Leadership

The 10 Commandments of Leadership (From Walk the Talk)

1. Make What Matters Really Matter - Hold yourself and others accountable for bringing your mission to life.

2. Practice What You Preach - Be a role model for honesty, integrity, and walking the talk.

3. Communicate with Care and Conviction - Share what you know, be considerate and confident, and listen respectfully.

4. Create the Involvement You Seek - Provide team members with meaningful opportunities to participate.

5. Do Right by Those Who Do Right - Acknowledge and thank team members who meet or exceed your expectations.

6. Provide What They Need to Succeed - Make sure team members have the tools, training, and support necessary to do their best work.

7. Confront Challenges with Courage - Face difficult situations directly. Make the tough calls. Do what you know needs to be done.

8. Let Differences Become Your Direction - Appreciate the uniqueness of all of your team members. Use it to move you beyond the status quo.

9. Strive to Serve Others - Use your knowledge and skills for the betterment of all “customers.”

10. Go Forth and Prosper - Build a lasting legacy. Accept that your ultimate purpose is to help everyone become successful.

These "commandments" reinforce the core values of the Institute for Public Service and our commitment to our customers.

Board of Trustees to Meet

February 24-25 the UT Board of Trustees will conduct its quarterly meeting. A variety of committee meetings will occur prior to the full board meeting.

The Research, Outreach and Economic Development committee meets at 10:30 on February 24. IPS has 30 minutes on the agenda to showcase our 40 year anniversary. Part of the program will include remarks by Mayor Curtis Hayes of Livingston and La-Z-Boy Tennessee Vice President of Operations Darrel Edwards.

Having our customers tell our story will help the trustees understand the broad impact we have across the state.

IPS Employees at Work

IPS employees spend the bulk of their time working directly for our primary. customers. However, being part of the university requires us to commit some amount of time to serving on university-wide committees and task forces. The goal of each of these groups is to make the university a better place to work.

There are currently four active task forces with the following representatives:



* HR Policies Reviews - Bonnie Jones, MTAS
* Healthy "campus" initiative - Mandy Johnson, LEIC
* Compensation Advisory Board - Mary Jinks, central office
* Equity and Diversity strategy implementation team - Don Green, LEIC

I have asked each of these team members to give us a periodic update on the work of their group.

Joint Advisory Committtee Meeting

Each IPS agency has an advisory committee that meets on a regular basis. Never in our history have we had a joint meeting of all the committees. On February 21 all four committees will come together in Nashville!



The half-day program will include remarks from new UT President Joe DiPietro and presentations on the major program areas in IPS.

We hope this forum will provide an opportunity for committee members to gain a deeper understanding of all agencies of IPS and how our services interconnect and complement each other.

After the session, members will have an opportunity to visit their local legislators while they are in town, a rare opportunity for some of these members.

We look forward to a successful event.

IPS Awards

Pat Hardy, MTAS management consultant and team leader, and representatives from each agency met during the fall and early winter to review the entire IPS Awards program. It's hard to believe that it has been in place since 1978! Thanks to this team's excellent work, we made some improvements this year that will make it easier to understand who is eligible for which award.

There is excellent work going on across the institute on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we do not always take time to recognize it as much as we should. This is one formal way for employees to recognize their colleagues.

Please take 10 minutes and make a nomination - or several nominations! We typically give away about $7000 per year, so let's make the most of it.

Award site link

CMFO Graduation

MTAS recently graduated its first class from the Certified Municipal Finance Officers program. This two-year program came about when legislation was passed requiring cities to have at least one certified finance officer.

The first graduating class included 97 participants from 86 different cities. The largest city represented was Memphis (population 700,000) and the smallest city represented was Wartburg (population 890).

This program is possible because of our strong partnership with the State Comptroller's Office. Comptroller Justin Wilson made remarks and helped present the certificates. Director of Municipal Audit, Dennis Dycus, served as master of ceremony and MTAS Finance Consultant Dick Phebus made remarks.

Congratulations to the entire MTAS for this important milestone.