The HaltingWinter Podcast

Alex Mansfield: The Impossible Math of Local Government Leading When the Responsibilities Outnumber Your Resources Episode 403 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies The expectations of local government never seem to shrink, but the resources available to meet them are another story. How do you lead a community when every decision involves competing priorities, limited bud...

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week:  The Speed of Trust Episode 402 of The HaltingWinter Podcast When was the last time you considered why a simple decision in your organization somehow requires four signatures and six weeks? It might not be a process problem; it might be a trust problem. This week in the MLDC, Seth Winterhalter breaks down The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey and makes the cas...

Matt Mueller: We Had to Reinvent Our City Every Four Years Leading Through Explosive Growth from 25,000 to 70,000 Residents Episode 401 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies What happens when your community grows so quickly that the organization you built just a few years ago can no longer meet its needs? When Matt Mueller became Town Manager of Little Elm, Texas, in 2012...

Steve Mokrohisky: Culture Doesn't Care What You Say Why Behaviors Matter More Than Values Episode 400 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies Every organization has a culture. But it's not defined by the values printed on the wall, the mission statement on the website, or the words leaders use to describe it. Culture is shaped by the behaviors people demonstrate, reinforce,...

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week: Give and Take Episode 399 of The HaltingWinter Podcast This week in the MLDC, Seth Winterhalter breaks down Adam Grant's Give and Take, the research-backed case that how you handle reciprocity at work predicts success more than talent or effort alone. Grant's research reveals a surprising pattern: givers show up disproportionately among both the lowest and highes...

Michael Kovacs: Growth Isn't Free The Infrastructure Bill Your City Is Quietly Building Episode 398 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies Growth can look like success. New homes. New businesses. New roads. A growing tax base. But every piece of infrastructure a city builds today creates an obligation someone will have to pay for tomorrow. In this episode, Seth sits down w...

Deborah Stuart: Are You Developing Leaders or Just Promoting Employees? Rethinking the Leadership Pipeline in Local Government Episode 397 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies What if the biggest challenge in your leadership pipeline isn't finding better people but preparing the people you already have? In Episode 397 of The HaltingWinter Podcast, Seth Winterhalter sits...

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week:  The Motive Episode 396 of The HaltingWinter Podcast This week in the MLDC, Seth Winterhalter explores The Motive by Patrick Lencioni, a leadership fable built around two rival CEOs, one struggling and one quietly thriving, and the uncomfortable conversation that reveals why. Lencioni draws a sharp distinction between leaders who take the top job as a reward for...

Jennifer Miller: "No" Is the Lazy Answer Breaking Silos and Building a Culture That Solves Problems Episode 396 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies "No" is often the easiest answer in government. It gets the issue off your desk, protects the process, and keeps things moving. But as Jennifer Miller, Deputy County Executive for Fairfax County, Virginia, puts it: "No is th...

Melissa Marsh: Being Capable Doesn't Mean Carrying It All How to Step Up, Speak Up, and Protect Your Capacity Episode 394 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies The people who rise in local government are often the ones willing to step up, take on more, and solve problems no one asked them to solve. But what happens when everyone gets so used to you carrying more that they...

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week:  The Anatomy of Peace Episode 393 of The HaltingWinter Podcast This week's book centers on an unlikely pairing: Yusuf, a Palestinian, and Avi, an Israeli, each of whom lost his father to the other side's conflict. Rather than let that history define them, they built a program together for resolving conflicts that seem permanent: the kind where both sides are cert...

Meredith Reynolds: When Excellence Becomes the Problem Why Great Leaders Have to Learn When Good Enough Is Enough Episode 392 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies For high-achieving leaders, excellence can feel like the standard for everything. But what happens when giving everything your best starts getting in the way of leading well? In this episode, Seth sits down wit...

