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briefed before speaking publicly.

Ultimately, the determination of who should carry out the policies of the
organization rests on the shoulders of the Board of Directors and its

executive committee. The Board is the governing entity and the
practitioner is employed by it to carry out its policies. When the economic
developer can no longer do this to the satisfaction of either party or both
parties, it is probably time to consider moving on.

Patient coalition-building, altering agendas so that new priorities get
appropriate and adequate attention, being visible when things aren’t going

the way they are expected to, and being willing to give credit to others
when programs are working well are all requirements of the executive
director. It also is necessary to build a loyal team that speaks more or less
with one voice, listens carefully, speaks with encouragement, and
reinforces words with believable action (“walk the talk”). It means taking

risks when necessary, being willing to innovate and experiment in order to
find new and better ways of doing things, being forceful when necessary,
having a greater concern for results than for the safety of status quo, and
the willingness to take responsibility for failures when necessary.
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Most importantly, the economic development professional should involve

the community’s leadership in the economic development process and
should be a catalyst for action. Probably the most valuable duty that the
economic developer has to perform is to discover, inspire, stimulate,
develop, and train voluntary leaders to become more effectively engaged in
the local economic development process.

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Peters, Thomas J. & Waterman, Robert H. In Search of Excellence (New York NY: Warner Books, 1982), p. 82.
David Kolzow 309