A division of HR

This interview with Katye Tipton, Director of the Department of Neighborhoods for the City of Houston, was conducted and condensed by Mahogany Johnson

MMJ: What is your vision for the future of your department?

KT: The Department of Neighborhoods is a relatively new department comprised of preexisting divisions. Early on I heard someone describe what we’re doing as building the plane while we’re flying it. I think that’s where we are now as opposed to then when we were just trying to get all the pieces organized and integrated to focus on problem solving and community engagement. I think now we’ve actually gotten it off the ground, and we’re moving it to where it needs to be and then on to where it can be.

Over the years, the City of Houston has grown in unimaginable ways. The creation of management districts and super neighborhoods has motivated a new sense of individual life, as well as the identification of common concerns and problem solving methods. Therefore, it is vital for the Department of Neighborhoods to maximize its human capital. The ideology of the Department of Neighborhoods is “One idea is a dream, but with the help of an entire neighborhood or community, that one idea will become a movement.” The benefits of a supporting cast provide for more efficient and effective projects; it cultivates community interaction, and aides in the access to various resources and services.

The Department of Neighborhoods is focused on the need for citizen leadership and participation and is charged with the delivery of human and community service. The primary goal for the Department of Neighborhoods is to:

• Encourage community involvement and participation
  
• Make Houston the most accessible city in the nation by working to remove barriers, physical and otherwise
  
• Bring together Houston’s international community by promoting their well-being and connectedness and facilitating their successful civic, economic, and cultural integration.

We will continue to promote the advancement of Houston neighborhoods through dedicated service, leadership opportunities, comprehensive education, and the improvement of the quality of life for its residents.

MMJ: What is your approach to performance management and how do you ensure your metrics reflect strategic drivers for organizational success?

KT: We’ve taken as many opportunities as possible to make our department the most efficient and effective department of our kind in the nation. We’ve taken a Lean Six Sigma approach that is highly used in the private-sector, and we’ve implemented many of the principles in our organizational models. Lean Six Sigma addresses the identification of unnecessary steps in our daily processes, as well as the implementation of standardized tasks. With a more data driven approach, we are now able to better serve our citizens because we now know better the needs on both sides.

I think we have to balance realism with ambition. We want to always raise the bar, but we have to consistently keep an eye on what is pragmatic as circumstances change. This past year our staff has stepped up and made great strides toward improving performance with some common sense approaches using only what we already have. For example, we put in place a small team to review 311 complaints prior to dispatching an inspector to the site. Oftentimes, there are duplicate complaints that previously went into a figurative hopper and were distributed to inspectors as they came down the line. Prior to a technology implementation coming soon, our staff thought of a way to save time and resources just by slowing things down a little on the front end to make them more productive on the back end.

MMJ: How does DON increase public awareness? What are a few highlights of the latest projects DON has implemented to help resolve neighborhood issues, and what has the response been from citizens on how we inform them of our progress?

KT: On any given night, you will see the Department of Neighborhoods interacting with civic associations all over the City. We’ve created programs, or partnered with community organizations, to address blight, disabilities awareness, after-school programs, volunteer efforts, and even gang intervention. We see ourselves as the first line of defense as it relates to community education and quality of life. One of our most notable programs has been the Mow-Down Program.

The program offers community groups a modest fee for mowing City-approved lots. The first mowing is done by City crews to make sure any dangerous material is removed and that it is safe for community partners to mow. Then, the community groups take responsibility for the lots. Participating groups are paid a modest fee of $50 for each approved cut once the work has been completed and verified. Each cut must be approved in advance. Keep Houston Beautiful provides participating groups with access to tools and supplies for the projects.

Abandoned properties approved for the program are located throughout the city. Participating groups are assigned to an approved property in their neighborhood. Civic associations and nonprofit organizations interested in maintaining a City-approved abandoned property are eligible to apply for participation in the program.

We’ve seen an amazing level of support from the City Council, the media, and the community.

