UVA Batten Associate Professor of Public Policy Andy Pennock was a plenary speaker recently at the inaugural Georgia Mayors Leadership Academy. The three-day program provided mayors from cities of all sizes and areas of the state an immersive learning experience about how to cultivate relationships, respond effectively during crises, advance community engagement and more.  

“Mayors face a unique set of leadership challenges,” he told the group of about 60 mayors. “They are often the best known elected officials in their communities, and  are under public pressure to create change while often being constrained by the city councils and city mangers they work alongside. It’s a difficult job when all is going well, not to mention leading in crisis situations and in complicated change efforts.”

Pennock talked about identifying and addressing both technical and adaptive, or human-centered, challenges. Technical problems within an organization such as a city can be solved by applying existing know-how and problem-solving processes, he said.  

Adaptive problems, on the other hand, in which people are the problem, resist these kinds of solutions because they require individuals to alter their ways. To make real progress, Pennock said, sooner or later those who lead must ask themselves and the people in the organization to face a set of deeper issues — and to come to grips with a solution that may require losses as well as gains.    

“Mayors must lead in two arenas: the public square, where they interact with voters and community stakeholders, and city hall, where they need to exercise leadership with government employees, fellow elected officials and other municipalities who provide the services constituents depend on.  It’s difficult work and they deserve the support that programs like this provide.”

Pennock returns to teaching at Batten this fall after spending the 2023-24 academic year in Slovenia on a Fulbright scholarship. There, he taught leadership at the IEDC-Bled School of Management, collaborated with faculty on a curriculum mapping initiative and gave lectures and seminars at universities across Slovenia. 

The mayoral academy last month was sponsored by the Georgia Municipal Association and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Pennock participated in a similar program in the spring of 2023 for state legislators in Georgia elected to their first term, with an equal number of Republican and Democrat members. The sessions focused on how to be effective legislative leaders. 

Pennock said the response from participants at both of the Georgia programs was overwhelmingly positive. With the increasing complexities involved in governing today –   from AI and misinformation to deepening political polarization – elected officials need training about how to lead effectively on a host of issues, he said.

“The eyes of the nation are on Georgia. Programs like this one that equip elected leaders for the challenging work of helping their communities grapple with difficult problems is good for American democracy as a whole.” 

Photos courtesy of Walt McBride, University of Georgia.