On July 27th, 2000, the Managers Forum Work group sponsored their first event designed exclusively for supervisors and managers in DENR. Jim Savage, Director, Public Manager Program, in the Office of StatePersonnel, hosted and moderated a dialogue on leadership before a capacity crowd in the Ground Floor Hearing Room of the Archdale Building. Fifty-one participants shared their observations and experiences on the topic of leadership.

Jim made some introductory remarks about the difference in "leadership" and "management". Leadership deals with intangibles. Management is a process of imposing structure and control. "But the worker has a great deal of control over how they spend their time", Jim said. "Leaders must tap and focus the energy of the workers".

Northern Pike Video...
The participants viewed a video [Northern Pike experiment]. The video showed a fish in a tank. Researchers released minnows into the tank to demonstrate that the fish, a Northern Pike, would eat them. The Pike was hungry and aggressively ate many minnows. The next day, a bottomless glass jar was gently lowered into the tank. Minnows were then released into the glass jar, thereby visible to the now hungry Pike, but not
accessible. The pike banged his head against the glass jar several times before finally giving up. The culmination of the experiment was to remove the glass jar and allow the minnows to move freely within the tank. Would the pike try to eat the minnows now? The Pike just sat there. Minnows came close to the Pike's mouth, swimming all around him but the Pike didn't bite! He remembered banging his nose against the glass jar too many times.

Jim Savage asked participants to discuss and interpret the video related to management at their tables. He asked them to think about the pike, eating, the tank, minnows, the glass jar, the researchers, etc. When folks shared their stories, here is what they said:

First response: The Pike is the manager. Eating is the job requirement. The tank is the work environment. Minnows are the product we produce. The glass jar represents policy, rules, and procedures (i.e. barriers to productivity). The researchers, standing over the tank and watching the experiment, represent senior management (not doing anything). The researchers see the "error" and remove the barriers (the glass jar), but the Pike (the manager) remembers the bruised nose.

Second response: The Pike represents the employees. The tank is the work place. The minnows are tasks. The jar represents barriers. The researchers "created" the glass jar (maybe they are the manager). Eating represents those days when we are feeling productive (i.e. the glass jar is removed). Somedays we are not feeling productive (i.e. the glass jar is in place).

Third response: The Pike is a new employee. Eating is natural creativity and the motivation a new employee feels. The glass jar represents all the barriers we face in our career that eventually make us complacent (i.e. m"We don't do it that way here", "We have rules", "That's the way we've always done it")

Jim's observations about the video...Top leaders need "glass jars" to have predictability. Structure lends control. But do we really need that much control? Jim asked the room: "How many of you sign in each day? If you didn't sign in, would you come anyway? How would they know you are here?"

People at their best...Jim Savage asked the group to form pairs and tell your partner about a time when you were at your best. In this exercise, the listener would tell the group their partner's story in terms of the organization, conditions of work, and leadership.

A summary of responses... When were you at your best?
- I was free to figure out how to do the job.
- A serious crisis needed response.
- It was during a time of change.
- I helped others do their job better.
- I was being asked to do something really important.
- I had confidence in myself.
- There was a definite objective.
- My team skills were needed and people were valued.
- There was no preconceived notion of the solution to a problem (How many have had to deal with a solution that someone else came up with? It is nice to be given the conditions and allowed to work on the solution yourself).
- I felt trusted and my opinion was respected (If you give ideas to your boss and they are always coming up with one better, you will soon stop coming up with ideas).
- I felt valued (This is characteristic of people in the environmental field).
How many people got a salary increase for the project or task they were talking about in the answers above?
Jim Savage suggested that money is not why they did it.

All you have to do is make money!
Jim told us a story: He once had an opportunity to send a promising government employee to a celebrated management school for top CEOs and executives. At this school, students would actually run a business as a practical learning experience. Not long after the school was completed, Jim received a phone call from his contact with the school, singing the praises of this student he had sent. She was great, best in her class,
organized, disciplined, a superb planner. Jim asked her how she managed to impress them and do so well. Her answer? "It was easy. All you had to do was make money."