ICMA Coaching Program

The North Carolina City & County Management Association (NCCCMA) is proud to be a partnering state association of the ICMA Coaching Program. For more information about all of the resources available to NCCCMA members, regardless of membership status with ICMA, Click here for more information. 

CAREER COMPASS

Career Compass is a monthly column from ICMA focused on career issues for local government professional staff. Dr. Frank Benest is ICMA's senior advisor for Next Generation Initiatives and resides in Palo Alto, California. If you have a career question you would like addressed in a future Career Compass, e-mail careers@icma.org or contact Frank directly at frank@frankbenest.com.

To receive future copies of the Career Compass or obtain anthologies of  the first 50 editions of Career Compass in two handy-formatted PDFs HERE.

• Career Compass 117: Do We Need a New Employer-Employee Compact?
• Career Compass 116:  Are You Coachable?
• Career Compass 115:  Combatting Chronic Organizational Distress
• Career Compass 114:  What I Wish I Knew As A Young Leader
• Career Compass 113:  Promote Stability Amid All the Change
• Career Compass 112: Can You Show Your True Self at Work?
• Career Compass 111: Are You A Generous Leader?
• Career Compass 110: Accelerate Through Subtraction
• Career Compass 109: Succession Planning - Nine Classic Mistakes to Avoid
• Career Compass 108: Leadership Starts With Self-Awareness
• Career Compass 107: The Business Case for Promoting Workplace Belonging
• Career Compass 106: Supporting a Colleague in Distress
• Career Compass 105: How Do You Show Up As a Leader?
• Career Compass 104: Workforce Trends You Can't Ignore
• Career Compass 103: Avoid Seeking Happiness at Work
• Career Compass 102: Responding to Public Criticism 
• Career Compass 101: Now is the Time to Reinvest in the Front Line
• Career Compass 100: Leadership Lessons from 99 Career Compass Columns
• Career Compass 99: Harness the Hidden Powers of Rituals
• Career Compass 98: Combatting Change Exhaustion
• Career Compass 97: Seven Ways to Boost Your Leadership Capabilities
• Career Compass 96:  We Need Great Middle Managers Now
• Career Compass 95:  Use Return-to-the-Office as Your Opportunity to Reset Culture
• Career Compass 94:  Ten Principles of Leading in Turbulence.
• Career Compass 93:  Does Your Executive Group Have a First-Team Mindset?
• Career Compass 92:  Leveraging Six Sources of Influence
• Career Compass 91:  Post-COVID, What is Your Leadership Narrative?
• Career Compass 90:  Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis
• Career Compass 89:  Overcoming the Arrogance of Expertise
• Career Compass 88:  Leaders Are Dealers In Hope
• Career Compass 87:  Do Something!
• Career Compass 86:  Empathy is a Superpower
• Career Compass 85:  To Thrive in Post-Pandemic, Enhance Employee Experience
• Career Compass 84:  Got Grit?
• Career Compass 83:  How Do I Have Energizing Performance Conversations with Direct Reports
• Career Compass 82:  Avoid Layoffs by Using a Menu of Strategies
• Career Compass 81:  We Need Adaptive Leaders Now
• Career Compass 80:  To Retain Your Talent, Use Stay Interviews
• Career Compass 77:  Ten Best Practices to Build a Mini-Culture of Learning
• Career Compass 76:  Humble Leaders Get Results
• Career Compass 75:  Patience is a Leadership Issue
• Career Compass 74:  How Do I Get Everyone's Commitment
• Career Compass 73:  How Do I Get and Benefit from a Stretch Assignment?
• Career Compass 72:  How Do We Generate Creative Ideas?
• Career Compass 71:  Why Won't They Collaborate With Us?
  
• Career Compass 70:  How to Handle a Difficult Conversation with a Direct Report
• Career Compass 69:  Psychological Safety: The One Key Determinant of Team Effectiveness
• Career Compass 68:  My 1:1 Meetings Are a Waste of Time
• Career Compass 67:  Effective Leaders Start With Compassion
• Career Compass 66:  Lighten Up!
• Career Compass 65:  FIO - The Competency for 21st Century Leaders
• Career Compass 64:  Ten Ideas to Become a Talent Magnet 
• Career Compass 63:  Legacy Don't Leave It - Live It
• Career Compass 62:  How Do I Get A Better Title?
• Career Compass 61:  Leadership is Art of Conversation
• Career Compass 60:  I Don't Like My Mid-Manager Job
  
• Career Compass 59:  Perform the Job Before You Get It
• Career Compass 58:  Overcoming Fears
• Career Compass 57:  Leading By Living Your Values
• Career Compass 56:  Paradoxes of Leadership
• Career Compass 55:  I'm Not Ready!
• Career Compass 54:  How Do I Position Myself For Advancement?
• Career Compass 53:  How Do I Hold People Accountable?
  
• Career Compass 52:  Recasting My Rep
• Career Compass 51:  Building A World Class Culture
• Career Compass 50:  Storytelling - A Powerful Way to Lead and Communicate
• Career Compass 49:  Building a High-Performance Team - What's the Magic?
• Career Compass 48:  How Do I Benefit From A Coach?
• Career Compass 47:  Leadership Myths
• Career Compass 46: Leading By Letting Go
• Career Compass 45: City Managers Need Coaches Too
• Career Compass 44: Rookie Mistakes of a First-Time Department Head
• Career Compass 43: My Team Is Overwhelmed (And So Am I)
• Career Compass 42: Trust Me
• Career Compass 41: The Post-Heroic Leader
• Career Compass 40: Why Can't We All Get Along?
• Career Compass 39: The Courage to do the Right Thing
• Career Compass 38:  Your Staff Meetings Don't Have To Be So Dreary
• Career Compass 37: Engaging Employees for Success
• Career Compass 36: Creating a Leadership Presence