Don’t Be Afraid of Getting Fired

Fear of losing the position can quietly become one of the greatest threats to effective leadership.

Written by Chris Mann, City Manager of Wildomar, California, and host of the Gov360 podcast.

There is a peculiar contradiction at the heart of city management. We are entrusted with enormous responsibility, yet our own professional security can be remarkably fragile.

City managers oversee complex organizations, manage substantial public resources, advise elected officials, respond to crises, negotiate agreements, lead employees, and make recommendations that can shape communities for generations. At the same time, our continued employment ultimately depends upon maintaining the confidence of a city council whose composition, priorities, and political environment can change.

Every city manager understands this reality intellectually. Understanding it emotionally is something different.

Fear of losing the position can exert a powerful influence on leadership. It can affect which recommendations we make, which conversations we initiate, how forcefully we defend professional advice, and how willing we are to challenge assumptions. Left unchecked, that fear can gradually transform the central question of leadership from “What does this organization need from me?” into “What do I need to do to survive?”

That is a dangerous transition.

The Insecurity Built Into the Profession

City managers occupy an unusual position in American governance. We are professional administrators working within inherently political institutions. We are expected to remain politically neutral while operating in environments shaped by elections, constituencies, competing priorities, public pressure, and changing political coalitions.

That arrangement is one of the strengths of the council-manager form of government. Elected officials establish policy and remain accountable to voters. Professional managers administer the organization and provide expertise, continuity, and professional judgment.

It also creates unavoidable tension.

The city manager must maintain the confidence of the governing body while retaining enough professional independence to provide candid advice. A manager who disregards the council cannot function effectively. A manager who becomes consumed with preserving council support can become equally ineffective.

This is why courage is more than an admirable personality trait in city management. It is a professional requirement.

There will eventually be moments when sound professional judgment conflicts with the easiest political course. There will be recommendations that create discomfort. There will be organizational problems that powerful people would prefer not to confront. There will be moments when the responsible advice is also the advice most likely to create resistance.

The quality of our leadership is often determined by what we do in those moments.

When Survival Becomes the Objective

Most city managers would never consciously decide to compromise their integrity to preserve their employment. The more significant danger is gradual accommodation.

It begins with small calculations.

Perhaps a manager decides that this is not the right time to raise a difficult issue. A recommendation gets softened. A necessary organizational change gets postponed. A councilmember's conduct goes unaddressed because confronting it seems too risky. An employee is treated differently because someone politically influential has taken an interest in the matter. Professional advice becomes increasingly shaped by an assessment of how each individual councilmember might react.

Each decision can appear reasonable in isolation. Collectively, they can fundamentally change how a manager leads.

The manager begins anticipating political consequences before exercising professional judgment. Maintaining five votes, or at least the three necessary to remain employed, becomes an organizing principle of administration. This is where fear becomes institutionally consequential.

City councils need managers who understand politics. Political awareness is indispensable to the work. Managers should understand the interests, pressures, personalities, constituencies, and priorities surrounding important decisions. Political acumen helps a manager determine how to communicate, when to engage, where resistance is likely to emerge, and how to build durable support. That awareness becomes problematic when political survival begins determining professional advice.

A city manager should know where the political land mines are. That does not mean the manager should spend an entire career walking around them.

The Responsibility to Give Candid Advice

One of the most important responsibilities of a city manager is to tell the governing body what it needs to hear. Sometimes that message will be welcome. Sometimes it will not.

A budget may be structurally unsustainable even when elected officials are reluctant to reduce services or consider additional revenue. An employee issue may require action despite political relationships. A development proposal may generate significant opposition while remaining consistent with adopted policy and the community's long-term interests. An aging facility may require substantial investment when there is little political enthusiasm for spending the money. Professional administration requires managers to identify these realities clearly and communicate them candidly.

The council retains the authority to make policy decisions. Once lawful direction is given, the manager has an obligation to implement it faithfully. The advisory responsibility that precedes that decision, however, has enormous value. Councils should be able to rely upon their manager to provide the strongest professional assessment available, including when that assessment is inconvenient.

Fear can corrupt that relationship because it encourages managers to reverse the sequence. Instead of determining the strongest professional recommendation and then considering how best to communicate it, the manager begins by determining what the council wants to hear. Over time, this can deprive elected officials of one of the principal benefits of professional management. A manager who consistently tells the council what is politically comfortable may remain popular for a period of time. The organization still pays a price.

The First Time Is the Hardest

I learned this lesson through one of the most difficult experiences of my professional life.

Six years into my career as a city manager, after successfully leading two cities, I found myself, as our profession euphemistically calls, “in transition.”

For legal reasons, there are details surrounding that separation that I cannot discuss. I can say that the experience affected me profoundly. When your career, identity, reputation, and family life are connected to a position, the possibility of losing it does not feel like an ordinary employment event. It feels existential.

During that period, an experienced city manager and longtime friend reached out to me. He had been through several such transitions during a long career in the profession. He told me something I have never forgotten.

"The first time is the hardest."

