Clarity about what matters. Capability that stays.
For city managers, county administrators and the teams they lead.
- Think TanksMonthly peer groupConfidential advice from the same peers, monthly.
- Executive CoachingOne leader, one coachOne-on-one coaching matched to your situation.
- WorkshopsFacilitated team workFacilitated sessions that end in written next steps.
- Consulting ServicesInterim and project capacityInterim leadership and extra capacity for projects.
- Explore all servicesCompare every service, scoped to your situation.
Since 2020, the conditions around work and life have changed, and what worked still matters. Together, we can name what that means for the work ahead.
What Changed
A few situations a leader may recognize. Not every one fits every organization, and these are not the only ones.
Political Dynamics
- Months of staff work, then the votes are not there.
- Good plans wait while the board works through differences.
- 41% of local officials see polarization hurting their community.
Workforce Expectations
- A board member asks to learn, and staff hear direction.
- Five members, five questions, and no single list.
- 49% of employees strongly agree they know what’s expected.
AI Transformation
- Staff use AI tools before the guidance arrives.
- 43% of public sector workers now use AI at work.
- 37% say their organization has a clear AI strategy.
Conditions like these shape the work leaders and staff do together. The Shift That Sticks offers four practices for that work, named from what has always worked.
That work continues in Think Tanks, where city and county managers take on real situations together.
Think Tanks
Monthly, confidential sessions with peers in the same seat, from outside your jurisdiction.
Sit in on a real one first, online and at no cost.
“That allows us to be a little more trusting and free than we might be at a state association meeting… we know our issues are not going to come back to us.”
Rob Duncan has facilitated Think Tanks with city managers and county administrators since 2020. The same situations come up session after session, and the four practices are what is working, learned from leaders in rooms like these.
More about Rob DuncanWhat do you actually need to talk about?
Bring it to a first conversation with Rob: thirty minutes, on what is on your desk.
With or without us, we’re happy to point the way.