The Conversation That Launched a Career

Episode 304 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Brought to you by Tyler Technologies

Most city managers didn’t grow up dreaming about becoming one. Many of them didn’t even know the role existed.

For Jeff Weckbach, Township Administrator of Colerain Township, Ohio, it all started with a college assignment. He was told to interview someone in a field he might be interested in. So he reached out to Cincinnati’s city manager at the time…Milton Dohoney.

Milton said yes.

That one conversation changed the course and created a path to a career.

In Episode 304 of The HaltingWinter Podcast, Jeff shares how exposure, not a lifelong master plan, set him on the path toward municipal leadership. What began as curiosity turned into internships. Internships turned into county government work. And eventually, that journey led him into the administrator’s chair.

But this episode isn’t just about Jeff’s story. It’s about the future of local government.

Jeff talks candidly about:

• Why internships are more about discovery than résumé building
• The difficult transition from assistant to administrator
• The leadership shift from doing the work to letting go of it
• The responsibility today’s leaders carry to mentor the next generation
• How citizen academies can build public trust and understanding

One of the most powerful moments in the episode comes when Jeff describes handing off a project he once would have owned himself, only to watch a member of his team exceed expectations. Leadership, he learned, isn’t about holding tightly to responsibility. It’s about releasing it wisely.

That’s the tension many municipal leaders feel today.

We need more leaders.
We need stronger pipelines.
We need communities that understand the work being done on their behalf.

And often, it starts with something simple: a conversation.

If you care about inspiring the next generation of city managers, or becoming one yourself, this episode is worth your time.

Listen to Episode 304: Jeff Weckbach: The Conversation That Launched a Career

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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.