JJ Murphy served as City Manager of Hobbs, New Mexico from 2012 to 2016. During his tenure, he focused on transforming the culture to one centered around customer service. He led with a vision for Hobbs to prioritize safety, engagement, responsiveness, and other values. Murphy was able to inspire his team through his passion for this vision. He credits attending the Harvard Kennedy School's executive program with helping him grow as a leader through collaboration with others.

1. J J M U R P H Y O F H O B B S , N E W M E X I C O :
L E A D I N G G R E A T T E A M S
JJ Murphy

2. JJ Murphy accepted the role of City Manager of Hobbs,
New Mexico, in 2012. Later, he was named 2016 New
Mexico City Management Association’s City Manager of
the Year.

3. JJ Murphy is recognized as a leader and facilitator
whose record of success includes enhancing
productivity through intuitive management skills.

4. From his role as City Manager of Hobbs, New Mexico, JJ
Murphy led great teams, and in doing so, he became a
better leader.

5. “My story as a City manager changed three years ago
after attending the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior
Executive Program for State and Local officials in July
2013. This transformational experience provided me the
opportunity to collaborate with leaders from around the
world and I was able to learn from some of this
country’s best professors,” said JJ Murphy when
reflecting on his growth as a leader.

6. If you’d like to take a page from leaders like Mr. Murphy
and head great teams in your own career, tips like those
below might help you improve:

7. Have a Vision
Mr. Murphy’s vision for Hobbs was to change the culture
in the organization to one focused on service. He
worked to change the mission statement to “Our
Mission is SERVICE”, which was an acronym for Safety,
Engagement, Responsiveness, Visionary, Inclusive,
Customer Driven and Enhancing the Quality of Life.
With this vision, he helped change employee mindsets
to a more service-minded organization.

8. Find your vision, one that will excite and inspire your
team, and then bring it to life.

9. Inspire
Speaking of inspiring your team, leaders must focus on
instilling inspiration. Those who feel passionate about
their visions and missions inspire similar dedication and
emotions in others. Mr. Murphy did this as City Manager
of Hobbs, and great leaders around the world do the
same every day.

10. It isn’t enough to talk about your vision and mission.
You must truly share it with your team so that each
person is as inspired as you are.

11. Don’t just follow online tips. People like JJ Murphy get
to roles like City Manager of Hobbs, New Mexico,
through proactive efforts to improve.

12. This means reading books, taking courses and applying
the leadership skills you learn to your everyday life.