We also increase public awareness via:

• Media communications including press conferences, media releases, story pitches, media interviews & reputation management
  
• Building and maintaining relationships and rapport with key media entities
  
• Social media messaging
  
• Cross-promotions with community partners
  
• Release of public records
  
• Cross-promotions with the Mayor’s Office, City Council offices and other City departments
  
• Electronic promotions & dissemination of printed literature
  
• Networking with community partners, nonprofit groups and business leaders
  
• Intensive work with Super Neighborhood Councils & outreach to civic groups
  
• Intergovernmental communications; e.g., with state and federal government elected officials
  
• Engagement of community experts as members of advisory committees
  
• Presentations at community meetings and events
  
• Outreach and neighborhood canvassing by liaisons & other department staff
  
• Field inspectors’ communication with residents
  
• Department-sponsored programs, activities & public events
  
• Partnerships addressing a full range of community needs, concerns and interests
  
• Outreach to specific population sectors and related agency and professional networks: students & parents, youth at-risk, people with disabilities, international communities
  
• Engaging residents in neighborhood improvement efforts and volunteer community service, including youth groups
  

MMJ: Fifty years ago this month, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration Act of 1965 into law with the goal of ending overt national origins discrimination in our immigration policy. In your role as the director of the Department of Neighborhoods there are many opportunities to collaborate with community partners on cultural integration. What have you seen the City of Houston doing to promote the wellbeing of immigrants and refugees?

KT: The Department of Neighborhoods values Houston’s cultural diversity and strives to serve the many people from all over the world who call Houston home. DON initiated the City’s first language access program to ensure that non-English speakers have access to essential information and/or can communication with staff when visiting the City of Houston. We also expanded our signature event, Citizenship Week into Citizenship Month to highlight and promote civic engagement among Houston’s diverse populations. We also have some fun and exciting events to showcase our international communities, including Discover Your World at Discovery Green and Human Rights Day, which will kick-off in December 2015. Finally, we value our nation’s commitment to help those seeking the path to citizenship by offering the U.S. Citizenship Forums at many different locations in Houston.

MMJ: What have your experiences in municipal government and the private-sector taught you about leadership?

KT: I’ve learned that leadership anywhere takes focus, patience, a steady hand, and perhaps most importantly, good humor. People fundamentally want to be heard, especially when they come to their local government. The simple math there is that we won’t always agree and we can’t always do the things people want us to do. I always try to manage expectations (a tall order) with these four things.

MMJ: How do you get people on your team to live your leadership philosophy?

KT: I think a lot about what Nelson Mandela said – “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”

We’ve made it a point to move from traditional leadership to dynamic leadership. Traditional leadership tends to focus on the oversight of employee production rather than the holistic approach to the organization’s core values and goals. Therefore, the new direction of the Department of Neighborhoods is to promote dynamic leadership, which allows for the inclusion of managers in both the creation and implementation of our department’s goals. This model has spread across the individual divisions and has generated a positive reaction in employee morale and culture.

I also think you have to own it. That has multiple angles. All of us inherit issues and problems, and even though we may not have created the problem, we have to call it ours in order to fix it. I don’t think there’s any way around that. I also think you have to surround yourself with people you trust who trust you. If that doesn’t flow well, there’s going to be a constant conflict. I just thought of a time I delegated a decision to an employee because she was onsite in the situation and I wasn’t. She made a decision that wasn’t popular (and so goes life) and it caused some other things to happen. Right or wrong, I owned it and I said so. The employee was not at fault. She did exactly what I told her to do.

MMJ: What are some of the greatest challenges facing women in leadership?

KT: I think we don’t put ourselves out there like men do. I also think we can be excessively critical of ourselves and each other. I don’t think men think like that, but I’m proud of how far we’ve come. I’m so grateful for the shoulders I stand on, those women who have gone ahead of me and blazed the trail - my grandmother, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, and those who aren’t done yet like Mayor Annise Parker and my favorite teacher, Ronda Lee. We’re now looking at the very real possibility of a woman in the White House and that’s really exciting for me.

MMJ: Did you ever find yourself in a leadership position where the experience was very different than you had anticipated? What did you learn from this situation?

KT: In May of 2015, Houston experienced one of the most devastating floods in years. While were we prepared to address recovery efforts, we did not anticipate the amount of damage caused by the flood. The damage assessments called for a visual survey that was to be recorded for the appropriation of FEMA funds. While we initially estimated the damage to be a few thousand properties, we conducted more than 30,000 surveys on paper, prompting leadership to pull additional staff from other divisions to sort, count and report.

Due to such a tedious task, we adjusted our survey and reporting method by configuring existing mobile software that was capable of reporting assessments real-time, thus alleviating the need for additional staff to handle administrative tasks.

I learned again that I have a pretty awesome staff. I think it was a bonding experience for this department. They worked seamlessly to conquer a herculean task on an impossible deadline.

MMJ: What advice would you give to budding professionals looking to break into your field of work and what qualities do you look for in a potential candidate?

