You Know 80%—They Know 15%: The Curse of Leadership Knowledge

There’s a moment in every city leader’s career when you realize something sobering:
You’re making decisions with 80% of the information…
…while the people you serve, and often the people you report to, only see 15%.

And it’s not because they don’t care. It’s because they don’t know.
They don’t know the grants you fought for, the staff hours you reallocated, or the political crosswinds you’ve had to navigate just to get to the starting line.
They don’t know the potholes you patched or the people you had to let go to keep the lights on.

But you do. And the weight of that knowledge is both a burden and a gift.

In this week’s episode of The HaltingWinter Podcast brought to you by Zencity, I sit down with Daron Jordan, the City Manager of Paducah, Kentucky, whose career has been anything but conventional. From managing public pools in his twenties to leading four Kentucky cities through political transition, Daron’s story is about grit, grace, and the unglamorous, but utterly essential, work of local government.

We talk about:

• The emotional toll of leadership before social media even existed
• The burnout that forced Daron to step away from city government—and why he came back stronger
• What it means to be the first in a role and the courage that takes
• How grant writing became his on-ramp to community transformation
• Why even the best strategy fails without storytelling and trust

And of course, we dig deep into one of the biggest lies municipal leaders still wrestle with:
That balance is possible.
(It’s not. But thriving in the tension absolutely is.)

If you’ve ever felt like the expectations are unfair, the appreciation is rare, and the path is unclear—this conversation is for you.

Because the quiet wins still matter.
Because grit still matters.
And because leaders like Daron are still out there, doing the hard work of making cities flourish—one policy, one person, one grant at a time.

Listen to Episode 205: Daron Jordan: Grants, Grit, and the Quiet Wins That Build Cities

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This episode is brought to you by Zencity
This episode is proudly presented by Zencity—helping local governments turn everyday feedback into real-time insights so leaders can make confident, community-informed decisions. To learn more about how Zencity is helping turn data into action and insight into impact, visit zencity.io.

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The HaltingWinter Podcast celebrates and elevates the people who power local government. Through in-depth conversations with leaders from cities, counties, and communities of all sizes, host Seth Winterhalter explores the journeys, challenges, and innovations happening in municipal leadership across America.