Strategic Planning
Articles
“Responsible Leadership: Hearing the Voices of Accountability,”
America’s Byways Resource Center; Vistas, July/August 2003
Strategic Planning: Responsible Leadership and Accountability
From the time we are little kids, responsibilities start pilling up. We quickly learn what we are responsible to do: Pick up toys, feed the dog, finish homework, find a job, pay bills on time, collect data, write reports…the list goes on…and on.
We don’t always think about whom we are doing it for, just that it has to be done to get a certain result.
As a leader in the byway community, you might find that the weight of responsibility can feel as heavy as a load of wet cement. That’s why making strategic plans, prioritizing and building partnerships are critical. Strategic plans make the workload more manageable. Step by step, the goals in your plan are accomplished and the load is easier to manage as its divide between many groups and individuals.
When goals are set and plans are made, it is clear what you are responsible to do. It is equally important to be clear about the people and organizations you are responsible to. Your group needs to ask, “Who is going to hold us accountable to do what we say we will and the results we promise?”
Byway groups often hear a chorus of stakeholder voices, each insisting on accountability. Sometimes the chorus is one of sweet harmony, other times it’s of clanging dissonance. Attention must be paid to each voice so that you can clarify what you are responsible to do and how others will know that you’ve done it.
Responsible leadership compels us to work with integrity and with an ear to the sound of a system in harmony. Ultimately, the voices you as a byway leader need to pay attention and be accountable to are those that express the vision of your byway. A key to leadership for a byway leader is to be able to hear each of the many voices, sort the demands within the vision of the byway and see that everyone is focused on working toward your common goals in a cooperative manner.
THE VOICES OF ACCOUNTABILITY
The Voice of the Byway Community
When the U.S.Secretary of Transportation designates a National Scenic Byway or an All-American Road, that road becomes part of a collection and a member of the byway community.
The Federal Highway Administration and the America’s Byways Resource Center promote and foster networking among the byway groups across the country.
As part of the community, you are responsible to each of the other groups, just as they are to you. Together, you may share great ideas, describe lessons learned, pass on tips for success and respond to requests for information.
Staff members at the Resource Center and FHWA frequently receive requests for examples from other byways. If staff members know of a good example, they encourage the two byway leaders to talk with each other. Byway groups are eager and willing to share what they know about what has worked and what hasn’t. The Resource Center credits the byway community itself - you - for being generous with your knowledge (a sign of true leadership) and keeping the non-competitive spirit of the program.
Another effective way to ask for or share information is through the discussion forums at www.bywaysonline.org. Byway leaders receive an e-mail notice when a discussion has started. You probably have read some of them over the past year. Responsibility to the community should also pull you toward action. Post a response and be part of the discussion. The national scope of the program lends itself well to taking advantage of this technology.
The Voice of the Corridor/Resource
You’re probably familiar with the idea that the essence of the byway is a way to focus on the core of a corridor’s significance. This is tied closely to the intrinsic quality(s) identified in original nominations for designation and likely to be carefully addressed in your corridor management plan.
Byway groups are responsible to those intrinsic qualities and the features and points of interest that showcase them. You are responsible to the road itself and the resources that make it a special place. One way to identify which resources are crucial to preserve and protect is to ask, “Would the place still be the same if that feature disappeared?” Answers to this question may help your group decide when to support or when to oppose a particular project.
Perhaps a byway has been designated for the recreational intrinsic quality. The nomination and corridor management plan specifics protection of the forested area immediately adjacent to the road for hiking and camping. If a proposal was made to log the trees, clearly the place would change and the group would rally to oppose that idea. However, if there was a proposal to widen the road to add bike lanes that did not affect the hiking and camping opportunities, the group would not oppose that idea, and may even offer formal support for it.
It’s important to do an inventory of the resources along the corridor with the intrinsic quality(s) in mind. Change is bound to occur over time. The key is to know which changes to support and which to oppose—even which to bring about yourself.
The Voice of the Traveler
Of course, the accountability choir has a voice that carries the major melody. When a byway is designated and becomes part of the collection, it welcomes visitors from across the country—and the world. You are responsible to those visitors as they make their travel plans and when they are on your road.
The description of your byway on the website and in all marketing materials should be true and authentic. People take special care when they plan how they will spend their precious free time. They trust that what they read in your marketing materials is an accurate description of what they will find when they arrive.
Travelers need to know that they will have unique experiences when they visit America’s Byways, including seeing, hearing and touching the intrinsic qualities. They will pass the word on to friends and the reputation of the collection will continue to build.
The byway group, upon designation, has signed up to be a steward of the corridor. They have stated to the program that they are ready, willing and able to see that this corridor and its intrinsic quality(s) will remain intact and available for the traveler. This is a big responsibility and one that is central to the National Scenic Byways Program.