Municipal Leaders: Develop Faster, Lead Stronger, Build Better
Every week, you’ll get insights and actionable steps to help you navigate personal growth and professional success.
You know those mornings when optimism feels impossible. The budget constraints keep tightening. Your best department head just gave notice. Council is questioning your judgment. Community expectations continue rising while your resources keep shrinking.
Some days, keeping your glass half full feels like the hardest part of leadership.
That’s exactly why this week’s MLDC book matters so much.
Peter Crichton spent over 40 years in local government, including nearly 20 years as Cumberland County Manager in Maine, in a field where the average tenure is a handful of years. His book “Leading with My Glass Half Full” reveals how optimistic leadership isn’t just a nice personality trait but a strategic approach that transforms organizational effectiveness and leadership longevity.
When Crichton accepted the county manager position, his colleagues warned him he was “going to the dark side.” County government was viewed so negatively by municipal partners that working there was considered career suicide.
Instead of accepting that toxic reality, Crichton chose strategic optimism. He implemented innovative planning processes that brought municipal officials directly into county decision-making. His philosophy was elegantly simple: “If people could see there weren’t horns growing out of our heads, trust and collaboration would naturally follow.”
Within a few years, he had transformed county government from adversary to trusted partner.
Local government leaders are facing unprecedented pressures. Staff retention challenges. Budget constraints. Political polarization. Rising community expectations. Constant media scrutiny.
In this environment, pessimistic leadership becomes self-fulfilling. When you consistently focus on what’s wrong, what won’t work, and why things are impossible, you inadvertently train your entire organization to think the same way.
But optimistic leadership creates different dynamics entirely.
Crichton’s approach reveals three essential principles:
Strategic Optimism: Choosing to focus on possibilities rather than limitations opens creative pathways that crisis thinking closes. This isn’t naive positivity; it’s deliberate reframing that transforms organizational problem-solving capacity.
Team Excellence: “You can’t fly like an eagle if you’re flying with turkeys.” Building high-performance culture requires intentionally surrounding yourself with people who share your commitment to excellence while creating systems that elevate or move out those who don’t.
Leading from Behind: Knowing when to step back and empower others to take the spotlight multiplies your impact and builds organizational capacity that survives leadership transitions. This counterintuitive approach contributed significantly to Crichton’s remarkable longevity.
As always, MLDC members receive comprehensive resources to explore this week’s book:
Daily Blog Posts: Monday through Friday, you’ll get practical applications of Crichton’s insights specifically designed for local government contexts. Each post addresses real challenges you’re facing and provides actionable strategies for implementation.
Podcast Episodes: Members-only episodes that bring Crichton’s principles to life through stories and practical examples relevant to municipal leadership.
Conversation Guide: A structured framework to facilitate meaningful team discussions about optimistic leadership, team excellence, and strategic delegation.
Here’s what makes this week extraordinary: MLDC members are invited to a live mastermind session with Peter Crichton himself on Thursday at 10:30am Pacific Time inside our private Circle platform.
This isn’t a webinar where you passively watch someone present. This is our regular weekly mastermind format where you’ll have direct access to ask questions, share challenges, and receive insights from someone who successfully navigated four decades of local government leadership.
The challenges you’re facing are real. The pressures aren’t going away. But you have a choice about how you respond to them.
Join the Municipal Leadership Development Community today and unlock a full year of weekly content designed to keep your leadership sharp and your organization impactful.
Plus, you’ll join us this Thursday for an incredible conversation with Peter Crichton about what it really takes to lead with your glass half full.
The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) is a professional growth community exclusively for city managers, administrators, and local government leaders. Each week, we explore insights from transformative books and apply them specifically to the unique challenges of municipal leadership. Join Seth Winterhalter, President of HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions, and leaders from across North America to build stronger cities through stronger leaders. Learn more at HaltingWinter.com.