Makenzie Lyons: When Your Strengths Become Your Weaknesses Why Leadership Growth Often Requires a Reboot Episode 391 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies What if the very strengths that helped you become successful are now holding you back as a leader? Makenzie Lyons, City Administrator of Winnsboro, Texas, joins Seth to talk about her unconventional journey into local g...

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week: The Culture Map Episode 390 of The HaltingWinter Podcast When was the last time you walked out of a meeting wondering why a completely reasonable conversation landed so badly with someone else? It might not be personality...it might be culture. In this episode, Seth Winterhalter digs into Erin Meyer's The Culture Map and what her research on cross-cultural busine...

Marketa Oliver: Who Says We Have to Do It That Way? How Creative Leadership Is Changing Local Government Episode 389 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies What happens when local government leaders stop asking, "How have we always done it?" and start asking, "What if?" Marketa Oliver, City Administrator of Bondurant, Iowa, joins Seth to talk about creative leadership, cal...

Mark Jackson: You Can Be Right and Still Get It Wrong Why Municipal Leadership Requires More Than Knowing the Answer Episode 388 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies Being right isn't enough. After more than three decades as a city administrator, Mark Jackson has learned that successful local government leadership requires more than technical expertise. It requires judgm...

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week:  The Gap and the Gain Episode 387 of The HaltingWinter Podcast Ever close out a genuinely good year...budget gaps closed, positions filled, a rough council relationship finally on stable ground...and still feel like you're behind? This episode digs into why that happens, and it's not about work ethic or how much you're getting done. It's about which direction you...

Katie Beemer: Stop Waiting for Someone Else to Solve It How Local Leaders Create Momentum in Their Communities Episode 386 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies What does it take to create momentum when your community is facing a problem no one person can solve? Katie Beemer, City Administrator of Fennville, Michigan, joins The HaltingWinter Podcast to talk about building...

Kevin Mizikar: Are You Still Doing Instead of Leading? The Shift Every Local Government Leader Must Make Episode 385 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies What happens when the skills that made you successful are no longer the skills your job requires? For Kevin Mizikar, Town Manager of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, moving from technical roles into organizational leadership...

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week:  Atlas of the Heart Episode 384 of The HaltingWinter Podcast This week, Seth Winterhalter looks at why local government leadership is an emotional profession that almost nobody trains for and how a lack of precise language for what you're feeling in the moment quietly costs leaders their ability to respond well. The conversation centers on  Atlas of the Heart by...

David G. Brown II: Teach Me How This Works Why Curiosity May Be a Leader's Greatest Advantage Episode 383 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies David G. Brown II has built a career in local government by being willing to walk into unfamiliar territory and ask a simple question: Teach me how this works. In this episode of The HaltingWinter Podcast, Seth Winterhalter sits d...

Randy Murphy: Leading Without Control Why Influence Matters More Than Authority Episode 382 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies What does leadership look like when you realize you were never really in control to begin with? In this episode of The HaltingWinter Podcast, Seth Winterhalter sits down with Randy Murphy, City Manager of Solvang, California , for a conversatio...

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week:  The Road Back to You Episode 381 of The HaltingWinter Podcast Seth introduces The Road Back to You by Ian Cron and Suzanne Stabile, a practical primer on the Enneagram, a framework that maps nine distinct ways people are wired, including their core motivations, fears, and blind spots. Seth unpacks why this book lands differently for local government leaders than...

Brent Trout: You Can't Do It All How the Manager's Job Changes as the Organization Grows Episode 380 of The HaltingWinter   Podcast Sponsored by  Tyler Technologies The skills that make you successful leading a small organization aren't necessarily the same skills you need as the organization grows. Early in his career, Brent Trout was the city administrator of a community of roughly 900 people. B...

Joe Ambrosini: Are We Hiring for the Future or Protecting the Past? Rethinking the systems standing between local government and great talent Episode 379 of  The HaltingWinter Podcast Sponsored by Tyler Technologies Local government desperately needs talented people. But are the systems designed to protect our organizations actually making it harder for great people to get through the door? In thi...