THE SPINNAKER
Sailing with the direction of the wind
CULTURE IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY
by Doug Peach, Deputy Town Manager
Everyone must have a clear, consistent, shared understanding for our organization to achieve its desired culture. And everyone must work together in a deliberate and coordinated effort to cultivate it. While each person or group is accountable in their own way, everyone shares accountability for achieving and maintaining the desired culture
The Town Council guides the definition and development of the desired culture, ensuring that it aligns with the Town’s strategic plan and meets the needs of all stakeholders
The Town Manager is responsible for defining and developing the desired culture through leadership actions, including setting objectives, strategies, and key results that prioritize culture building. The Manager also designs the organization and its operational processes to support and advance the Town’s purpose and core values.
The Department Directors are responsible for designing employee experiences that demonstrate and reinforce the desired culture. They implement strategies and programs that enable the rest of the organization to fulfill their culture responsibilities This includes offering training programs that develop culture activities and employee engagement They also establish culture processes and systems that reinforce the desired culture, such as rewards and recognition programs
Middle managers deliver employee experiences that demonstrate and reinforce the desired culture implementing culture-building strategies, cultivating employee engagement with the desired culture, and fulfilling the culture-building responsibilities of employees.
FEBRUARY 2023
IN THIS ISSUE 1-2 1 ARTICLE: CULTURE IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS EVENT CALENDAR/EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT MILESTONES 2
4 WELCOME ABOARD 8 PICTURES & GOOD NEWS HR FACTS 6-7 MUNIS MINUTE 5 WELLNESS PROGRAM EVENTS & INFO 3 10-11 THE COMPASS 9
Team members provide input to the management team on the definition of the desired culture and culture-building programs and tactics by providing feedback on how the desired culture aligns with or differs from the actual culture, customer perspectives, and needs and expectations Team members should provide input on existing culture-building efforts and ideas for new ones. They also create, adhere to, and enforce routines and norms that demonstrate the desired culture. They must also align their attitudes and behaviors with the desired culture.
The days of building culture from the top down are obsolete. Instead, the culture must be emphasized from all directions. Our culture can only continue to expand throughout the organization and be sustained with all employees continually working to support it.
MUNIS MINUTE
2
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS EVENT CALENDAR
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Congratulations to Caitlan Biggs, Director of Administrative Services/ Town Secretary for receiving the Assistant of the Year Award in Memory of Valerie Bradley from the Texas City Manager's Association. This award recognizes the TCMA member who exhibits a fierce advocacy for advancing ethical local government leadership and the mentorship of young professionals. Caitlan was chosen among several nominees from across the state of Texas.
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25 POINTS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR SCREENING, FEBRUARY 13-15. REGISTRATION LINK SENT OUT VIA EMAIL FROM THE WELLNESS COMMITTEE. SCREENINGS WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE REC AT THE LAKEFRONT™.
10 POINTS FOR HEART HEALTH ONLINE SEMINAR
10 POINTS FOR EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM/WELL ON TARGET ONLINE SEMINAR
25 POINTS FOR COMPLETION OF BIG EASY 5K/10K ON MARCH 4. USE BIGEASYCITY10 FOR 10% OFF OF THEIR RACE FEE. INFORMATION BELOW ON SIGN-UP/REGISTRATION:
Visit www.littleelmwellnessprogram.com
INFO 4
WELLNESS PROGRAM EVENTS &
for
Wellness Program information.
more
WELCOME ABOARD!
NEW TEAM MEMBERS
Eric Erwin
Alaa Hasan
Darius Walker
Andrew Woodbury
Joseph Ketterer
Chandler McCann
Dalen Miller
Cheyenne Smith
Vincent Capriotti
Cassie Hoover
Alyssa Wells
Jarrett Bell
Mandy Biter
Keith Smith
Zac Clark
STAY CONNECTED
EMPLOYEE SMS TEXT PROGRAM
The Town offers an SMS text notification program to increase communication to team members.
This program allows us to push updates regarding Town events, Benefit/Wellness Information, FYIs, and general information that employees may find valuable
The program uses our Little Elm Alerts platform, Genasys, to send SMS notifications to your cell phone. Employees must opt-in to the text message program by signing up here. If you do not opt-in, you will not receive SMS text notifications. Scan the QR code to the left to sign up or visit https://qrco.de/bdIFEd.
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MILESTONES BIRTHDAYS
Jakob Smith 2/1
Wesley Brandon 2/2
Phil Kemmerer 2/2
Amanda Black 2/4
Caedmon Samsel 2/4
Jenny Glinka 2/5
Vanessa Solis 2/10
Grace Stafford 2/10
Robert Crawford-Smith 2/11
Mitchell Broussard 2/12
George Cornelious 2/12
Robert Donelson 2/12
Undre Shankle 2/12
Andy Adams 2/13
Valeni Bloemker 2/14
Daniel Boyd 2/14
Mary Pederson 2/14
Lucy Gonzalez 2/16
Ryan Sparks 2/16
Devin DeLuna 2/18
Jakob Franks 2/18
Albert Han 2/20
TJ Gonzalez 2/22
Claudio Coronado 2/23
DeeDee Hale 2/23
David Salomon 2/24
Wyatt West 2/24
Ben Hayes 2/25
Candace Reza 2/25
Rachel Hadidi 2/26
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MILESTONES ANNIVERSARIES
Raymond Smith 22 years
Kyle Tindall 11 years
Bennie Matthews 7 years
Donovan Irby 7 years
Sam Nevils 7 years
Dylan Green 7 years
Todd Dutschke 7 years
Matthew Fellenbaum 7 years
Garrett Rose 7 years
David Sagan 7 years
Austen McKinney 4 years
Corrie Herp 5 years
Daniel Cueva 4 years
Cody Meyers 3 years
Sherry Moores 3 years
Preston Bruner 2 years
Debranton Williams 2 years
Gloria Olivas 1 year
Robert Crawford- Smith 1 year
Jordan Wisner 1 year
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H.R. FACTS
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Providing equitable service to all stakeholders is an essential tenet of our Code of Ethics. The spirit of this tenet is very much at the heart of the form of local government that we have here in Little Elm.
When the Council/Manager form of government was founded more than 100 years ago, it was created by reformers seeking to weed out political patronage and corruption.
This was back in machine-era politics, where city services, contracts, and jobs were handed out to those loyal to the party bosses. The reform movement believed that all community members should be afforded the same opportunities and access to services regardless of their connections.
While many rules, procedures, and ethical tenets have their roots in this movement, providing equitable services to all is foundational. We provide the public with the services they need to live their lives and use their resources and tax dollars to do it.
This places a great responsibility on our shoulders to ensure that we are doing right by them and providing equitable service to everyone, not just those we like or those who have the right connections.
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THE COMPASS
Building
YOUR PICTURES & GOOD NEWS
10
Inspectors Lupe Rangel and Cory McDonald won Development's Marble League 2022 for Team Pinkies!
Community Integrity Manager Nathan Abato and Development Manager Rachel Mendoza at the SGR Conference.
Assistant Finance Director Dianne Lawson welcomed her eighth grandchild. Benjamin weighed in at 9 pounds and was 20 inches long and two weeks early!
Town Manager Matt Mueller and his wife Rachel celebrated 20 years of marriage last month!
YOUR PICTURES & GOOD NEWS
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Animal Services Officer Tamara Cervi shared that King Cole was adopted after 118 days in the shelter!
Youth Services Librarian Sara Sheraga adopted Nacho Teddy Bear into her family over Christmas!
Team members at MUNIS Training in January
