Leadership in These Tough Times
We asked Springfield Mayor Christine Lundberg to write the following piece on civic leadership from the perspective of the city. Lundberg was reelected in May 2020 to serve another term as mayor of Springfield.
Leadership in tough times is the same as leadership in good times. My role is to always be looking ahead, whether its planning ahead for the next six months, six years, or even longer. The COVID crisis has certainly defined our current situation, but our goals remain the same. A safe and healthy community, successful businesses, and a well-educated workforce to fill the jobs of the future.
What changes in a crisis, like the one we are in, is the roadmap to reach our goals. City government is at the center of planning for the short-term and long-term success of Springfield. As city leaders, the council and I have the responsibility to build that roadmap, and we do not do it alone. We are building with our partners. Our TEAM Springfield partners, The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, regional partners, and our state and federal partners.
Our other partner is the public. It is always on my mind that I am a public servant. The public has entrusted me to serve on their behalf. The trick is to balance community needs with our agency partners needs and the professional advice of staff. The COVID crisis makes everything more complicated, but there are pluses to the approaches we are adopting to keep the community moving forward.
As mayor and city council, we have counted on city staff to bring us the best information and plenty of options to help businesses and community members navigate social distancing and sheltering in place. City staff has been very flexible and creative and deserve a lot of credit. The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce has been right there with us.
Our current experiences and the ongoing challenges that we are facing have not altered our goals. Rather, they have provided important lessons and helped to forge stronger partnerships throughout our community, and these have helped us to develop a clearer picture of how to come out of this tough time. We will continue working together and remain focused on achieving our shared goals.
