Written by Katie Carr Miller

Public agencies operate with and through people with a dedication to the community they serve. One of the most important aspects of leadership is investing in those people by promoting, developing, and facilitating programs that build both soft skills (such as communication, and management of time, conflict, and tasks) and technical skills. Putting these types of programs into operation not only builds loyalty and ultimately stronger teams, but it also creates a more effective workforce that is better equipped to manage through the challenges and conflicts that inevitably arise in day-to-day operations.

Of course, one of the biggest challenges every agency contends with is finding the time and resources to successfully execute these types of programs. And that becomes one of the key reasons most agencies don’t provide them.

Two prime examples of agencies with whom we’re working to promote the softer skills of leadership include Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA). We commend them for the proactive support of their staff by engaging Left Lane Advisors to build and facilitate learning programs for their people with topics that include best practices of giving and receiving feedback, building trust-based teams, and managing through conflict just to name a few.