Christian Wuerth | MME President
A series of conversations in recent weeks has the topic of service—specifically service to others—on my mind a lot at the moment. Based upon my observations, our profession tends to draw those who have an interest in service to others and to our communities. The concept of a “servant leader” is thrown around a fair bit in our profession and I believe a good number of us (myself included) would use the phrase—at least in part—to describe our management style. As far as I understand it, the use of the phrase “servant leader” in modern times is largely attributed to the work of Robert Greenleaf. The leadership center named in his honor at Seton Hall University describes a servant leader as follows:
A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first, and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.
During my tenure as MME President, this is the mindset I have used to approach the role—how best to serve the organization and the membership and do my part to help lay the foundation for greater days ahead. I do not claim to have gotten everything correct and I am certainly not perfect, but I would like to think that we are in a stronger place as an organization than a year ago. While I may carry the title for a few more weeks, this success is largely not my doing. Rather, it is in large part due to the work of our Board of Directors, committee leadership, and our support staff at The Nonprofit Spot and the Michigan Municipal League—all of whom I would classify as servant leaders. They are all to be applauded for their efforts over the past year on behalf of MME, as are all our members who have served on our committees, which is where a lot of the work to strengthen our organization and our profession takes place. I am grateful to you all for your service to our organization and to the profession.
Looking ahead, it will be great to see so many of you in Bay City at the end of the month. Online registration for the Winter Institute runs through January 17 and the agenda looks to be yet another stellar lineup from the Professional Development Committee. It will once again be a great opportunity to learn from one another. This event also marks our annual transition in leadership, with the new MME President taking the reins and our newly elected Board Members stepping into their new role. I look forward to the year ahead under the leadership of incoming MME President Bridgette Gransden and look forward to working with the newly elected Board Members whose terms will begin in January.
I would like to thank outgoing Board Members Matthew Butts, Aaron Desentz, Brad Kaye, and Laura Lam for their service over the last three years. I appreciate the perspectives and thoughtfulness you have each brought to the table and MME is stronger for your contributions. I am also grateful for Michael Cain agreeing to remain in place as the Immediate Past President for another year to ensure we had someone in place to fulfill the obligations of that role—specifically chairing the Nominations Committee, but also serving as a sounding board for me over the past 16 months.
Finally, I would like to thank all of you for entrusting me in this role. It has been an honor, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve—thank you!
Christian Wuerth
President, Michigan Municipal Executives
Village Manager, Milford
Christian Wuerth currently serves as president of MME. He began his career in local government as an intern with the City of Birmingham in 2004 before moving to the Village of Milford, where he has served as village manager since 2014. Prior to his career in local government, Christian worked in the nonprofit sector and spent two years serving in AmeriCorps NCCC, a national service program. He has previously served on several MME committees, including serving as the chair of the Professional Development Committee, and previously served on the Board of Directors for MME.