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 379 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
Sponsored by Tyler Technologies
Local government has a talent problem.
Across the country, cities and counties are competing for employees, preparing for retirements, struggling to fill critical positions, and asking how they can convince more talented people to consider careers in public service.
But there’s another question we should be asking: What if some of the people we desperately need are already trying to get in, and our systems are keeping them out?
That’s what makes this conversation with Joe Ambrosini, Director of Human Resources for Placer County, California, so interesting.
Before Joe entered local government, he built a successful career in healthcare HR. When he decided he wanted to bring that experience into public service, he applied for HR director positions with cities, counties, and special districts.
Again and again, he made it deep into the hiring process.
And again and again, he heard essentially the same thing: We really liked you. We went with someone who already had government experience.
Eventually, Joe was offered an opportunity with Butte County, but it required him to take a step backward in his career to get his foot in the door.
He took it. And once he got inside local government, he understood part of the hesitation.
There were things he needed to learn: staff reports, governing boards, public-sector processes, and the political realities of government organizations.
But Joe also came to an important conclusion: Those things can be taught.
There’s an irony I love in his story: The guy local government was reluctant to hire because he didn’t understand government eventually became one of the people challenging government to rethink how it hires.
And there’s a lesson in that for every local government leader.
One of the most important takeaways from my conversation with Joe is that hiring cannot simply be treated as an HR problem.
When vacancies prevent garbage from being collected, projects from moving forward, permits from being processed, parks from being maintained, or residents from receiving the services they depend on, recruitment becomes a service-delivery issue.
That makes it a leadership issue.
City managers, county administrators, department directors, HR leaders, and elected officials should all be asking:
Are our systems helping us build the workforce we need next, or are we protecting processes designed for the workforce we had before?
Not every old system is bad. Not every requirement should disappear. And government should never abandon the safeguards that protect fairness, accountability, and public trust simply because they are inconvenient.
But longevity isn’t evidence of effectiveness either.
Sometimes leadership means having the courage to examine the systems we’ve inherited and ask whether they’re still accomplishing what they were created to accomplish.
Because local government needs great people.
And we can’t afford to make it unnecessarily difficult for them to get through the door.
Watch the full conversation on YouTube or listen to the audio version below.
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 AI to budgeting solutions, 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 leadership and their organization. Learn more at haltingwinter.com/mldc →
The HaltingWinter Podcast shines a spotlight on the people behind our cities and counties. Through candid conversations with local government leaders from across the nation, host Seth Winterhalter explores the journeys, challenges, and ideas shaping stronger communities while inspiring the next generation of public servants.