KT: I’m a huge sports fan and I remember a sign I saw at a football game. It said ALL IT TAKES IS ALL YOU’VE GOT. I don’t think public service is for everyone, so I think it really has to be something you enjoy doing and often it takes a thick skin. People seem to think that because you work for the government, they can disparage you. You have to really be able to step back and see exactly what we make happen every second of every day in city government and tune out the rest.

As for the qualities I look for in anyone on my team, they have to be smart and nice. By smart, I don’t mean they should be the foremost authority on Shakespeare; I mean they should be able to look at something and determine if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck. And by nice, I don’t mean goody goody; I mean the heart to help and I want that with a good dose of mischief and irreverence. I don’t think we could live a day around here without healthy sarcasm, both the ability to dish it out and to take it. The rest will come.

MMJ: Tell me about a time you realized you had the power to do something meaningful.

KT: There are so many. One that immediately comes to mind is the first time I experienced our Back to School Fest. I was standing just inside the door at NRG as they let the 25,000-strong kids and their parents into the queue about 5:30 one August morning. Many had waited all night just to get there, so that they could get what they needed to go to school. I waited a little while and found a quiet place where I could call my mom and apologize for being a brat and not realizing I never had to do that. Meeting people’s needs on all levels is a gratifying thing.

MMJ: Is there anything that you would like to share with the City of Houston’s workforce, or something you wish people knew more about you or your department?

KT: The Department of Neighborhoods is a small department that delivers large impact in Houston communities. Our work is comprehensive because we don’t just address issues that affect the infrastructure of a neighborhood, but we also provide direct assistance to the people who live and work in a community. DON employees resolve code enforcement and nuisance abatement issues, but they also provide services for youth, families, the disabled, and those who are new to our city.

The "Step Up" Symposium is designed to provide current, practical, useful information to all City employees that are seeking to “step up” in their careers and professional development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Houston, TX—October 27, 2015—the Learning and Development Center's Organizational Development (OD) and Auxiliary Service team hosted its first annual Career Development Symposium on Tuesday, October 27.

The Symposium sessions provided attendees with impactful insights and recommendations on critical imperatives for realizing and sustaining career success. The concurrent workshops encompassed Career Planning and Goal-Setting, Lessons in Leadership, and Career Tools. The breakout sessions included topics on critical self-evaluation techniques, John Maxwell's five levels of leadership, career advancement, resume writing, and personal branding.

“We were excited to launch our first annual Career Development Symposium. This event was a platform for employees to engage with colleges and universities that are in our strategic partnership program as well as attend career building workshops. We hope that each employee that attended gained valuable insight and tools to further their careers. We were pleased to see employees fully engage in the breakout sessions and there were requests for encore presentation,” said Erika Johnson, OD Specialist.

At the Symposium, Annika Tycer, Head of McKinsey Talent Network, McKinsey & Company, facilitated a message on Ambition and Action. The Career Development Panel facilitated a discussion on "Career Success: What Does It Take?" The panel was comprised of Tracey Carmen-Jones, President of Water Light Group, Tracy Kearny, Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., Genaro Pena, Partner of Seeliger & Conde and Dr. Doug teDuits, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Visiting Assistant Professor of Management, University of Houston-Downtown. Attendees received expert advice on what it takes to create the highest level of success, happiness and reward in your career and work life.

About the Learning and Development Center

The Learning and Development Center (LDC) is a strategic development and employee performance improvement organization that offers comprehensive training solutions that significantly affect performance and institutional outcomes. The LDC’s consultancy is comprised of an experienced team of professionals with the knowledge and capabilities to design and implement strategies that help our clients’ achieve their goals. The LDC’s primary focus is to provide transformational learning programs that enhance the skills, job competencies, and improve performance and overall satisfaction for the City of Houston's workforce.

# # #

For more information, please visit http://houstontx.gov/ldc/

MMJ: In your opinion, what is the LDC's approach to learning and development, and how does this add to the ongoing discussion about the role of education in the development of city employees?

EH: For professionals in the field, it is common knowledge that training is a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, perfecting of skills, concepts, rules, or changing of attitudes and behaviors to enhance performance. The City of Houston HR – LDC has shifted its focus from training to learning due to changing demographics. Learning is seen as being self-directed, work-based processes that can lead to increased adaptive competencies (Reitman & Williams, 2006). Effective training produces learning communities with a connectivity and collaboration of people. The strategy of using training and learning in the development of city employees has proven to achieve the organization’s business approach.

MMJ: What is the favorite part about working for the LDC?

