City of San Leandro
City Council Retreat
February 25, 2023
Facilitated by: Claire Laughlin
MRG Solutions
Welcome!
City Manager, Fran Robustelli
Public Comment
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
SINCE MARCH, 2022
Vision Zero Adopted
Guiding policy for traffic
safety and roadway design.
Housing Element Approved
2023 Housing Element
completed without exception,
placing San Leandro among a
small group of cities with that
distinction
Climate Action: Trees
$1.49 million grant obtained
and work began to reduce
urban temperatures.
Update PULL Policy
Council approved update to
strategy for unfunded
liabilities (PULL plan)
Completed Equity Plan
Completed a comprehensive
diversity, equity, and inclusion
plan.
AGENDA
San Leandro City Council Priority Work Session (9a – 4p) 9a - WELCOME
Retreat context, Overview of the Day
9:30a - COHESION
EXERCISE
Claire Laughlin (MRG) led discussion
10:35a - BREAK
10:45a – FINANCE FORECAST
Finance Director T. Michael Yuen to
present on City revenues, long-term
forecast.
11:45a – CREATING CLARITY
Working Lunch: prioritization by
Council through the Dot Voting
exercise
2:15p - BREAK
2:30p – BOND/REVENUES
Finance Presentation
01 02 03 04 05 06 07
Priority Setting Cycle
City Council
Sets Priorities
Work
Assigned to
Staff
Committee
Priorities
Align with
Council
Staff
completes
work
Council
Makes Policy
Today we
will…
• Explore what makes Good Governance and
the tools and skills of exceptional councils
• Develop commitments as a council for
working at our best together
• Learn more about the City’s long-term
forecasting
• Align on the City’s top 3 Priority Areas and
understand the role of the executive sponsor
• Prioritize the referrals that will move the
needle on each priority area
• Understand the “what and how” of revenue
generation options, and seek alignment in
next steps
Requests for
Participation • Commit to shared civility • Stay curious, not judgmental • Participate and speak your truth • Ensure everyone gets a turn • Watch your time • Practice active listening • Keep the process going 9 Warm-Up
• What would you like FROM the day?
• What are you willing to give TO the day?
How do you hope this council is
remembered?
In 2024 and beyond, what legacy will you leave?
How will we
create true
success during
this council
term?
• To achieve the best possible outcomes…
• Work well together
• Work productively with the City Manager
• Support city staff as they execute against the
top priorities that you have identified
Key
Characteristics
of Effective
Council
Members (ILG)
• Successfully transition from candidate to a
member of the council.
• Become a champion of the city. Make
decisions based on the needs and
interests of the community at-large / the
greater good.
• Develop, communicate and support policy
goals and council decisions.
• Demonstrate a willingness to work
collaboratively (as a team) and take a
citywide perspective.
Successful Council Relationships
Embrace Embrace diverse points of view
Trust Focus on building trust
Listen Practice active listening
Dialogue Disagree respectfully; engage in dialogue over debate. Steer clear of destructive conflict.
Commit Commit to civil discourse
DIALOGUE VS. DEBATE
Dialogue = Collaborative
Working toward common understanding
Goal: Finding common ground
Listen to understand, find meaning and seek
solutions
Expands and possibly changes points of view
Open to other interpretations
Causes introspection
Remains open minded; doesn’t need to be the
sole creator of the answer
Defer judgement
Debate = Oppositional
Attempting to prove each other wrong
Goal: Winning
Listens to find flaws and to counter the
arguments
Affirms your own point of view
Defends assumptions as truth
Causes critique
Accepts only one right answer. Zero sum
game
Judge
Recipe for Productive,
Collaborative Dialogue • Separate the people from the
problem
• Focus on interests, not positions • Invent options for mutual gain • Assume positive intent (Avoid questioning motives)
17 Active
Listening
in action
18 • Repeat key points.
• “I think you are raising three issues here.”
Summarize
• Repeat speaker words verbatim, deescalating the tone, if needed
Mirror
• Demonstrates speaker was understood
• “It sounds like you are saying..” “Is this what you mean?” Paraphrase
• Draw people out to learn about root causes
• “Can you give me an example?” “Tell me more?” “What do you mean by…?
Learn
Phrases to
use in the
moment:
• I see it differently from my colleague, but I know
they, like me are making the decision they are
making because they think it is in the best
interest of the residents.
• What am I missing?
• Can we take a break?
• I disagree, but I’m listening.
• Tell me more.
• I see it differently, maybe we can find common
ground.
19 “The most expensive thing in the world is trust. It can take years to earn and just a matter of seconds to lose ” - Jay Shetty
20 21
How would
you like to
work
together?
Out of all we have discussed…
• What behaviors would you like to see and
commit to, to develop and support trust?
• What behaviors help us have dialogue and
effective conflict and make thoughtful
decisions?
• What behaviors help us demonstrate our
shared commitment to our constituents?
• What behaviors really help us get the results
we have promised?
Small Group
Discussion
• What behaviors will help this council
perform at the highest level?
• Be specific.
• Prioritize.
• Which 2- 3 behaviors are MOST important?
• Which are you willing to commit to?
• Prepare a flip chart.
• 10 minutes in group, 3 minutes to present.
Break
Long Term Forecast
Presentation
Director of Finance, Michael Yuen
Focused Action:
Prioritization
Working Lunch
The City
Manager
Helps the City
“Work
Healthy”
How to make greater
progress?
*Graphics from Greg McKeown, Essentialism
Remember Covey’s Big Rocks?
Big Rocks First. That’s the Only Way it Works.
Let’s Review
Priority areas • Community Survey • Referrals
Let’s Dot Vote!
3 dots! Vote for your top 3!
Pathways to Action
Which referrals will really move the needle?
What is the FIRST action we should take? (What’s the WIN?) Executive Sponsorship
What does effective Executive Sponsorship
look like?
• An Effective Executive Sponsor is a Leader!
• Understands the vision
• Has the authority to align resources around execution • Demonstrates commitment to the initiative
• Can leverage resources and galvanize others
• Develops a workplan
• Can resolve barriers
• Communicates proactively
• Ensures timely results
Break
Bond / Revenue Discussion
Director of Finance, Michael Yuen
Closing
• What stands out as a highlight from today?