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.
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.
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?
Your parks director just proposed an ambitious new project. It’s innovative, community-focused, and completely impossible with your current budget constraints. You know you need to say no, but you also need to maintain the enthusiasm and creativity that sparked the idea. What do you do?
Enter the Yes-No-Yes formula, a revolutionary approach from William Ury’s “The Power of a Positive No” that transforms how we handle these delicate situations. Let’s break down how this framework can revolutionize your municipal leadership.
Last week, a city manager told me something that stopped me in my tracks: “I came to this role passionate about serving my community. Now I feel like I’m just surrendering pieces of myself every day.”
Does that resonate with you?
The Scene: It’s 8:00 PM on a Tuesday. You’re finally sitting down to dinner with your family (your kids ate hours ago) when your phone buzzes. A council member wants your thoughts on a new policy proposal – right now. Your fork hovers halfway to your mouth as that familiar tension rises. You know you should protect your personal time, but saying “no” to elected officials feels like a political minefield.
Sound familiar?
