378: Book of the Week: Leading Change

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week: Leading ChangeEpisode 378 of The HaltingWinter Podcast Most change initiatives don't fail because the idea was wrong. They fail because the leadership conditions for change were never actually built. That's the central argument of this week's book in the MLDC, Leading Change by John P. Kotter. Kotter spent decades at Harvard Business School studying organizations attempting major transformation. What he found wasn't a strategy problem. It was a leadership problem. And the eight-step framework he built from that research has shaped how leaders think about organizational change for nearly thirty years. In this episode, Seth Winterhalter walks through why Leading Change should be in your library as a municipal leader and why the constraints of local government make Kotter's framework more relevant, not less. Local government leaders don't have market pressure forcing urgency. They don't have a single building or a shared Slack channel to communicate across. They operate inside complex political environments where the people they most need to influence often don't report to them. Kotter's framework was written for the private sector, but the leadership principles at its core apply with surprising precision to city managers, county administrators, and department heads navigating real transformation in real communities. The MLDCLeadership in local government doesn't get easier as you move up. The decisions get harder. The expectations get higher. And the number of people you can openly process those challenges with gets smaller. The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) gives local government leaders a place to keep growing alongside other professionals who understand the complexity of leading in local government. Inside the MLDC, you'll sharpen how you think, strengthen how you lead, and turn leadership ideas into practical action through: • Monthly Mastermind Sessions with municipal leaders from across North America • Leadership Development built specifically around the realities of local government • Practical Tools & Resources you can immediately apply with your team and organization • Ongoing Learning designed to keep you growing throughout the year You spend every day developing your organization, your employees, and your community. The MLDC is an investment in developing you. → Explore the Municipal Leadership Development Circle: https://haltingwinter.com/mldc/ Connect With Seth Winterhalter Seth Winterhalter is a keynote speaker and President of HaltingWinter, a national media company dedicated to telling the stories of local government. Through The HaltingWinter Podcast and the nationwide HaltingWinter Tour, he highlights the people and communities shaping America from the ground up, celebrating public servants, strengthening the profession, and inspiring the next generation to pursue lives of purpose and impact through local government. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterhalter Website: https://www.HaltingWinter.com