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’ve seen the quarterly reports. Pages of metrics showing increased activity across every department. More permits processed, more inspections completed, more programs delivered. Your team is working harder than ever, yet you can’t shake the feeling that all this effort isn’t translating into the community impact you envisioned when you chose public service.
If this resonates, you’re not alone—and you’re not stuck.
What if the real infrastructure problem in local government isn’t roads or pipes—it’s trust?
That’s the challenge Sam Toles, CEO of CiviSocial, brings to this week’s episode of The HaltingWinter Podcast. And it’s not just a critique—it’s a call to action.
Some leaders rise through the ranks.
Michael Herbert had to claw his way up from rock bottom.
In this week’s episode of The HaltingWinter Podcast, the Town Manager of Ashland, Massachusetts shares a story rarely heard in public sector leadership—a story of addiction, homelessness, and ultimately, redemption through service.
It’s not just a story of survival.
It’s a story of purpose.
And it’s a masterclass in the kind of quiet, resilient leadership that sustains local government through its hardest seasons.
The council meeting was spiraling. Budget cuts were on the table, department heads were defensive, and residents were demanding answers you didn’t have. As the city manager, you felt the familiar urge to armor up: to retreat into technical explanations, deflect criticism with procedural language, or simply power through with authority.
But what if there was a different way? What if the very vulnerability you’re trying to avoid could actually be your greatest leadership asset?
If you lead in local government, you know this tension intimately:
The need to act—fast.
The need to include—thoroughly.
The reality that doing both well is rarely easy.
In this week’s episode of The HaltingWinter Podcast, Will Ibershof, City Administrator of Madras, Oregon, shares a story that’s equal parts hilarious, humbling, and hard-earned.
It starts with a dare.
And vomit on a perfectly manicured lawn.
But it leads to multi-million dollar infrastructure wins, community connection, and a life reshaped by the call to serve.
Take a look at your calendar from this week. How many meetings involved department heads bringing you problems to solve? How many decisions crossed your desk that someone else in your organization probably understood better than you?
If you’re like most local government leaders, the honest answer might be uncomfortable.
What do Amazon, Chick-fil-A, and your local public works department have in common?
Ideally—more than you think.
Leadership in local government carries a weight that few outside the role ever fully grasp. It’s not just the pressure to solve problems, manage crises, or balance competing priorities. It’s the quiet burden of being the person everyone looks to, even when you’re unsure yourself. It’s the weight of the title.
What does it mean to lead in local government today?
If your answer is “deliver services efficiently,” you’re not wrong—but you might be settling for too little.
