Understanding the Shift
Why This Matters Now
The environment changed faster than leadership patterns could adapt. Understanding what shifted is the first step toward navigating it.
The Core Insight
The strategies that built our careers were calibrated for conditions that no longer exist the same way. This isn’t a failure of leadership, it’s an environmental reality that 250+ city managers and county administrators have navigated in our Think Tank sessions since 2020.
Research from the 2025 World Happiness Report and Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace confirms what practitioners already sense: the gap between what leaders intend and what employees experience has widened significantly. We explore this in depth in our research library.
Three Shifts That Changed the Game
AI Transformation
Over 70% of workers express concern about AI disruption, yet fewer than 20% have heard from their manager about how it affects their role.
Workforce Expectations
Five generations working side by side, each with different expectations about communication, recognition, autonomy, and purpose.
Political Dynamics
Council dynamics, community expectations, and media scrutiny operate differently than five years ago. The playbook changed while we were executing the old one.
What This Means
This isn’t about working harder or learning more techniques. The patterns that built our success were sound, they were calibrated for conditions that existed when we developed them. Those conditions shifted.
The challenge isn’t personal inadequacy. It’s environmental change. Understanding this distinction is where transformation begins. The people we work with spend most of their waking hours in conditions we shape. Their experience of meaning, clarity, and purpose at work, that’s largely determined by leadership. When leaders can’t see clearly or adapt effectively, everyone downstream feels it.
One conversation to try this week: Ask someone who’s been with your organization less than two years: “What’s something that surprised you about how we work here, something you didn’t expect?” Then listen without explaining. The answer tells you something about what you’ve stopped seeing. This is Face the Truth in action.
The Path Forward
Navigating changed conditions requires a methodology, a structured approach to seeing clearly, deciding deliberately, and building systems that make our priorities real.
Or connect with peers navigating the same challenges: Think Tanks · Community · Start a Conversation
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