Our View: When Towns Nurture Leaders, Communities Win

A couple of decades ago, when one of our towns was seeking a new department head, a joke was circulating among the workers: What’s the definition of an expert? Somebody who’s not from here.

It seems to us that organizations can follow two strategies when choosing their leaders. They can hire an outsider whose aim is to shake things up and fix longstanding problems, or they can promote from within, letting the new candidate introduce fresh ideas without a broad cultural change in the organization. In most levels of municipal government, the better choice is usually to promote from within. Internal candidates not only have the benefit of training and experience already paid for by the town, but they’ve got roots — and housing — here.

Chatham Town Manager Jill Goldsmith made the right decision in promoting Louis Malzone to police chief and Sarah Harris to deputy chief. The previous chief, Mike Anderson, made this possible by cultivating leaders in his department, as his predecessor had done. The result is a change of leadership that brings the opportunity for new ideas and growth, while holding fast to the best practices developed over the years. And we’ve no doubt that Malzone and Harris are focusing their energies on identifying and building talent in the department’s ranks with the goal of identifying the next generation of leaders.

We’ve been observers of town government long enough to know that there are exceptions to this rule. Sometimes, a candidate is needed with specialized technical skills that can’t be found in its existing employees. And occasionally, an organization needs a wholesale change of culture, or suitable internal candidates just aren’t available to fill the next leadership vacancy. But more often than not, these problems are a symptom of short-sighted leadership in the first place.

We urge our towns’ select boards to support and reward bosses who invest in the next generation of leaders. When towns are able to find the best leaders in their own ranks, the public wins.