Navajo Study Finds Council Micromanaging

A 2005 study commissioned by the Navajo Nation Council to evaluate its effectiveness found that it has poor legislative record-keeping, delegates are prevented from dealing with issues that should be heard by the full Council but often are not, and oversight committees spend more than half their time micromanaging executive branch functions. Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., said the report documents what is commonly known among tribal employees and division directors and that as a report card, the report gives the council a low grade.

The Navajo Council is not alone. All too often elected officials feel they know how to run the operation or division better than the people hired to do so even though they have little or no experience. And as the report notes, micromanaging the government agencies leaves the council little time for addressing broad policy issues. At our sessions held for government or nonprofit managers, the most often voiced complaint is that the council or board is always telling them how to do their job. The best advice for elected officials or board members is that they let managers manage and they concentrate on the big picture. They need to put their efforts into policy-making and community leadership. There is a distinction between the leadership that is provided by elected and appointed officials and the leadership provided by management. If you are an elected or appointed official, focus on leading and leave day-to-day operations to the managers.

So the question becomes, how do you make sure your tribal employees are implementing the policy and goals established by the elected council or appointed board? An effective tribal council or board must first detail the duties of the people who directly report to them. This is done by providing people with position descriptions and establishing goals, objectives and directives. The goals, objectives and directives for staff are a result of the development and annual review of the government's or organization's Strategic Plan. A quarterly review for the high level staff that reports to the council or board will ensure that their agencies or departments are on track with the overall goals and objectives of the council or organization.

This evaluation process holds the staff accountable while allowing them a degree of decision- making discretion. The governing body must agree on and conform to a chain of command when interacting with the staff and other shareholders. These boundaries may already be in existence in the bylaws or in the written policy and procedures of the governing body. If not, a Code of Ethics or some other written policy document should be considered to establish an official procedure for communications to staff and for decisions on day-to-day operations.