He described how intensely he had fought to hold onto a position during his first transition. He had seen managers become so frightened of losing their jobs that they began bending themselves around the objective of survival. People under that kind of pressure can find themselves considering actions they ordinarily would reject, compromising standards, appeasing people they should be advising, and gradually losing the independence that made them valuable leaders in the first place.

Then he explained what happens afterward. You discover that you survive. Your experience still belongs to you. Your accomplishments still belong to you. Your professional relationships remain. Your abilities remain. Your values remain. The title can disappear without taking any of those things with it.

His prediction proved remarkably accurate. I spent time with my wife and young children. I had an opportunity to reflect on the kind of leader I wanted to be. I launched Gov360, an idea that became one of the most fulfilling professional projects I had undertaken. Six weeks after entering transition, I accepted another city manager position. The experience fundamentally changed my relationship with professional risk.

I understood, in a way I had never understood before, that I would be okay.

What Fear Costs an Organization

The consequences of fear extend beyond the individual manager.

Organizations learn from the behavior of their leaders. If employees see a city manager retreat whenever political pressure intensifies, they notice. If department heads believe their professional recommendations will be abandoned when controversy emerges, they adapt accordingly. If employees conclude that organizational decisions are driven primarily by political safety, candor declines. Eventually, people stop bringing difficult information forward.

This can be particularly damaging at the executive level. Department heads need to believe they can identify problems, challenge assumptions, and provide candid advice without leaving themselves professionally exposed. The city manager sets that expectation through behavior.

Courage is therefore contagious. When managers remain composed under pressure, protect employees who are acting professionally, and stand behind well-founded recommendations, they create space for others to exercise professional judgment. That does not mean defending every staff recommendation or refusing to change course. Strong managers should challenge their teams rigorously and acknowledge when another argument is stronger. The critical issue is whether the organization believes decisions are being made from judgment or fear. Employees can usually tell the difference.

Courage Requires Relationships

Leading without fear does not mean disregarding relationships. In fact, relationships make courageous leadership more sustainable.

One of the other lessons I discussed in Episode 6 of Gov360 was that city managers should spend more time building relationships with their elected bosses and executive team than they initially believe necessary. I remain convinced of that.

Trust creates capacity for disagreement. A councilmember who knows the manager, understands the manager's reasoning, and has experienced consistent communication is more likely to interpret disagreement as professional advice rather than resistance. A department head who trusts the manager is more likely to disclose a problem early. A community leader who has an established relationship with city leadership may be more willing to listen when the city's position is unpopular.

Relationships create reservoirs of credibility that leaders draw upon during difficult moments.

This is why political acumen and courageous leadership belong together. Courage without relational awareness can become recklessness. Relational awareness without courage can become appeasement. Effective city management requires both.

The objective is to build enough trust that candid conversations are possible and enough internal independence that we remain willing to have them.

Know What Is Worth Risking the Job Over

There is an important distinction between courage and unnecessary conflict.

A city manager does not need to turn every disagreement into a test of principle. There is no virtue in losing a position because of ego, poor communication, stubbornness, or an inability to distinguish personal preference from professional obligation.

Managers work for councils. Councils are entitled to establish policy, including policies a manager personally would not choose. Professional administration requires us to implement lawful direction faithfully.

There are also countless issues on which reasonable people can disagree. Compromise is part of governance. Adaptability is part of leadership. Changing a recommendation after receiving additional information is evidence of judgment.

The more difficult questions involve ethics, legality, organizational integrity, and fundamental professional responsibility.

There should be lines a city manager will not cross to preserve a position. If a manager is directed to act unlawfully, the answer must be no. If political pressure requires compromising ethical obligations, the answer must be no. If preserving the job requires sacrificing an employee who has acted properly, manipulating information, concealing material facts, or violating fundamental professional standards, the answer must be no.

Those moments may carry consequences. That is precisely why courage matters.

Transition Is Part of the Profession

Our profession would benefit from speaking more openly about transition.

There remains a stigma surrounding city managers who have been terminated or forced to resign. We use careful language. We whisper about what “really happened.” Candidates worry that a separation will permanently damage their careers. Managers experiencing instability can become desperate to prevent their names from joining the list.

That stigma gives fear additional power.

City management is an executive profession governed by political bodies. Councils change. Elections happen. Personalities conflict. Communities enter periods of upheaval. Sometimes a manager makes mistakes. Sometimes relationships deteriorate. Sometimes a council simply decides that it wants different leadership.

A transition deserves examination. It should prompt reflection and, where appropriate, accountability. It should not automatically be treated as evidence of professional failure.

The question should be what happened, what was learned, how the leader responded, and what the broader record demonstrates.

If we normalized transition as one possible chapter in a long executive career, managers might feel less pressure to compromise themselves in order to avoid it.

Prepare for the Position Before You Accept It

When local government professionals tell me they are considering becoming a city manager, I generally offer three pieces of advice. Each is connected to the same principle: if you want to lead without being controlled by fear of losing the position, you should prepare for that possibility before you ever accept it.

First, know why you want the job.

The city manager position can bring greater compensation, professional recognition, influence, and responsibility. Those can all be legitimate considerations. A higher salary, by itself, is not a sufficient reason to take the position.

