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 hired good people. You know they’re capable. So why does your talented team seem disengaged during strategic planning but energized during crisis response?
Why do some council meetings leave you feeling drained while others fuel your enthusiasm for the work? Why does that department head who’s brilliant at operations struggle to build support for new initiatives?
Here’s the breakthrough: It’s not about competence. It’s about alignment.
Patrick Lencioni’s The 6 Types of Working Genius reveals why your most frustrating leadership challenges aren’t really about people problems. They’re about positioning problems. Every person has exactly two types of work that energize them, two they can handle competently, and two that consistently drain them.
This week, we’re diving deep into how this framework solves the persistent issues you face daily:
Your innovation problem. When budget constraints demand creative solutions, you need your Wonder and Invention people engaged in ideation, not stuck in operational roles.
Your implementation struggles. Those initiatives that start strong but fade away? You’re missing systematic engagement of Discernment and Galvanizing genius to move from ideas to action.
Your project completion challenges. That downtown revitalization plan that’s been “almost done” for months needs both Enablement and Tenacity genius working together to drive results.
Your team energy issues. People aren’t lazy or uncommitted, they’re simply operating outside their natural gifts too often, creating frustration and burnout.
The beauty of Working Genius is its immediate applicability. You don’t need to restructure your entire organization. You need to become more strategic about engaging the right people for the right types of work.
When the city manager who’s been struggling with team morale discovers her Wonder people have been stuck in routine operational meetings, everything changes. When the department head realizes his best Invention person has been handling administrative tasks instead of solving problems, breakthrough thinking emerges.
This isn’t about personality types or complex assessments. It’s about understanding that different people contribute differently and leveraging those differences strategically.
Your constraints are real. Your political pressures aren’t going away. But within those limitations, you have more flexibility than you realize to position people for success.
Ready to transform how your team operates? Join the MLDC waitlist for priority access during our next enrollment window. Get exclusive insights, practical tools, and a community of local government leaders who understand your unique challenges.
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.
