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.
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.
Picture Philippe Petit on the morning of August 7, 1974, stepping out onto a wire suspended between the Twin Towers. “I was a little anxious on that first crossing,” he later told the NY Post, “because we never checked how strong the anchor point was on the other side.”
For city managers, this image might hit uncomfortably close to home. Each day, you step out onto your own professional tightrope, often uncertain about the strength of your anchor points. On one side: your commitment to public service. On the other: your personal well-being.
A city manager recently told me: “I’m doing everything the books tell me to do. I’ve time-blocked my calendar. I’ve set boundaries. I’ve delegated. So why do I feel like I’m failing?”
This haunting question echoes through city halls across America. As municipal leaders chase the ever-elusive ideal of “work-life balance,” they’re finding themselves more frustrated, more exhausted, and more disillusioned than ever.
But what if we’ve all been misled?
In August 2024, I had individual conversations with nearly 50 city managers across the United States, from communities of 1,500 to cities of over a million. One question consistently stopped them in their tracks: “How are you doing personally?”
The uncomfortable silence that followed spoke volumes.
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.
Hello, Impactful City Leaders!
This week, I’ve smiled broader than the Cheshire cat while seeing so many posts from city managers and administrators sharing their community’s holiday celebrations. From Christmas tree lightings to community parades, these events showcase more than just seasonal spirit – they demonstrate the unique magic that happens when municipal leaders and their teams pour their talents into creating memorable moments for their communities. The joy on employees’ faces as they serve their neighbors reminds us why we chose public service in the first place.
This week, we’ve explored powerful tools for saying “no” while preserving relationships. But what does this actually look like in real municipal leadership? Let’s examine how three city managers have transformed their effectiveness by implementing these principles, and how you can do the same.
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.
Imagine: A developer is pressuring you to fast-track their project. Council members are echoing their urgency. Your planning department is already overwhelmed. You feel backed into a corner, but what if you had a secret weapon – a way to negotiate from strength rather than desperation?
It’s budget season. Department heads are fighting for resources, council members are pushing pet projects, and community groups are demanding increased services – all while your finance director insists on maintaining healthy reserves. Some days, it feels less like city management and more like referee duty at a championship wrestling match.
Welcome to what I call the “municipal pressure cooker,” where competing interests collide and conflict seems inevitable. But what if conflict wasn’t the enemy? What if it was actually your gateway to stronger relationships and better solutions?
