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 334 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
This National Public Works Week, The HaltingWinter Podcast highlights the people doing far more than building roads, pipes, and infrastructure.
In Episode 334, Seth sits down with Julie Underwood, Public Works Director for the City of Kirkland, Washington and former city manager, for a conversation about leadership, service, and the growing challenge facing local government organizations across the country: preparing people to lead.
Episode 332 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most people don’t step into city management feeling ready. They step in because the opportunity is there, because someone believes in them, or because they’ve said yes enough times that the next door opens.
And then reality hits.
Episode 331 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most people assume city and county leadership are the same job, just at a different scale.
They’re not and that’s the tension at the center of today’s episode with Christopher Wren, County Administrator of Newaygo County, Michigan.
Episode 329 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most people don’t think about water. You turn on the faucet. It works. End of story.
Until it doesn’t. And that’s the tension.
Episode 328 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most people don’t know what a municipal clerk does. And if they’re honest, they probably don’t think much about the role at all.
And that’s a problem.
Episode 326 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most people assume leadership comes with the title. You step into the role, make decisions, set direction and people follow.
But in local government, it doesn’t work like that.
You can have the position and still have to earn every ounce of trust that comes with it.
Episode 325 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most leadership problems in local government don’t start at the top. They start the moment someone gets promoted.
A great operator. A highly skilled technician. Someone who knows how to get the work done.
And then one day…they’re responsible for people.
Episode 323 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Local government doesn’t struggle because people aren’t working hard. It struggles because good work gets stuck. Projects stall. Teams disconnect. Progress slows, despite everyone doing their job.
That’s the tension at the center of my conversation with Helen Ramirez, former City Manager of Brownsville, Texas. And it’s one most leaders feel but rarely name.
Episode 322 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Local government doesn’t have a budgeting problem. It has a translation problem.
Every year, cities and counties pass budgets worth millions—sometimes billions—of dollars. And yet, ask a simple question: Where is our money actually going and what impact is it creating?
Episode 320 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most people don’t understand what it actually feels like to lead in local government.
You’re making decisions with incomplete information.
Navigating pressure from every direction.
Working inside systems that don’t always work.
And still expected to deliver, for your team and your community.
