Municipal Leaders: Develop Faster, Lead Stronger, Build Better
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In an era where cities face increasingly complex challenges with limited resources, finding innovative solutions has never been more critical. Yet, many municipalities struggle with bureaucratic inertia and siloed departments that stifle creativity. Jimmy Liles, City Administrator of Nixa, Missouri, has developed a refreshingly effective approach that’s earning national attention.
Liles shares his “Think Tank” methodology and leadership philosophy in the latest episode of the HaltingWinter Podcast with Seth Winterhalter, offering valuable insights for any municipal leader looking to foster a culture of innovation.
Jimmy Liles never planned to become a city administrator. After spending nearly 20 years in law enforcement, including serving as Nixa’s Chief of Police, he found himself approached by the mayor with an unexpected proposition.
“The mayor shows up in my office and I thought, well, that’s usually never good because he never comes over just to say, ‘Hey, you’re doing a great job,'” Liles recalls with a laugh. “He sat down and said they hadn’t found what they were looking for in their search for a city administrator, and they asked that I apply for the position.”
Despite having no formal training in municipal administration, Liles was candid about his limitations. “I was just upfront and honest with them,” he explains. “I said, ‘I know nothing about water. I know nothing about wastewater. We own our own electric utility, and I know nothing about electric. If that’s what you’re looking for, I’m not your guy. But if you’re looking for somebody that can step in and lead this organization and learn all those things, then I’ll be your guy.'”
Seven years later, Liles has not only learned those technical aspects but has transformed Nixa’s approach to municipal governance, helping the rapidly growing city of 25,000 win the Missouri Municipal League Innovation Award five times.
The cornerstone of Liles’ approach is what he calls “The Think Tank” – a volunteer group of employees from different departments and all levels of the organization who meet regularly to tackle challenges and generate new ideas.
“We developed the Think Tank because we want to hear ideas from everyone, not just our leadership staff,” Liles explains. “Sometimes I think we just look within ourselves or our leadership staff for ideas, and I think we’re missing out when we don’t listen to all of our employees and get involvement and buy-in from our employees all the way through the organization.”
The Think Tank operates on a rotating basis, with new volunteers cycling in periodically to ensure fresh perspectives. Department heads help select representatives, but participation is voluntary – a key factor in ensuring genuine engagement.
“Sometimes, I might challenge them with a topic or something that we’re battling with even at the leadership team level,” Liles says. “I might send that down to the Think Tank and get their perspective and let them toss that around a little bit and come up with unique solutions and ideas.”
The results have been remarkable. The Think Tank has helped formulate Nixa’s internal culture statements, create an improved onboarding process for new employees, and develop innovative solutions to community challenges – all while giving employees at every level a voice in shaping the organization.
Beyond the Think Tank, Liles emphasizes the critical importance of organizational culture. His three-step approach offers a roadmap for municipal leaders looking to transform their own organizations:
1. Define It: “If you don’t define what your culture is, your employees will do it for you,” Liles warns. “And it may not be what you want it to be.” After a thorough process with his leadership team, Nixa identified three core values: integrity, sense of service, and accountability. These became their “non-negotiables” – principles they would not compromise under any circumstances.
2. Build It: “Building culture takes time,” Liles acknowledges. “Count on a minimum of three years, maybe five, before you really make a good change.” He emphasizes the importance of identifying informal leaders – those employees others naturally turn to for guidance – and securing their buy-in for cultural initiatives.
3. Sustain It: “You have to lead by example from the top down,” Liles stresses. “If you find that this is what you want the culture to be, then you better live that culture.” This includes both modeling the desired behaviors and holding everyone accountable to the established standards.
Liles emphasizes that internal culture always has external effects. “However you operate internally, your public will see that, and that’s how your public ends up viewing you,” he explains.
One of the most valuable insights from Liles’ journey was discovering how municipal departments interconnect. As a police officer and even as chief, he admits he had limited understanding of how other departments functioned.
“As a patrolman, I’m like, ‘Well, why can’t we have all the new stuff? Why can’t we have the cool toys and the new cars and the better pay?'” he recalls. “Because I wasn’t thinking about, well, when you flush your toilet, the stuff has to disappear. I wasn’t thinking about that.”
This revelation highlights a challenge faced by many municipalities: departmental silos that prevent effective collaboration. Liles’ experience moving from police to administration gave him a unique perspective on breaking down these barriers and fostering cross-departmental understanding.
Despite his success, Liles is refreshingly candid about the challenges of maintaining work-life boundaries in a demanding municipal role. He emphasizes the importance of having direct conversations with elected officials about availability and communication protocols.
“They’ll pick up the phone and call you while you’re in the middle of dinner with your family and ask a question that probably could wait till the next day,” Liles observes. “But if you have those conversations ahead of time with your council and kind of set those boundaries, that helps.”
Liles also recommends completely unplugging during vacations – he’s become a fan of cruising where cell service isn’t available – and using separate phones for personal and professional life.
For municipal leaders looking to implement similar approaches in their own organizations, Liles offers several key takeaways:
Above all, Liles emphasizes the importance of following your passion. “I would say it’s a very rewarding career,” he reflects. “I’ve found a lot of personal value and found a lot of reward in my time as a police officer and now in my time as a city administrator. The relationships that I’ve built, the people I’ve gotten to know – I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
To hear the full conversation with Jimmy Liles, tune in to Episode 164 of the HaltingWinter Podcast, available now on all podcast platforms. Seth Winterhalter serves as the President of HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions and speaks around the nation as a keynote speaker on the myth of work-life balance for leaders and how to create a world-class culture inside the bureaucracy of the public sector.
