Using Steward Leadership in City Management
With more than 30 years of experience in city management, Robert Baldwin of Dania Beach, Florida, has acted as an administrator for cities across the state. Robert Baldwin has experience using steward leadership principles to ensure that cities are making prudent financial decisions. His background in successful management prompted an incoming Fort Lauderdale, Florida, sheriff to appoint him for his transition team in 1992.
Steward leadership is the idea of protecting a company (or in this case, a city) as if it belongs to the leader himself. Baldwin was appointed to the sheriff’s transition team to clean up unnecessary spending. It was alleged that the sheriff’s predecessor was not using city funds as well as he could for fighting crime. The predecessor was driving a luxury car that was more expensive than the one driven by the state governor. It also was noted that the transition team would be setting the stage for deputies to be “more involved in the communities they protect.” Robert Baldwin was chosen for this team because of his commitment to protecting the communities that he serves.