The HaltingWinter Podcast

Lisa Garcia: Not Just a Clerk
The Leadership, Influence, and Impact Behind the Title
*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "7f0aa905-d803-4481-9e44-c1a088a011df" data-testid= "conversation-turn-12" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> Episode 328 of The HaltingWinter Podcast Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
May 3 through May 9, 2026, marks the 57th Annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week, and there's no better time to shine a light on one of the most essential and often overlooked roles in local government.
In this episode, Seth Winterhalter sits down with Lisa Garcia, Clerk and Deputy Manager for the Town of Florence, Arizona, whose 30+ year career tells a story most people never hear, but every community depends on.
From her early days navigating uncertainty to becoming a nationally recognized leader and past president of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC), Lisa shares what it really means to serve at the center of local government.
This conversation goes far beyond the title.
You'll hear:
Why the municipal clerk role is far more than most people realize
How local government leaders grow into roles they were never fully prepared for
The power of mentorship, community, and continuous learning
What transparency actually looks like behind the scenes
How communication—and lack of it—shapes public trust
The rising challenge of incivility and what leaders can do about it
Why local government is not just a job, but a calling
Lisa also shares one of the most practical leadership exercises you'll hear all year, something every leader should be doing, but almost no one is.
This week, take a moment to recognize and thank the municipal clerks in your community...the ones working behind the scenes to bring order, transparency, and continuity to the work that keeps our cities running.
Sponsored by:
Tyler Technologies – the nation's leading provider of software solutions designed specifically for the public sector and local government. Learn more at https://tylertech.com/winter

The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) is a global community for local government leaders who want ongoing support, practical insights, and a trusted peer network to help them lead with clarity and conviction. Learn more at https://haltingwinter.com/MLDC
Connect with Seth Winterhalter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterhalter
Website: https://www.HaltingWinter.com

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week – The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Episode 327 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> Most leadership teams look functional on the surface. Meetings happen. Decisions get made. People stay professional. But if your most important initiatives keep stalling, if the hard conversations keep happening everywhere except the room where they need to happen, and if you've quietly become the only person holding the whole operation together, the problem probably isn't strategy, budget, or staffing.
It's the team.
In this week's MLDC book, we dig into Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team — one of the most important leadership books written in the last two decades — and run it straight through the realities of local government. Lencioni's model is built on a five-layer pyramid, and every layer compounds on the one below it. Absent trust produces conflict avoidance. Conflict avoidance produces shallow commitment. Shallow commitment kills peer accountability. And without accountability, teams drift toward protecting their own corner of the organization instead of delivering for the community they serve.
Every one of those dysfunctions hits differently when you're operating in a fishbowl, managing directors who've been in their seats longer than you've been their manager, and navigating elected oversight that can turn an internal disagreement into a public agenda item.


Join the MLDC for the Complete 5-Part Series
The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) is a network of local government leaders from across North America, including city/county managers, administrators, and department heads, giving you access to: 

     ✔ A weekly podcast series breaking down one book for municipal applications
     ✔ Daily blog reflections and implementation tools
     ✔ Our live, weekly, virtual mastermind session
     ✔ Monthly webinars with relevant training from local gov leaders
➡ Learn more at www.HaltingWinter.com/MLDC
Resources Mentioned
Book: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Connect with Seth Winterhalter
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterhalter
Website: www.HaltingWinter.com

Chase Bruton: Earning Respect, Not Demanding It
How Jiu-Jitsu Shapes Leadership in an Increasingly Uncivil World
*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "7f0aa905-d803-4481-9e44-c1a088a011df" data-testid= "conversation-turn-12" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> Episode 326 of The HaltingWinter Podcast Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
What does Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu have to do with running a town?
More than you'd think.
In this episode, Town Manager Chase Bruton (Yorktown, Indiana) shares how lessons from the mat—patience, positioning, and staying composed under pressure—have shaped the way he leads in local government. Because in a role where you're navigating public scrutiny, internal dynamics, and rising incivility, force doesn't work. Presence does.
Chase reflects on stepping into leadership at a young age, learning to earn trust without relying on authority, and why the most effective leaders don't stay behind a desk; they get out into the community and meet people where they are.
From managing day-to-day operations to responding in moments of crisis, this conversation is a grounded look at what leadership actually requires when there's no playbook and no easy wins.
If you're leading in today's environment—or preparing to—this episode will challenge how you think about respect, resilience, and what it really means to show up.
Sponsored by:
Tyler Technologies – the nation's leading provider of software solutions designed specifically for the public sector and local government. Learn more at https://tylertech.com/winter