EH: The LDC is a learning organization. It is a place where members continually increase their volume to create the result they truly yearn for, expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, collective aspiration is set free, and members are collectively and individually learning. According to Mueller (2009), there are five attributes of a learning community: supportive and shared leadership, collective creativity, shared values and vision, supportive conditions, and shared personal practice. This concept is being practiced within the LDC.

MMJ: Motto or personal mantra?

EH: Once a task has just begun, never leave it until it’s done; be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all (grandma’s saying while raising me)!

MMJ: What are three words to best describe you?

EH: Goal driven about the release of human potential and expectations for human growth in the workplace.

• Passionate
  
• Highly motivated

MMJ: What is your role at the LDC?

TC: As a senior trainer of curriculum delivery services with the Learning Development Center, my responsibilities include designing, developing, facilitating, and evaluating training courses. In addition, I seek to define and quantify the education and training needs of individuals/departments and develop a general or specialized training course to meet their needs and enhance their job satisfaction and overall job productivity.

MMJ: In your opinion, what is the LDC’s approach to learning and development, and how does this add to the ongoing discussion about the role of education in the development of city employees?

TC: In my opinion, the Learning and Development Center utilizes a systematic approach that ensures its efforts will produce results that are quantifiably consistent. Through “on-boarding” and “on-going” training programs, the Learning and Development Center aligns its learning objectives with the City of Houston’s overall strategic plan, which enables employees to undergo trainings that improve their overall job performance, job satisfaction, and yields a positive impact upon the organization.

MMJ: Motto or personal mantra?

TC: My motto is “The DSM-5 exists for a reason.”

MMJ: What is the favorite part about working for the LDC?

TC: My favorite part about working for the Learning and Development Center is the opportunity that I am being given to use my passion, talents, and experiences in a way that will contribute to the overall success of the organization through helping individuals develop and/or enhance the skills necessary to perform their job effectively.

MMJ: What are three career lessons you’ve learned thus far?

TC: Three career lessons that I’ve learned thus far are (1) never undermine my own value, (2) build a community and not a hierarchy, and (3) start every day of my job as if it was my first day.

MMJ: What is your role at the LDC?

AH: My role is administrative coordinator for technical support of all the software programs utilized at the LDC.

MMJ: In your opinion, what is the LDC's approach to learning and development, and how does this add to the ongoing discussion about the role of education in the development of city employees?

AH: I believe the approach the LDC is taking is to provide the City of Houston employees, a learning institution exclusively devoted to providing core competencies and career development training that will continuously provide on-going and up to date training that will address ever changing needs of the department and the citizens of Houston.

MMJ: Prior to working at the LDC, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

AH: Going back a ways right out of high school, I worked for a video dating service (before online, of course) as a personal assistant to the owner.

MMJ: If given a chance, who would you like to be for a day?

AH: Oprah Winfrey

MMJ: Motto or personal mantra?

AH: “Dare to be different; dare to make a difference”

As managers, we are expected to hold career and professional development discussions with our employees, although many of us feel ill-equipped for these conversations. Are you unsure how or where to begin with your employees’ development? Do your employee development meetings produce the desired results?

This webcast, intended for managers and human resource and talent development professionals, will:

• Identify steps to having a positive career and development discussion with your employees.
  
• Identify the characteristics of an actionable individual development plan.
  
• Explain how to lead successful development conversations, including addressing common challenges.
  

David Hosmer, author of the September issue of TD at Work, “The Manager’s Guide to Employee Development,” will facilitate this webcast, which will help you create positive, effective career and development plans with your employees.

Topic: Leading Employee Development Conversations

Date: Friday, November 06, 2015

Time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Host: https://www.td.org/

Register:http://webcasts.td.org/webinar/1760

About the Speaker(s)

David Hosmer, Leadership and Organizational Development Lead, Thermo Fisher Scientific

David Hosmer, EdM, CPLP, has 26 years’ experience in organization development, learning and development, and coaching as a manager, director, and consultant across a variety of industries. He is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, MIT internal Leader to Leader, and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Art and Practice of Leadership Development, as well as a lifetime associate member of the Career Thought Leaders Consortium. David can be reached at CascadingCoaching.com.

Website: http://webcasts.td.org/webinar/1760

As business discussions delve more deeply into modern HR, including HCM systems, big data, engagement, behavioral analytics, etc., the bottom line is it’s all for naught unless HR is able to put systems in place to meet the expectations of the workforce. Modern workers want easy, 24/7 access and self-service options for a do-it-yourself freedom that offers them personal controls with no delays associated with third party intervention. The best HR service delivery models take all these concerns into account, and more.

