Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

MONEY IS LIMITED, ATTENTION SPANS ARE SHORT, AND CHOICES MUST BE MADE: “Society needs balanced perspectives and alternate viewpoints. Give voices to other perspectives. And then whatever the decision is, at least those viewpoints were part of the consideration,” stated Pete Steblin, former City Manager in the Metro Vancouver region

October 8, 2024 - Posted in water sustainability

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Storylines accommodate a range of reader attention spans. Read the headline and move on, or take the time to delve deeper – it is your choice! Downloadable versions are available at Living Water Smart in British Columbia: The Series.

The edition published on October 8^th 2024 features Pete Steblin, a retired city manager who is a dean of chief administrative officers in the Metro Vancouver region. In his story behind the story, he draws on experience in resolving Council-Staff conflict and building a culture of collaboration.

Money is limited, attention spans are short, and choices must be made

Experience in the Metro Vancouver region over the past three decades illustrates WHY AND HOW a set of cascading factors must ALL be in alignment to sustain the livability of a region.

This edition is the third installment in a series of previews leading to release of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in the Metro Vancouver Region from 1994 through 2024. The tag-line for the Chronicle is…create livable communities and protect stream health.

When there is trust and respect between politicians and staff, good outcomes for the community are more likely to result

On October 1st 2024, we shone the spotlight on a longtime elected leader who has regional stature. This week a dean of city managers shares his wisdom. Both draw attention to the elephant in the room: organizational amnesia and the unintended consequences when we don’t know what we don’t know.

“At local government conferences these days, you hear the term CAO roadkill a lot,” observes Pete Steblin. “Chief administrative officer positions are tenuous. Look around the Metro Vancouver region. More than half are different than just 18 months ago. Is it any wonder that a prevalent attitude among senior local government staff is, do not stick your head out of the foxhole?”

What it means to be in balance

“Over my career, I have worked in four cities, and observed many cities across the country. This experience provides me with context,” continues Pete Steblin. “At the end of the day, good decision-making comes down to a good process. But it also relies on wisdom in terms of balanced advice.”

“When there is a significant level of trust in technical recommendations, Councils rarely override them. Staff explains recommendations. The Council makes the decisions. Trust is fragile and can easily be broken. When trust is lost, decades of good work can be lost.”

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“Storytelling is the way we share intergenerational knowledge, experience and wisdom. And storytelling is how we draw attention to what works and what does not, and why,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director. “This edition is the third installment in a series of stories behind the story of Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Plan which is an outcome of the Georgia Basin Initiative,”

In the first installment, the theme was: Solutions to complex problems require deep knowledge. Joan Sawicki and Ray Fung reflected on their lived experience at the provincial and local scales, respectively.
In the second installment, the theme was: When an elected leader is THE CHAMPION, the community benefits. Darrell Mussatto, a respected former mayor, reflected on what it takes to be a better, more effective decision maker.”

“In the 7-part series, I bring forward the thinking that would help today’s elected leaders tackle complex problems while minimizing unintended consequences – the ones that result when one-off solutions are done in isolation of understanding the whole.”

Attention spans depend on the time available to absorb information

“Being consistently successful over time requires an appreciation for the factors that are critical to success, whether they are in alignment, and what would it take to coax them into alignment if they are not,” continues Kim Stephens.

“The litmus test for elected leaders is how much information and advice can they absorb and process in the time available? The corollary is how effective are staff in communicating information and advice so that elected leaders can readily absorb it and make better, informed decisions?”

“Attention span is a subtle concept. A wise general manager of engineering once explained it to me in these terms. Kim, he said, my staff have days, weeks and sometimes even months to figure something out. And then I have minutes to absorb what they are telling me. But when I am explaining things to council, I have milliseconds to communicate what matters.”

“This reality check is the context for Pete Steblin’s story behind the story. The time that politicians can spend on any one issue is short. And they are often given more information than can be absorbed in the time available. For elected leaders to be effective as champions, it is more important than ever for them to understand WHY AND HOW all the cascading factors must be in alignment.”

Table of Cascading Factors – all must be in alignment for success

“The Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation from 1994 through 2024 is a 500-page tome. Distil, distil, distil. The essence of the past three decades boils down to a table for the purposes of telling a story.”

“Four distinct eras define the past three decades, with the period of time for each varying between 6 and 9 years. In the image below the table, a defining statement characterizes each era.”

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Money is limited, attention spans are short, and choices must be made – extracts from a conversation with Pete Steblin

When Pete Steblin joined the City of Coquitlam in 2008, his first task was to resolve Staff-Council conflict and stabilize a very difficult situation. “It was a giant hornet nest that I had to resolve if we were to rebuild trust and move forward,” he recalls. This experience provides context for his reflections in this story behind the story. His reflections are presented as three theme areas.

