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COVER STORY <br /> <br />Of Highly Effective Councils <br /> <br />ocal government operations directly affect our daily exis- <br />tence and experiences and the quality of life that we per- <br />ceive we have within our communities. No local govern- <br />ment deserves, nor should its citizens tolerate, a <br />council or governing body that isn't extraordi- <br />narily effective and competent in leading the <br />community. <br /> Thomas Cronin, a recognized authority on public policy, <br />defines leadership as "making things happen that might not <br />otherwise happen and preventing things from happening <br />that ordinarily might happen. It is a process of getting peo- <br />ple together to achieve common goals and aspirations. Lead- <br />ership is a process that helps people transform intentions <br />into positive action, visions into reality." <br /> The quality of leadership effectiveness demonstrated by a <br />governing body and its ability to be a highly effective council <br />are not attributes bestowed upon it by a swearing-in cere- <br />mony. They are the results of disciplined adherence to a set <br />of fundamental principles and skills that characterize highly <br />effective governing bodies. Here, then, are 10 "habits" of <br />highly effective councils, based upon the author's observa- <br />tions of hundreds of governing bodies over the past 20 years. <br /> <br />4 <br /> <br />NOVEMBER 1997 <br /> <br /> <br />