Introducing: The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) - Save 50% During Launch Phase
Every week, you’ll get insights and actionable steps to help you navigate personal growth and professional success.
The decorations are still up, the leftovers are still in the fridge, and that familiar post-Christmas contemplation sets in. As municipal leaders, this quiet moment between Christmas and New Year’s offers us a rare gift – the space to think beyond the urgent and consider the ultimate.
Stephen Covey challenges us to “begin with the end in mind.” But let’s be honest: When was the last time you had the clarity and space to truly envision your leadership legacy?
As I sit here on Christmas Eve, I’m reminded of a conversation I had last week with a city manager. “Seth,” he said, his voice tired, “I just want time to focus on what actually matters. Everything feels urgent, but I’m not sure it’s all important.”
His words echo Stephen Covey’s profound insight: “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” Yet for most municipal leaders, this feels like an impossible dream – especially during the holidays when personal and professional demands collide with even greater intensity.
Let’s be honest about leadership development. Most of us treat it like a crash diet – intense bursts of learning followed by long periods of nothing. We attend a conference, get fired up about new ideas, then return to the daily grind where those insights slowly fade away.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. As someone who works with municipal leaders across the country, I see this pattern constantly. But here’s the truth: sustainable leadership growth isn’t about occasional sprints – it’s about building a reliable learning engine that runs consistently, even in the midst of chaos.
Being a municipal leader can feel like being on an island. You carry the weight of community decisions. You navigate complex political waters. You balance countless competing priorities. And too often, you do it all alone.
Here’s what nobody tells you in leadership training: the “lone wolf” approach to leadership isn’t just inefficient – it’s outdated. The most successful leaders I work with have discovered a powerful truth: real growth happens in community.
We all know the script: “Leaders are readers.” It’s written in every leadership book, preached at every conference, and probably pinned somewhere on your office wall. But let’s be honest – between council meetings, crisis management, and countless emails, when exactly are you supposed to find time to read? And even when you do, how do you turn those insights into real change?
As someone who coaches municipal leaders across the country, I see this struggle constantly. The intention is there, but the execution? That’s where things fall apart.
Dear Fellow Servant Leader,
I’ve sat in a similar chair to the one you sit in. I’ve felt the weight of responsibility that doesn’t clock out at 5 PM. I’ve missed family dinners for emergency meetings, checked emails during my child’s recital, and sacrificed countless personal moments on the altar of service. I know what it means to make life “hard on me and easy on everyone else.” And I’ve learned – sometimes the hard way – that this path isn’t sustainable.
Picture an orchestra where each musician plays their own preferred tempo. Even with world-class talent, the result would be chaos. The same principle applies to your municipality – excellence requires more than individual capability. It demands organizational alignment.
Yet in my work with cities across the country, I consistently see a troubling pattern: departments operating in isolation, competing priorities creating confusion, and talented teams pulling in different directions. The result? Fragmented efforts that fall short of their potential.
Picture your city hall transformed. Not just a better version of what it is today, but a beacon of municipal excellence that other cities aspire to emulate. A place where innovation flourishes, where employees are genuinely excited to come to work, and where your community sees tangible results from well-executed initiatives.
This isn’t just a pleasant daydream – it’s an achievable reality. But like any significant transformation, it requires a solid foundation. Today, we’re diving into the architecture of municipal excellence and how to build it systematically in your organization.
How to balance competing demands without falling
Every municipal leader knows the feeling.
You’re in a council meeting, defending your budget while your phone buzzes with an emergency at Public Works. Your inbox is full of resident complaints about the new parking policy, while your calendar reminds you of three overdue performance reviews. Meanwhile, that strategic plan you’ve been meaning to update sits untouched on your desk.
Welcome to the municipal leadership tightrope.
One wrong step, and everything falls.
Too far one way, and you lose balance.
Too much focus here means dropping something there.
But what if you could do more than just survive this balancing act?
What if you could master it?
How to transform your municipal culture by design, not by chance
Culture isn’t something that happens to your municipality.
It’s something you engineer.
Yet most municipal leaders treat culture like the weather – something to be observed, discussed, and endured rather than designed, built, and improved.
Let me show you what intentional culture engineering looks like.
