One of the primary objectives of the Management Council is to recognize what’s good in government – to celebrate successes, recognize qualities that epitomize excellent public service, and promote service within our community. To that end, the Council has developed a program whereby Management Council members nominate their peers for awards in a series of categories. An impartial panel of fellow managers reviews nominations and selects the top three candidates in each category to participate in the Awards Ceremony.
Runners up receive certificates of recognition and award winners receive handsome plaques delineating the award category, their name and date of award. It is quite an honor to receive such recognition – the Council firmly believes in the benefits associated with recognizing, promoting, and celebrating those individuals that help to make this one of the greatest counties to work in!
This year’s award categories include: integrity; superior public service; mentoring, innovation, and best kept secret.
CATEGORIES
Rising Star
Awarded to a new manager demonstrating great promise as an emerging leader. This person not only shows skill in core areas of leadership but displays a sincere desire to improve and grow as a new manager.
Note: “New manager” is defined as working within the first three years in a management position. Prior to this time, the candidate has not formally served as a manager at the County or in any other professional capacity.
Integrity
Awarded to a person who is noted for his/her honesty, openness, forthrightness, doing the right thing, honoring commitments, etc. Winners might include such people as those who speak truth to power, who are willing to take unpopular but technical correct actions, and who error on the side of accuracy rather than political correctness.
Superior Customer Service
Awarded to a person who is noted for his/her dedication to consistently high levels of service to stakeholders and clients, be they tax payers, citizens in general, fellow employees, etc. A winner of this award would be someone who meets and indeed exceeds client expectations consistently, with good humor and enthusiasm. Such managers consistently give government a good name.
Mentoring
Awarded to a person who is noted for his/her commitment to nurturing, supporting, guiding, and training of new team members (including new staff, encouraging their success in the art and career of public sector service. This person role models the ideal “team supportive” behaviors. This person is the kind of manager other managers hope to emulate and who employees hope to work for.
Innovation
Awarded to a person who is noted for his/her ability to “think outside the box,” one who has developed new and/or creative solutions to work place problems and job demands, exudes creativity, and is successful in generating clever and insightful ways of doing things, etc. Given the current budget situation, innovation in the areas of cost savings and greater efficiency is particularly worthy of recognition. A typical winner would be someone who does more with less and/or someone who approaches a problem in a whole new (better!) way.
Best Kept Secret
Awarded to a person whose contribution to the County and the community is uniquely ignored, unknown, and/or unappreciated. Such a person makes a valuable, perhaps even essential, contribution, but his or her efforts are greatly undervalued and mostly ignored or taken for granted. Nominees for this award deserve to be recognized and acknowledged.