Alexandria Cohort (Advanced): Feb. 28-March 1

Agenda – Alexandria (Advanced Program)

Friday, Feb. 28 

9:45 a.m.
Check-in opens!

10:15 a.m.
Greeting from Host City

Nicole Mace, Council Member – Alexandria 

10:20 a.m.
LMC Board / Leadership Welcome

10:30 a.m.
Minnesota Public Sector Union Negotiations: A Guide for City Councils

Lisa Schaefer, Human Resources & Learning Director,  League of Minnesota Cities

As a city council member you are responsible for your city’s most important resource – its people! Attracting and retaining skilled and engaged employees is critical to the delivery of services. Setting personnel policies that treat employees fairly and lawfully is an important aspect of governing a city. This includes keeping up to date on changes to public sector employment laws as well as navigating public sector collective bargaining processes. In this session, you’ll gain insight into the union negotiation process, recent changes to public sector employment law, and promoting consistency and fairness in a mixed union and non-union environment.

Learning Objectives:
• Understand changes to public sector employment laws and their impact on city employment policies.
• Understand the various roles of the city councils play in union negotiations, and gain tips for successful outcomes.
• Learn to ask the right questions to ensure your employment policies are lawful, consistent, and fair for all employees including unionized and non-unionized employees.

11:30 a.m.
Networking Lunch

12:30 p.m.
Preparing for the Future: Building Strong Relationships Across Generational Lines

Kim Leer, Inlay Insights

Studies show that multigenerational teams outperform more homogeneous groups by almost every measure. While the advantages are numerous, working together across generational lines is easier said than done. Today’s teams are often plagued by issues regarding everything from work ethic and retention to civility and fairness. 

To truly harness the benefits of generational diversity, it’s essential to move beyond “out with the old, in with the new.” Every generation contributes valuable perspectives to our communities and city councils. In this session, we’ll delve into effective communication tactics that foster connection across ages, improve team cohesion, and enable teams to execute plans more efficiently.

3 p.m.
Break

3:15 p.m.
Building Trust and Enhancing Organizational Culture 

Moderator: Luke Fischer, Executive Director, League of Minnesota Cities 

League of Minnesota Cities Panelists: Amber Eisenschenk, Research Manager; Julie Liew, Communication & Events Director; Lisa Schaefer, HR & Learning Director; Jen Wolf, Deputy Administrator – League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust

Hear tips from a panel of League of Minnesota Cities staff on how elected officials build stronger teams and organizations. This session shares common themes that we see across the state in cities of all sizes who are looking to increase trust, create healthy organizational cultures, and build relationships within city hall and out in the community. Hear advice you can apply in your city, as well as things to avoid.

Learning Objectives:

• Think critically about your role as a council member in moving the organizational culture forward in your city.
• Walk away with clear boundaries for where policy decisions end and operational decisions begin.
• Understand what plans are helpful to have in place to help triage common situations.
• Know who you can turn to for help when you end up in a sticky situation.

4:30 p.m.
Social Time

5:30 p.m.
Dinner and Remarks from League Leadership and event sponsors

6:30 p.m.
Adjourn

Saturday, March 1 

7:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m.
Homerun Leadership: Your Best Frameworks for Difficult Decisions

Dr. Dave Webb

In this session, Dr. Dave Webb, Author of Homerun Leadership, will coach you on the IROD problem-solving formula to achieve better solutions and faster decisions. Homerun Leadership’s IROD (Information, Reactions, Options, Decisions) is the ultimate tool for quick team/board/council decision-making. In this workshop you will gain insight to your greatest strengths as a leader, and how these strengths help with team settings and decision making. Through hands-on, interactive experiences, participants will leave not only knowing their own leadership type, but also the four leadership types most commonly found on every leadership team. In addition, participants will leave knowing the best four questions to achieve better team results and solutions, while improving team participation, decision making, and collaboration.

Watch a sneak peek: 

*Includes a mid-morning stretch and snack break

12 p.m.
Adjourn