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 298 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
Most municipal leaders don’t wake up one day with a perfectly mapped-out career plan. They step into responsibility when the opportunity, or the crisis, arrives.
That’s exactly what happened to Abbie Ogborn, City Manager and City Clerk of Wright City, Missouri.
Abbie didn’t begin her career aiming for City Hall. She started as a softball umpire in her hometown. From there, she worked in the parks department, moved into City Hall part-time, and steadily took on more responsibility. In February 2020, she was sworn in as City Clerk.
Three weeks later, the world shut down.
What followed wasn’t just a crash course in crisis management. It was a rapid evolution of how a small city operates. Paper processes went digital. Communication shifted. Networking became a lifeline. And leadership wasn’t theoretical anymore; it was immediate.
Now serving as both City Manager and City Clerk, Abbie is helping guide Wright City through explosive growth. Nearly 1,900 residential units have been approved in a community that still doesn’t have a stoplight. Major infrastructure projects are underway. Interstate 70 is expanding. Developers are circling. Residents are asking questions.
Growth is exciting. It’s also destabilizing.
In our conversation, Abbie shares what it means to lead in that tension, to balance present-day service with long-term planning, to preserve community identity while preparing for expansion, and to carry the weight of decisions that shape the next decade of a city’s life.
Her story is a reminder of something every local government leader knows: You rarely feel fully ready. But leadership often begins anyway.
If you’re navigating growth, modernization, or simply the quiet pressure of responsibility in your community, this episode will resonate. Because sometimes the best leaders aren’t the ones who planned for the role.
They’re the ones who stepped up when it mattered most.
Listen to Episode 299 with Abbie Ogborn now.
This episode is sponsored by Tyler Technologies, the leader in empowering the public sector with software solutions that connect data, streamline operations, and improve service delivery. From civic services to public safety, Tyler helps local governments build stronger, more resilient communities.
Learn more at tylertech.com/winter →
The MLDC is where local government leaders go to grow, together. It’s the fastest-growing leadership development community designed specifically for the public sector, now paired with a comprehensive 9-month Leadership & Culture Program for those ready to elevate their organization.
Learn more at haltingwinter.com/mldc →
The HaltingWinter Podcast celebrates and elevates the people who power local government. Through in-depth conversations with leaders from cities, counties, and communities of all sizes, host Seth Winterhalter explores the journeys, challenges, and innovations happening in municipal leadership across America.