“There was a dark period yet that is what makes the Coquitlam story authentic and helped us to develop approaches which balance idealism with pragmatism. Others can learn from that experience and know that it is okay to stumbles,” Pete Steblin adds.

“When I arrived, a number of councillors wanted me to blow the place up but I came up with the analogy of a chair. It is somewhat stable if you take one leg out but will totally collapse if you take out more than one. So I said to Council, allow me to take one leg out and fix it and after that I will address the other legs one by one.”

“They accepted that and I started changing the organization one division at a time through a series of cyclical reviews. We conducted over a dozen in those first few years and it fundamentally changed and improved the organization. When Council saw the results, trust improved!”

THEME AREA ONE: Local governments are much like a crucible where competing issues must be balanced to produce affordable and effective outcomes

“When I reflect on the Green Infrastructure Chronicle and how the memory loss issue is playing out, top of mind for me is that every area of local government needs a champion. When there is no champion, that area gets left in the dust,” bluntly states Pete Steblin.

“Of course every champion does need to put forward a compelling case for their area. At the end of the day, however, there just are not enough resources in an ongoing way to deal with all the issues. So, choices are made between competing issues and competing champions.”

Changes in direction and unintended consequences

“In discussions about issues of the day, what I see missing at times is an understanding of the linkages within a local government system. It is easy to forget there are other needs that have to be considered and balanced.”

“And when we lose our way on a specific issue, as has happened with the Livable Region Plan, it is because some other champion in some other area got the air waves and got the attention of the politicians. It explains why an abrupt change in direction can result in unintended consequences.”

“The time that politicians can spend on any one issue is short. And so whoever makes that compelling case in the moment for their issue…well, all of a sudden the priorities of a local government are different. Housing has come to the fore again, partially because the Province has made it so.”

THEME AREA TWO: Local governments are also much like the Mars Rover in terms of how they can change direction abruptly and unexpectedly

“It is important for each generation to learn to look back to see ahead so that they can turn rather than reinvent the wheel. At the same time, we need to think of local government as being more like a Mars Rover with wheels that can move in different directions.”

“Wheels are good to go in one direction. You need a steering wheel. But you need something different to change direction….AND DIRECTION IS GOING TO BE CHANGED…as you go forward. You have to at least recognize that reality so that you can adapt to it.”

Arrive at balanced solutions

“And then as the champion you have to keep momentum going for your area. You have to plug away in support of your area because if you do not, it gets wholly lost in the dust. But while you are doing that, I always think it is nice when people at least recognize that there are other areas and other champions.”

“When I would meet with my department heads, for example, I would encourage them to put on a different hat. Put your corporate hat on, I would ask, and help me make those value judgements.”

“And can you please moderate a little bit or can you accept a little bit less this year but keep the needs flowing so that we revisit them next year. Something along those lines is what I would urge them.”

THEME AREA THREE: What organizational amnesia looks like and how local governments can overcome it

“When I reflect on the organizational amnesia that I am currently observing in local government, the word FEAR comes into my mind, although it is not said out loud. You hear the term CAO roadkill at lot. With the high turnover at the top, and the exodus of experienced people, the situation is fragile.”

“Yet there is a reluctance to ask for help from those with experience, knowledge and… yes, wisdom. In fact, there seems to be a fear of independent advice unless it is totally supportive of the direction that the people at the top want to go in. And so they would rather shut it down.”

“In my experience, it is more helpful when the people in charge are at least open to and encourage other viewpoints and then say…on balance, I recommend that…But that is not the way government is being administered at the present time.”

A call for affordable and effective solutions

“My career in local government began in era when money was really tight and we had to fight so hard for every nickel. Today so much money is wasted. Yet we could have got 90% of the benefits for a lot less money. We have been going for perfection and spending ten times what is absolutely necessary.”

“We have to return to the ethic of solutions being affordable and effective. Otherwise, a seismic shift will occur in local government because of overall politics. The mood in society has changed and blunt instruments are going to come down. That is my fear.”

“Now more than ever communities need to learn from past experience. And society needs balanced perspectives and alternate viewpoints. Give voices to other perspectives. And then whatever the decision is, at least those viewpoints were part of the consideration,” concludes Pete Steblin.

Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series

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About the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

Technical knowledge alone is not enough to resolve water challenges facing BC. Making things happen in the real world requires an appreciation and understanding of human behaviour, combined with a knowledge of how decisions are made. It takes a career to figure this out.

The Partnership has a primary goal, to build bridges of understanding and pass the baton from the past to the present and future. To achieve the goal, the Partnership is growing a network in the local government setting. This network embraces collaborative leadership and inter-generational collaboration.