'Mental scientist' booted from T2 team

Mar. 8—T2 Professional Consulting announced Tuesday night they've parted ways with the "mental scientist" they hired to assist the Odessa City Council in its search for a new city manager. They also shared the results of an employee survey with the council.

T2 founder Mike Wilson told the council "valid" questions arose about Hank Seitz and when he failed to provide official documentation of his academic achievements by 5 p.m. Monday, he was replaced on the project by another associate, Suzie Price of Georgia.

Mayor Javier Joven hired T2 for $338,000 Dec. 14, the day after the council voted 5-2 to fire City Manager Michael Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks without explanation.

To see T2 presentation click here.

Seitz appeared before the council last week to explain how a committee organized by the council would be able to find the next city manager by setting benchmarks and using something called a TriMetrix, which determines people's personal skills and talents, motivation and values and communication style.

The self-help author of more than a dozen books described himself to the council as a mental scientist, behavioral psychologist and a "certified analyst in a lot of different areas of the human being." His description varies from LinkedIn, Amazon and his own website, however.

John Lucas, assistant vice chancellor of communications at the University of Wisconsin — Madison, was unable to determine if Seitz is a UW-Madison graduate as he contends. However, Lucas did say UW-Madison does not offer a degree in "mental science."

The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council has no record of a license being issued to a Hank or Henry Seitz. The council provides licenses to psychologists, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors and social workers. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which provides licenses to behavior analysts, also does not show a license for a Hank or Henry Seitz.

Councilmember Steve Thompson demanded from Wilson proof of Seitz's degrees and licenses and Seitz did not provide those documents, Wilson said.

New consultant

According to a PowerPoint presentation given to the council, Price, like Seitz, is also a self-help author who has received several certifications from Target Training International Success Insights, a Scottsdale, Arizona company that, according to its website, "applies a multi-science approach to an ever-evolving suite of tools that support the employee journey."

Price holds certificates as a: TriMetrixHD Analyst, Professional Motivators Analyst, Professional DISC Analyst, Professional Facilitator and Qualified 360 Degree Feedback Practitioner for Organizations and Individuals. According to the PowerPoint, she is also one of 30 people worldwide to be given "the prestigious advanced master axiologist certification" by TTI Success Insights.

According to Merriam-Webster, axiology is the study of the nature, types, and criteria of values and of value judgments especially in ethics.

According to Price's LinkedIn page, she has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina. She bills herself as a "hiring assessment expert, team building facilitator, speaker and author."

During Tuesday's meeting, the city council decided that instead of forming a six-member benchmark committee of staff members, residents and city council members, they'll be the benchmark committee.

Next week during a public work session, they'll meet virtually with Price and T2 member Mica Lunt to select the "superior performance attributes" of the next city manager. They'll also go through a process that will remove their bias and help them compare the candidates to the benchmarks they've set and their interview questions.

Wilson said that by replacing Seitz with Price they'll still be able to reach their goal of having a city manager hired by mid-July, early August.

He did not immediately respond Wednesday to a set of emailed questions regarding Seitz, Price and TTI Success Insights.

On Wednesday, Thompson said he was "pretty impressed" Wilson admitted there were problems regarding Seitz's credentials and removed him from the project.

While he hasn't researched Price yet, she's not claiming to be a doctor, Thompson said.

As for TTI Success Insights, Thompson said American Express, GE, Pepsi, Mercedes Benzo and Volvo use their products.

"I guess if it's good enough for American Express, it's good enough for me," Thompson said.

Employee surveys

According to Wilson and Lunt, 482 of the city's 891 employees participated in a survey that asked them several questions, including whether their leaders and co-workers care about them, if they've received training to help them perform well, if their leader has set goals and objectives for them and if their leader uses reinforcement and punishment effectively. They were also asked if their leaders were competent, easy to approach with issues and are role models.