Attendees of this webinar will leave with:

• A better understanding of what modern “core HR” is, and where it is headed
  
• An overview of the features intrinsic to top-tier HCM systems
  
• A review of the trends in core HR systems including user experience, simplicity, real-time updating, and mass personalization
  

Topic: Today's HR: Modern to the Core

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Time: 12:00 p.m. CST

Host: http://brandonhall.com/

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8417277547104426498

Website: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8417277547104426498

Today’s performance management: less evaluation, more conversation

Performance Management—every organization’s business performance depends on it. To that point, 88% of organizations have performance management in place but 70% believe the process drives no or little business value.

The issue—the traditional approach has focused on the evaluation process while today’s approach focuses on the conversations.

So is the new approach working? Does it really make a business difference? Our research says yes. For those who have replaced the “performance appraisal” with “performance conversations,” revenue and engagement increased, key performance indicators were achieved and voluntary turnover decreased.

Please join this webcast as Brandon Hall Group’s Laci Loew, Vice President and Principal Analyst Talent Management Practice, and Linda Miller, Product Manager Development Dimensions International, shares the secrets, practices, and approach that high performance organizations implement regarding performance management.

In this session, you will:

• Explore today’s performance management drivers, challenges, and philosophies
  
• Understand Brandon Hall Group’s proprietary framework for transforming performance management
  
• Learn the business value of adopting the new approach
  
• Hear DDI’s point of view on the value of “performance conversations”
  
• Gain insights around how to implement “performance conversations” and learn the organizational value it brings

Topic: Give Them The Opportunity for Their Best Performance

Date: Thursday, November 12, 2015

Time: 12:00 p.m. CST

Host: http://brandonhall.com/

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3529072053875425282

Website: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3529072053875425282

Just a few short years ago, many business leaders would never have been able to predict the challenges and opportunities facing the business world today. In addition, learning is at the intersection of many of the biggest trends affecting the workplace, and activity shows no signs of slowing down. From informal and collaborative learning to new technologies and training methods, we’re on the cusp of a new year bringing new opportunities and challenges to the learning profession. But that’s not all—organizations are steadily becoming more concerned with aligning L&D with business practices, measuring impact, and evaluating ROI. Are you ready for what’s coming?

In this research spotlight webinar hosted by a pair of Brandon Hall Group learning analysts, we will dig into how companies are structuring their learning practices to meet the needs of the business. On November 18th, please join Ben Eubanks, Learning Analyst, and David Wentworth, Principal Learning Analyst, at 1:00pm Eastern as they explore the latest trends affecting the world of L&D.

The discussion will cover various topics, including:

• Key findings from the Brandon Hall Group 2015 State of Learning Survey
  
• How to measure the impact of learning initiatives
  
• How learning strategies are formed
  
• What sets high-performing companies apart from the rest
  

This webinar will also include a sneak peek at the Brandon Hall Group DataNow tool and Membership Center for you to learn more about where you can find other relevant study information. In addition, we will reserve a Q&A time for you to share your most pressing questions about your organization’s learning challenges. We hope to see you there!

Topic: The State of L&D: Trends in Learning Technology, Strategy, and More

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Time: 12:00 p.m. CST

Host: http://brandonhall.com/

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4717301077491478530

Website: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4717301077491478530

The Learning and Development Center (LDC) develops and provides programs designed to empower and enhance employee skills and competencies for improved performance and job satisfaction. Our services also extend to external businesses, organizations, and communities.

Our mission is to build a world-class, responsive and results-oriented workforce by providing the following:

• Learning that meets critical business goals and needs
• Lifelong learning opportunities that will prepare employees for life and work in an increasingly technological society

The LDC is a two-story, 54,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility featuring:

• An auditorium capable of seating 150 with fold-down desktops
• Instructor computers connected to HD projectors and the Internet
• 170 available campus parking spaces
• Break-room area with microwaves and refrigerators
• Welcoming lobby area
• Open atrium for al fresco activities

Email: ldcrooms@houstontx.gov
Website: http://www.houstontx.gov/ldc/
Location: 4501 Leeland Street, Houston, TX, United States
Phone: (832) 395-4900
Facebook: facebook.com/COHLDC
Twitter: @cohldc

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*Opinions expressed in interview statements and messages from featured articles are not necessarily the views of the staff of the LDC or employees of the City of Houston.

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