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.
Episode 257 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most leadership stories highlight the victories: the growth, the vision, the change.
Matt Stiles’ story starts in the struggle.
He grew up in poverty, raised by a mother fighting severe mental illness, in a town where every day was about survival. He wasn’t supposed to lead cities. But that’s exactly what makes his story so powerful, because it’s grounded in the realities that most leaders quietly carry.
You’re sitting in your office, staring at the performance review you need to write. The department head across the hall has been declining for months. Reports are late. Quality has slipped. Their team is compensating, and it’s showing in their morale.
You know exactly what needs to be said. But you’ve been putting off this conversation for six weeks.
Episode 255 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
When José Madrigal arrived in Durango, Colorado in 2020, he stepped into an organization still recovering from the pandemic, from burnout, and from the aftermath of an internal embezzlement that had shaken public trust to its core.
He didn’t walk in with a new mission statement.
He walked in with two words: effort and intent.
Episode 254 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
There’s a moment in every city manager’s career when the work changes.
Not because the budget shifts, or a new project breaks ground but because something forces you to see the world through a new lens.
For Craig Owens, City Manager of Lawrence, Kansas, that moment came years ago while serving in Clayton, Missouri, as the unrest in nearby Ferguson unfolded.
MLDC Book of the Week: “Just Listen” by Mark Goulston
You prepared for three hours. Your presentation is solid. The data supports every recommendation. Your proposal will save money, improve service delivery, and solve a real problem.
Fifteen minutes into the meeting, you watch it die.
Not because the proposal is flawed. Not because the numbers don’t work. But because three council members decided they weren’t interested before you finished your opening remarks.
Episode 252 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
When most people think about improving government, they think about efficiency. Better data. Smarter systems. Faster service.
But Stephanie Hirsch has learned that numbers alone don’t change lives—people do.
Episode 251 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
How do you go from digging trenches in 100-degree heat to leading a full-service city of 40,000 people?
For Enrico Villegas, City Manager of Hutchinson, Kansas, the answer lies in grit, growth, and an insatiable will to learn.
You’ve been avoiding the conversation with that department head for three months now. You know the performance isn’t where it needs to be. You’ve hinted. You’ve suggested. You’ve hoped the issue would somehow resolve itself. Meanwhile, the rest of your leadership team is watching, adjusting their expectations, and learning that accountability is optional.
Or maybe it’s the opposite problem. You finally had the conversation, but it went sideways. You got defensive when they pushed back. The tension escalated. Now the relationship is damaged and the performance issue still isn’t resolved.
Episode 249 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
There’s a certain kind of chaos that only happens in local government.
You can spend months negotiating a $100 million development deal—balancing politics, logistics, and public pressure—and just when the future of your city hangs in the balance, the next agenda item is… feral cats.
How one partnership turned a podcast, a keynote, and a conference into a statewide celebration of local leadership.
When the Kentucky League of Cities invited me to deliver the opening keynote at their Annual Conference, I saw an opportunity to do something bigger than a single speech. I wanted to create an experience, one that would celebrate Kentucky’s municipal leaders, build anticipation leading up to the event, and continue long after the closing session.
