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.
Your first 90 days of systematic transformation
“This isn’t going to be another bookshelf program, is it?”
Mark Davis, a veteran department head at the City of Millbrook, voiced what everyone was thinking during their leadership team meeting. After twenty years in municipal government, he’d seen enough leadership initiatives come and go to fill a library.
City Manager Tony Stark understood his skepticism. But he also knew this time was different.
“No, Mark,” he smiled. “This time we’re not buying books. We’re building engines.”
How many culture change initiatives have you seen fade away after the initial enthusiasm dies down? Or worse, how many have you watched dissolve with the next election cycle or leadership transition? In municipal government, where political winds shift regularly and budget cycles dictate priorities, creating lasting cultural change can feel like building a sandcastle as the tide comes in.
As we continue our exploration of “Change the Culture, Change the Game,” today we focus on making cultural transformation stick – not just through the next council meeting or budget cycle, but for the long haul. Because in municipal government, sustainable change isn’t just desirable; it’s essential for community impact.
When Brooks Williams arrived as city manager of Ferris, Texas, bets were literally being placed on how long he would last. The city had churned through 12 city managers in 10 years, and a local magazine had dubbed Ferris “the town where everyone hates each other.”
Today, Ferris is known for something entirely different: being too fast for its private sector partners to keep up.
In this week’s powerful episode of The HaltingWinter Podcast, Brooks Williams shares his remarkable journey from banking executive to transformational city manager, offering a masterclass in how to create high-performing municipal organizations that break free from the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset.
When was the last time you heard someone in your organization say, “Well, that’s just politics” or “You can’t fight city hall”? These aren’t just casual comments – they’re windows into the cultural beliefs that shape your municipal organization’s reality every day.
As we continue our exploration of “Change the Culture, Change the Game,” today we focus on perhaps the most crucial element of cultural transformation: the role of leadership in shaping and sustaining cultural beliefs. For city managers, this challenge is uniquely complex, requiring navigation between elected officials, department heads, employees, and the public.
Why investing in people is your smartest financial decision
“So let me get this straight,” Councilmember Thompson leaned forward, glasses perched on the edge of his nose. “You want to invest in leadership development during a budget crunch?”
City Manager Stephanie Murray had expected this question. After fifteen years in municipal management, she knew that development budgets were always the first target when money got tight.
But this time, she was ready.
“Actually,” she smiled, pulling out a single sheet of paper, “I want to show you why we can’t afford not to.”
Imagine sitting in your weekly department head meeting. Public Works is clashing with Planning over project timelines. Parks and Recreation feels overlooked in the budget process. And IT keeps mentioning how “nothing ever changes around here anyway.” Sound familiar?
As a city manager, you might be tempted to address these challenges through new policies, reorganized reporting structures, or enhanced communication protocols. But according to Connors and Smith’s “Change the Culture, Change the Game,” these surface-level solutions miss the deeper truth: organizational results flow from a pyramid of influence that begins with beliefs.
“We’ve always done it this way.”
If you’re a city manager, you probably felt your blood pressure rise just reading those words. This simple phrase, whether spoken aloud or silently understood, might be the most expensive sentence in municipal government – costing us innovation, talent, and public trust every single day.
But what if breaking free from this cycle isn’t about implementing new policies or reorganizing departments? What if the key to transformation lies deeper – in the beliefs that drive our organizational behavior?
As a city manager, you’ve likely heard the phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” But between the walls of city halls, where bureaucracy often reigns supreme and change moves at a glacial pace, transforming organizational culture can feel like trying to turn a battleship with a paddle.
This week, we’re diving deep into Roger Connors and Tom Smith’s groundbreaking work, “Change the Culture, Change the Game,” and exploring how its principles can revolutionize municipal leadership. While the private sector often dominates conversations about cultural transformation, the stakes are arguably even higher in public service, where cultural effectiveness directly impacts community wellbeing.
A journey from where you are to where you could be
It’s December 2024. You’re sitting in your office, looking back on another year of:
Now imagine it’s December 2025. You’re in that same office, but everything feels different. Your municipality has transformed. Excellence isn’t just a goal – it’s becoming your standard operating procedure.
Let me take you on that journey.
Hello, Impactful City Leaders!
Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Leader’s Lens!” The most innovative cities aren’t just hiring smart people – they’re mastering how different minds work together. This week, we’ve explored how understanding and leveraging collaborative intelligence can transform your municipality’s effectiveness.