The work asks too much of a person for compensation to provide the primary motivation. City managers operate under constant scrutiny, carry responsibility for problems they did not create, make decisions with incomplete information, and regularly absorb criticism directed at the organization. They also accept a level of employment uncertainty that many other local government professionals never experience.

There needs to be a deeper reason for wanting the role. Perhaps it is the opportunity to lead an organization, develop people, solve difficult problems, shape a community, or translate an elected body's vision into tangible results. Whatever the motivation, it should be strong enough to sustain you when the title becomes considerably less enjoyable than it appeared when you accepted it.

Second, prepare financially for the possibility of unemployment.

Anyone considering a city manager position should understand that transition is an occupational risk. That does not mean expecting to be fired. It means recognizing the employment structure you are entering and arranging your personal finances accordingly.

A city manager with substantial financial obligations and no meaningful reserves may experience political pressure very differently from a manager who knows that the family can withstand several months without a paycheck. Financial vulnerability can become professional vulnerability. When losing the job immediately threatens the mortgage, children's expenses, or the family's basic financial stability, the incentive to preserve the position becomes extraordinarily powerful.

Having adequate personal reserves creates more than financial security. It creates professional independence. It gives a manager the ability to make a difficult recommendation, enforce an ethical boundary, or accept the consequences of a deteriorating relationship without facing an immediate personal financial crisis.

Third, protect yourself through your employment agreement.

City managers should pay careful attention to termination and severance provisions before accepting the position. These provisions can feel remote during recruitment, when everyone is enthusiastic about the relationship and discussing the future. That is precisely when they should be negotiated.

Adequate severance provides a bridge between positions and recognizes the inherent employment risk associated with serving at the pleasure of an elected governing body. The agreement should be reviewed carefully so the manager understands the circumstances under which severance is payable, how much protection it actually provides, and whether other provisions adequately address the realities of an executive transition.

Taken together, these three considerations create an important foundation for courageous leadership. Know why you want the job. Build enough financial resilience to withstand losing it. Negotiate reasonable contractual protection before you need it.

Then lead.

A city manager who has prepared for the possibility of transition is less likely to allow fear of transition to govern professional judgment.

Build a Career Larger Than the Position

Fear loses some of its power when we prepare for its consequences. Financial reserves and contractual protections provide part of that security. The rest comes from building a professional identity and a life that are larger than the position we currently hold.

City managers should invest continuously in their professional relationships, expertise, reputation, financial resilience, and life outside the organization. We should maintain relationships with colleagues across the profession. We should mentor others, contribute to professional organizations, continue learning, and cultivate interests that remind us that our identity extends beyond the office we occupy.

This is healthy even for managers who enjoy extraordinary stability. Every city management tenure eventually ends. Retirement, another opportunity, council action, personal choice, or circumstances beyond our control will eventually close the chapter. The title was always temporary.

Understanding that can be liberating. It allows a manager to approach the work as a steward rather than an owner. The question becomes what can be accomplished during the time entrusted to us.

That perspective can also improve decision making. A manager who knows that life continues after the position is better equipped to give candid advice, take thoughtful risks, support innovative ideas, and make difficult recommendations. Professional resilience creates leadership capacity.

Lead Boldly

“Don’t be afraid of getting fired” can sound provocative. It should not be interpreted as an invitation to be reckless. It is an argument for professional independence.

City managers should care deeply about maintaining productive relationships with their councils. They should communicate constantly, listen carefully, understand political dynamics, respect elected authority, and work diligently to maintain trust. Losing council confidence is consequential and should never be treated casually.

Yet preserving the position cannot become the highest objective. We were hired to exercise judgment. We were hired to identify problems, propose solutions, manage organizations, advise elected officials, and lead through uncertainty. Doing those things well occasionally requires professional risk.

There may come a moment when a manager must decide whether to recommend the difficult option, challenge an assumption, protect an employee, confront an organizational problem, or say something that powerful people would prefer not to hear.

In that moment, fear of termination cannot be the deciding factor.

Lead thoughtfully. Build relationships relentlessly. Understand the political environment. Choose battles carefully. Admit mistakes. Listen when others know more than you do. Respect the authority of the governing body.

And when the moment truly requires courage, have it. Because the lesson I learned during the most difficult period of my professional career was also one of the most liberating: losing a position does not mean losing a career, and losing a title does not mean losing your purpose.

You will be okay.

That realization changes the way you lead. Hold your values tightly. Not your title.

And govern boldly.

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If this reflection resonates with you, I invite you to explore more leadership insights, resources, and long-form content at www.chrismann.us, and to watch or listen to Gov360 Episode 6, “7 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First City Manager Role,”where these concepts are explored in greater depth and I share my personal story of being "in transition."

I also invite you to join the  Gov360 Community on Patreon. This new, private community gives local government professionals a place to connect with peers, exchange ideas, find support, and navigate the challenges of public service alongside people who understand the work.

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About the Author

Chris Mann serves as City Manager for the City of Wildomar, California. He writes about leadership, governance, and the realities of public service in local government and hosts the Gov360 podcast.