By Zenell Brown, Executive Court Administrator, Third Circuit Court
(Wayne County)
A Google search for “reasons for strategic planning” returns 7,650,000
results. Concerns about the costs and
the amount of time and resources required for strategic planning can overshadow
all 7.65 million responses.
Successful strategic planning for courts requires assembling a team of
judges and administrative professionals who are willing to spend multiple days
working on controversial issues, who value the diverse perspectives and opinions
that differ from their own, and who are willing to champion the mission of the court
and the focus areas that will help ensure that the mission is furthered. And, once they have a plan in hand, they must
be willing to promote it by recruiting team members and partners (human capital)
to help implement it. Furthermore,
strategic planning requires a facilitator who is familiar with the
particularities and peculiarities of the court system, and who is adept at
leading a group of judges and court professionals. Simply put: It’s hard work!
In response to my recommendation to develop a strategic plan, Chief Judge Robert J. Colombo, Jr., decided it was time for
the Third Circuit Court to do the hard work in spite of the financial and time
commitments. The court needed to develop
a well-thought-out plan that captured the collective thoughts and concerns of
the judges, administrators, employees, partners, court users, and the
public. The plan would have to survive
possible changes in leadership and be a living document, with yearly initiatives
that could be tweaked and adjusted to meet the changing needs of the court.
Some unanticipated benefits of going through the strategic plan process
were the leadership development and relationship building that occurred. The chief judge and I selected the deputy court administrator (DCA) of the criminal division, Alisa
Shannon, to serve as the lead coordinator of the Strategic Plan Committee. Having someone other than the chief judge or executive
court administrator lead the strategic planning was the first step to
demonstrating inclusion and the recognition and appreciation of others’
leadership abilities. Her first order of
business was to help assemble the Strategic Plan Committee and then coordinate
the committee’s selection of the facilitator.
Everyone
agreed that Brenda J. Wagenknecht-Ivey, Ph.D., of Praxis Consulting, Inc., was
the person to lead us. DCA Shannon proved
her ability to lead a courtwide initiative while remaining up-to-date on her
regular duties, and agreed to coordinate the court’s implementation phase,
which is just getting started. This phase
has opened up courtwide leadership roles to others, especially some of the
newer managers and administrators.
Working in small and large groups during the strategic planning meetings,
judges and court professionals conversed on many topics. Dr. Ivey used ice breakers and team-building
exercises to foster relationship building, and the participants got to know a
lot about each other. For many courts,
this may not sound unique or noteworthy, but the Third Circuit Court is spread out
at four locations, and within the last two decades there has not been any courtwide
activity with the bench and the administrators. Only within the last three years have
administrators been expected to conduct business on-site at all campuses and
employees are no longer required to travel to another building to receive
services.
Also, because of their busy dockets, judges had little time outside of a
scheduled quarterly lunchtime meeting to meet with judges from other divisions.
During strategic planning, the judges
and administrators went from finally being able to associate a name with a face
to being able to get to know each other better -- the work challenges and some
of the hobbies and accomplishments of the committee members. What emerged was appreciation and a sense of community.
At this time, the court has a plan: 6 focus areas, 26 courtwide
initiatives, and 17 divisional initiatives (see below). The number one priority was to address pay and
benefit issues, as they continue to lead to increased hard-to-fill vacancies
and impact the level of service. The court
has realized some success on that initiative, negotiating and receiving the
funding unit’s approval for a minor wage increase for the first time in more
than 10 years and to pay employee bonuses that will not impact the final
average compensation calculations for the county retirements. This is a small victory, but the implementation
has just begun and the desire to press forward on the other initiatives is
intense.
Google offers 7.65 million results for why to strategic plan; hopefully,
sharing our experience gives a real-life example of why courts should give it
-- and the hard work involved -- serious consideration.
Want to hear more? Contact me at zenell.brown@3rdcc.org or 313-224-5261.
Zenell has two decades of experience of leading
change in the court environment. She has served as an attorney, mediator,
supervisor, and director, helping families resolve disputes and creating child
support initiatives to improve the well-being of children. She has shared
the challenges and success of her work with local and national audiences.
Currently as Executive Court Administrator of the Third Circuit Court,
Zenell oversees a budget of approximately $130 million and directs a staff of
600 professionals and support workers. She supports the 58 elected judges
in their efforts to resolve over 60,000 cases each year. A graduate of
University of Detroit Mercy (B.A.) and Wayne State University Law School
(J.D.), Zenell continues to be a lifelong learner.
