Introducing: The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) - Save 50% During Launch Phase
Every week, you’ll get insights and actionable steps to help you navigate personal growth and professional success.
Where municipal transformation really begins
I learned my most valuable leadership lesson not in city hall, but on a conductor’s podium.
Standing before an orchestra of eighty talented musicians, each capable of playing their part to perfection, I discovered something crucial: Excellence isn’t about individual ability. It’s about awareness, balance, and cultivation.
One talented musician playing perfectly but out of sync creates chaos, not music.
One section excelling while others struggle produces noise, not harmony.
One brilliant moment without sustained excellence yields temporary beauty, not lasting greatness.
The same is true in municipal leadership.
Picture this: You’ve just finished a contentious council meeting. The controversial development project was approved. The immediate crisis is “handled.” Yet hours later, you’re lying awake, your mind racing, your body tense – despite the fact that the situation is technically resolved.
Sound familiar?
As municipal leaders, you’re experts at managing crises. But there’s a crucial distinction that the Nagoski sisters’ research on burnout reveals: Managing the stressor (the council meeting, the development project, the public controversy) is not the same as managing the stress itself. This insight has profound implications for how we approach leadership sustainability in municipal government.
“It’s just part of the job.”
How many times have you heard this phrase – or said it yourself – when discussing the endless demands of municipal leadership? The late-night calls, the constant vigilance, the personal sacrifices… we’ve accepted these as inevitable costs of serving our communities.
But what if this deeply held belief isn’t just wrong – what if it’s actively undermining your ability to lead effectively?
With city managers, it’s often joked about stress being part of the job description. The 2 AM emergency calls. The constant juggling of council priorities. The weight of community expectations. But what if your acceptance of chronic stress isn’t just affecting you personally – what if it’s quietly undermining your cities’ potential?
This week, we’re diving deep into groundbreaking research on burnout that has profound implications for municipal leadership. Through my interactions with city managers across the country, I’ve seen how the insights from Emily and Amelia Nagoski’s book on burnout specifically apply to the unique pressures of municipal leadership.
A letter from your future self.
Dear Municipal Leader,
I’m writing to you from December 2025. Yes, the same office. Same desk. Same view out your window. But everything else? That’s different now.
Remember how things felt a year ago? The constant firefighting. The endless meetings. The frustrated employees. The growing stack of “we’ll get to it someday” projects.
Let me show you what changed. More importantly, let me show you how it changed.
Hello, Impactful City Leaders!
Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Leader’s Lens!” Drawing from Roger Connors and Tom Smith’s groundbreaking work “Change the Culture, Change the Game,” we’ve explored how beliefs shape actions and drive results in municipal organizations. This week’s insights reveal why most cultural transformations fail – and more importantly, how to ensure yours succeeds.
Finding time for leadership development is challenging enough. Creating an actual game plan that drives real growth? That can feel impossible.
That’s why as a Black Friday special (only available Nov 29-Dec 1), I’m offering:
Stop piecing together your development plan alone. Let’s create a structured path to make 2025 your breakthrough year.
Use Coupon Code “BlackFriday” at checkout: SAVE NOW!
To learn more about the Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC), go here.
In local government, recognition often comes in the form of complaints rather than praise. The water system works perfectly for years – silence. One day of issues – instant feedback. Yet the dedication of municipal employees continues, ensuring our communities thrive through their often unseen efforts.
This Thanksgiving season, I challenge you to be intentional about expressing gratitude. Take time to specifically thank your team members for their contributions. Whether it’s the water treatment operator ensuring safe drinking water, the maintenance crew keeping our streets clean, or the permit specialist helping businesses grow – every role matters.
Remember: gratitude isn’t just about feeling thankful – it’s about expressing it. Your words of appreciation might be the encouragement that helps someone persevere through their next challenge.
Episode 120: Breaking Free from “We’ve Always Done It This Way”
Discover why changing your culture might be the most important thing you do this year. We explore:
Episode 121: From Banking to Breakthrough Leadership with Brooks Williams
Meet the City Manager who transformed “the town where everyone hates each other” into a high-performing organization. Hear about:
The last part of the podcast features a few snippets from Brooks’ new book, “Rising to Serve: Reimagining Public Administration for a New Era” which you can purchase at this link.
Drawing insights from the book, “Change the Culture, Change the Game,” we’ve explored how to create lasting cultural transformation in municipal organizations:
Monday: Transforming Municipal Culture: Beyond the Status Quo
Success Understanding the key challenges facing cultural transformation
Tuesday: The Results Pyramid: Transforming Leadership from the Inside Out
How beliefs drive actions and create organizational results
Wednesday: Cultural Beliefs and Leadership
The critical role of leadership in shaping and sustaining cultural beliefs
Thursday: Sustainable Culture Transformation
Building changes that last through political transitions and budget cycles
Friday: From Insight to Impact
Practical steps for implementing cultural transformation
This week’s exploration of cultural transformation reminds me why I’m passionate about municipal leadership. Every city has the potential for excellence – it’s the beliefs we hold that often limit what’s possible. Brooks Williams’ story proves that even the most challenging cultures can be transformed through authentic leadership and consistent action.
Next week, we’re diving into “Burnout” by Emily and Amelia Nagoski as we take the month of December to focus on the B of my ABCs of Impactful Leadership framework: Personal Well-Being. In the week ahead we’ll explore:
P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn to receive this content and engage in the comments!
Seth Winterhalter is President of HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions and creator of the ABCs of Impactful Leadership framework. Through executive coaching, results-based consulting, and the Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC), he helps city managers transform their organizational cultures to create lasting, meaningful impact in their communities.
This week, we’ve explored how the insights from “Change the Culture, Change the Game” can transform municipal organizations. We’ve examined the Results Pyramid, discussed the power of leadership beliefs, and explored strategies for sustainable change. Now it’s time to move from understanding to action.
Your first 90 days of systematic transformation
“This isn’t going to be another bookshelf program, is it?”
Mark Davis, a veteran department head at the City of Millbrook, voiced what everyone was thinking during their leadership team meeting. After twenty years in municipal government, he’d seen enough leadership initiatives come and go to fill a library.
City Manager Tony Stark understood his skepticism. But he also knew this time was different.
“No, Mark,” he smiled. “This time we’re not buying books. We’re building engines.”
How many culture change initiatives have you seen fade away after the initial enthusiasm dies down? Or worse, how many have you watched dissolve with the next election cycle or leadership transition? In municipal government, where political winds shift regularly and budget cycles dictate priorities, creating lasting cultural change can feel like building a sandcastle as the tide comes in.
As we continue our exploration of “Change the Culture, Change the Game,” today we focus on making cultural transformation stick – not just through the next council meeting or budget cycle, but for the long haul. Because in municipal government, sustainable change isn’t just desirable; it’s essential for community impact.
When Brooks Williams arrived as city manager of Ferris, Texas, bets were literally being placed on how long he would last. The city had churned through 12 city managers in 10 years, and a local magazine had dubbed Ferris “the town where everyone hates each other.”
Today, Ferris is known for something entirely different: being too fast for its private sector partners to keep up.
In this week’s powerful episode of The HaltingWinter Podcast, Brooks Williams shares his remarkable journey from banking executive to transformational city manager, offering a masterclass in how to create high-performing municipal organizations that break free from the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset.
