there to simply pay their tribute.  We were all equals in the palpable atmosphere of loss that was in the room, and so all political boundaries were dropped.  Former disagreements were put aside and everybody grieved in their own way without apprehension.  Just like John would have wanted it.

So what is the point of this blog posting under the curious title of mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur? Simply put, we need to take a page from John Dunn’s book of life and get about the job of building positive relationships that lead to positive results.  John knew that you do not have to see eye to eye on every single issue to forge important alliances.  John also knew that welcoming ideas from every quarter made for better solutions because there was greater consensus in the community. He knew that when many voices were heard the government is actually being more responsive. He knew also that whatever extra time he took gaining consensus was future time he spared himself arguing with people who felt that they were left out of the process.

As we head into what is one of the most confusing commissioner races in decades I hope every candidate reflects on why John Dunn was viewed with such long-lasting respect.  The list is much longer than this, but these are just a few of the principles that John employed that just might help to bring our county together as we head into the next four years of leadership with an entirely new BOCC.

• The state gives the commissioners the power of the purse.  If a department is not in compliance with leadership requirements of the BOCC, hold that department accountable by withholding funding until the impasse has been cleared.
• Open up as much transparency as is humanly possible and within the boundaries of the law to restore confidence in elected officials.  John Dunn  understood that transparency might make elected officials uncomfortable at times, including himself, but in the long run it always was the best policy.
• Sit down with the county employees on a regular basis and listen to their ideas on what might improve relationships with the citizens of the county.  This not only will result in better community relationships but will also give the employees a sense of worthiness.
• Demand fiscal accountability.  Pay attention to the budgets of all departments.  Pay strict attention to the bidding process when making purchases.  Seek financial advice from Colorado Counties Inc. (CCI) when entering into loans or long term leasing programs.  CCI has seen it all and will give the county sound advice based on historical experiences across all of Colorado’s county governments.
• Reduce frivolous litigation.
• De–emphasize the role of the County Attorney who John believed had become the equivalent of a fourth commissioner.  He believed the position of County Attorney was necessary but merely advisory in nature.  John believed the County Attorney too often had the effect of making the public feel intimidated.
• Bring laughter into the courthouse in Kiowa.  This starts by being able to laugh at yourself.  John knew this better than anyone.


In the spirit of bipartisanship, I believe candidates of all political parties need to learn from their predecessors; learn from what went wrong and what went right.  As a Democrat, I can say without equivocation that we need leadership from people, not from political parties.  It is my belief that had we had a few more Republicans or dare I say it, Democrats who understood leadership the way John did, we would be in a better position today as a county.  

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