The highest score was achieved when asked if they thought their team effectively serves citizens. Eighty-nine percent of the survey participants agreed. The city also received high scores in a few other areas. Eighty-four percent of the survey participants agreed their leader cares for team members and their team works well together and 83% percent agreed that their co-workers care for each other.

The lowest scores were seen when survey participants were asked if their leader uses reinforcement and punishment effectively and if team members change with ease and grace. Only 60% agreed with the former and 63% agreed with the latter.

In addition, only 67% said they consider their leader a role model and that they've received counseling/coaching needed to advance their careers.

T2 said they also discovered the city's turnover rate has actually slowed down by quite a bit in the last two years. According to the consultants, 129 left the city in 2020, 41 left in 2021 and 49 left last year. So far this year, T2 said eight have left.

They also pointed out the number of new hires increased from 112 to 154 from 2021 to 2022. Since Nov. 7, 2022, T2 said 16 people have left the city and 51 new employees have been hired.

T2 did not provide a breakdown by department of the departures, however four of the city's six attorneys have left since Marrero and Brooks were fired. In addition, the fire chief and his three assistant chiefs have left or stepped down and Assistant City Manager Cindy Muncy retired. Last week, the city also terminated Aaron Smith, who replaced Assistant City Manager Phillip Urrutia in December.

As of Wednesday, the city is without two assistant city managers.

Outdated policies

T2 also revealed Tuesday the city's policies and procedures manual has not been updated since 2008. It's so outdated, it doesn't include sections on sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, all protected classes identified by the federal government. Wilson and Lunt also noted there's been no formal training on sexual harassment and diversity since before the pandemic.

T2 identified as the city's weaknesses: lack of trust, low morale, employees fearful of consequences for speaking out, toxic work environment, poor leadership, favoritism, sexual harassment and political impacts.

Fifty-five percent of the survey respondents said morale was either very high or high. Twenty-nine percent described it as moderate and 16% said it was low or very low.

Sixty-three participants said they'd seen racist material or behavior at work and 50 said they'd seen sexually offensive material or behavior. Thirty-one said they'd actually been discriminated against and 14 said they'd been sexually harassed.

Although Wilson and Lunt said those numbers are low, each one represents a potential lawsuit.

T2 identified as strengths: coachable talent, high level of institutional knowledge, passionate community open to change, passionate city council and internal leaders.

Wilson told the council the City of Odessa now has an opportunity "re-set" the clock with a new city manager and an updated policy and procedure manual.

Interim City Manager Agapito Bernal and Human Resource Director Charles Hurst have already "engaged" the Mirarchi Management Group to help them update the manual.

It's clear from the surveys the employees' top desires are improved communication, training, compensation and accountability, Wilson said, describing as "severe" the city's internal and external communications.

He noted the city doesn't have a unifying vision or mission and "if you don't have a road map you're never going to get to where we want to go."

Mayor reaction

Following the meeting, Joven said he was pleased to see there isn't a mass exodus of city employees as has been alleged, but he was dismayed to learn about the outdated policy manual. It's important for people to feel safe at work and to have a voice, he said.

He did not know the cost of hiring the Mirarchi Management Group, he said.

Joven said he was pleased the council came to a consensus and decided the benchmark committee should only be comprised of council members. He agreed with Councilmember Denise Swanner who said it would be too difficult to limit the community members to two and he agreed with Councilmember Mark Matta, who noted the citizens of Odessa elected them to set the bar.

The mayor said he is confident all of the council members will be able to set their ideological differences aside to determine what attributes their next city manager should have.

As for Price replacing Seitz, Joven said "the process is the key, not the individuals" and he just wanted to make sure the city was still on track to hire a new city manager by mid-July or early August.

Price will be using the same methods Seitz was, Joven said.

The switch in personnel did not shake his confidence in T2 at all, Joven said.

"I think that was very impressive in the work that they've done, they revealed some things that the city is dealing with," Joven said, adding he believes the issues identified go back for years and years.

He's always been told "that's just the way we do it" and now it's clear there are deficiencies that need to be addressed, Joven said.