The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) is a global community for local government leaders who want ongoing support, practical insights, and a trusted peer network to help them lead with clarity and conviction. Learn more at https://haltingwinter.com/MLDC
Connect with Seth Winterhalter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterhalter
Website: https://www.HaltingWinter.com

Matthew von der Hayden: The Leadership Gap No One Is Fixing
When Technical Experts Are Thrown Into Leadership Unprepared
*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "7f0aa905-d803-4481-9e44-c1a088a011df" data-testid= "conversation-turn-12" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> Episode 325 of The HaltingWinter Podcast Brought to you by Tyler Technologies
*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-WEB:f5d404f8-ca3d-4963-9292-ba5aa2b18872-7" data-testid= "conversation-turn-16" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn= "assistant"> Most leaders in local government aren't struggling because they lack effort.
They're struggling because they were promoted for their skills and never properly trained to lead people.
In this episode, Matthew von der Hayden, Township Administrator of Stafford, New Jersey, and one of the National Academy of Public Administration's 250 Public Service Champions, shares his unconventional path from chemist to city hall, and what it taught him about the real leadership gap facing local government today.
We talk about the tension between managing the day-to-day and leading for the long-term, why infrastructure decisions no one sees matter the most, and how communication—not policy—is often the starting point for culture change.
Matthew also pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to run a modern municipality: long-range planning, cross-department alignment, building trust with staff and elected officials, and making decisions that impact thousands of lives, often without recognition.







Sponsored by:
Tyler Technologies – the nation's leading provider of software solutions designed specifically for the public sector and local government. Download their latest e-book on AI for FREE at https://tylertech.com/winter

The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) is built for local government leaders who were promoted for their skills, but never specifically trained to lead people. It's the development center for leaders across the nation who serve in all types and sizes of local government organizations. Learn more at https://haltingwinter.com/MLDC
Connect with Seth Winterhalter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterhalter
Website: https://www.HaltingWinter.com

Show Notes: MLDC Book of the Week – Never Split the Difference
Episode 324 of The HaltingWinter Podcast
_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> Most local government leaders walk into their hardest conversations armed with data, logic, and well-prepared arguments and still walk out without what they needed. In this episode, Seth Winterhalter introduces this week's MLDC book of the week: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, a former lead FBI hostage negotiator and founder of The Black Swan Group.
Voss spent 24 years negotiating in life-or-death situations, and what he learned turned conventional negotiation wisdom on its head. His core argument: people don't make decisions based on logic. They make decisions based on emotion...and the leaders who understand that get better outcomes in every difficult conversation, from council chambers to union halls to community meetings.
This episode breaks down why Voss's framework is unusually powerful for local government leaders, what the book's central reframe means in practice, and how the MLDC is helping members apply these ideas to the specific pressures and constraints of public service leadership.
If you want to go deeper on this week's content (daily podcast episodes, implementation guides, and the full framework translated into the local government context), head over to HaltingWinter.com/MLDC to learn more about the MLDC.


Join the MLDC for the Complete 5-Part Series
The Municipal Leadership Development Circle (MLDC) is a network of local government leaders from across North America, including city/county managers, administrators, and department heads, giving you access to: 

     ✔ A weekly podcast series breaking down one book for municipal applications
     ✔ Daily blog reflections and implementation tools
     ✔ Our live, weekly, virtual mastermind session
     ✔ Monthly webinars with relevant training from local gov leaders
➡ Learn more at www.HaltingWinter.com/MLDC
Resources Mentioned
Book: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Connect with Seth Winterhalter
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterhalter
Website: www.HaltingWinter.com