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.
You know that moment. The one you don’t talk about at staff meetings or mention at conferences.
You’re sitting in your office after the council meeting where everything went sideways. Or you’re in your car at 7 p.m., staring at the steering wheel, wondering why you’re still doing this. Or you’re lying awake at 2 a.m., replaying the public hearing where residents blamed you for problems you didn’t create and can’t solve alone.
And the question surfaces: “Why am I doing this?”
Every local government leader I know has asked this question. Some ask it weekly. Some daily. Some are asking it right now.
This week, we’re exploring a book that addresses this question head-on: Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning.”
Frankl was a psychiatrist who survived Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. He watched some prisoners give up and die while others, facing identical circumstances, found ways to endure. He became obsessed with understanding the difference.
His conclusion changed psychology: Those who survived had something powerful enough to transcend their circumstances—a sense of meaning. He wrote: “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how.'”
Now, your difficult council isn’t a concentration camp. But Frankl’s insight applies anywhere the “how” of your daily experience threatens to overwhelm the “why” of your deeper purpose.
And in local government leadership? The “how” is relentless.
How you’ll navigate the politics. How you’ll do more with less. How you’ll implement decisions you disagree with. How you’ll keep your team motivated when morale is shot. How you’ll maintain your integrity when everyone’s got an agenda.
The “how” will crush you if you lose your “why.”
Monday: We explore Frankl’s central insight about the ultimate human freedom—choosing your attitude toward circumstances. You can’t control your council, budget, or next crisis. But you absolutely control your response.
Tuesday: What do you do when you’re stuck with unchangeable situations? Frankl’s framework: when you can’t change a situation, you’re challenged to change yourself. The obstacle becomes the opportunity.
Wednesday: Why comparing your difficult situation to someone else’s easier one misses the point entirely. Your constraints don’t prevent your meaningful work—they define it.
Thursday: Your best work is often invisible. The crisis that didn’t happen. The system that works flawlessly. The disaster you prevented. How do you find meaning when nobody notices?
Friday: Practical application. Monday’s coming with all its challenges. Here’s how to actually apply Frankl’s insights when your circumstances remain stubbornly unchanged.
Because you’re tired. Because the work takes more than it gives some days. Because you’re wondering if it’s worth it.
And because Frankl proved something crucial: humans can endure almost anything if they maintain a sense of meaning and purpose. Your circumstances may be difficult, but if Frankl could find meaning in a concentration camp, you can find it in your city hall.
Not by pretending things are fine. Not by denying the difficulty. But by choosing to become someone you respect while navigating the difficulty.
If you’re not yet an MLDC member, this is the week to join. We’re creating daily content specifically designed to help you reconnect with why your leadership matters, even when (especially when) it feels like it doesn’t.
Because your community needs leaders who remember their “why.” And you need a community that helps you remember when the “how” threatens to overwhelm everything else.
Your work matters. Your leadership matters. And your response to today’s challenges…that’s where your legacy gets written.
Let’s explore how to write it well: Learn More Here
The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) is a professional growth community exclusively for city managers, administrators, and local government leaders. Each week, we explore insights from transformative books and apply them specifically to the unique challenges of municipal leadership. Join Seth Winterhalter, President of HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions, and leaders from across North America to build stronger cities through stronger leaders. Learn more at HaltingWinter.com/MLDC.
