In local government, an engaged team isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity. When employees feel connected, valued, and motivated, productivity increases, collaboration thrives, and the organization better serves the community. Yet, many leaders struggle with engagement, facing challenges such as remote work, communication barriers, and team members who are resistant to change.

In a recent LeaderGov podcast episode, host Bill Stark sat down with Stan Wilson, Director of Health and Human Services and Community Development for Fulton County, Georgia. With extensive leadership experience across multiple local government agencies, Stan shared invaluable insights on how leaders can build engaged, high-performing teams. His practical approach, developed over years of leading diverse teams, provides a roadmap for any leader looking to foster a culture of engagement.

Understanding the State of Engagement

Before improving engagement, it’s crucial to assess where your team currently...

In today’s workplace, it’s common to see multiple generations working side by side. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, each generation brings unique experiences, strengths, and—let’s face it—quirks. However, these differences can sometimes create friction, especially in local government settings where Baby Boomers are often overrepresented compared to the private sector. Instead of letting these differences create conflict, forward-thinking leaders can leverage them to build high-performing teams.

Navigating a multigenerational workplace can feel challenging, but it’s also a unique opportunity to strengthen teams by leveraging diverse strengths. To transform generational differences from sources of conflict into drivers of collaboration, leaders can focus on six key strategies:

1. Understand Generational Dynamics – Recognize the strengths and quirks of Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.
2. Foster Mentorship – Bridge gaps by encouraging knowledge-sharing between experienced leaders...

In a recent LinkedIn poll, we asked local government leaders if their teams’ emotional intelligence was above average, average or below average. The results were not surprising in that most people rated their team below average or average. 

So, what does it take to increase and develop emotional awareness on a team? Developing emotional intelligence in an organization can have numerous benefits, including improved communication, increased teamwork, and better conflict resolution. 

Here are some ways to grow emotional intelligence in your local government:

• Invest in training and coaching: Employees can benefit from workshops, seminars, and coaching sessions on emotional intelligence. These programs can help them develop self-awareness, empathy, and effective communication skills. 
• Lead by example: Leaders play a crucial role in fostering emotional intelligence in their organizations. By modeling behaviors such as active listening, compassion, and empathy, they can inspire their ...

In local government there is a lot of stress on teams to get more done with less.   This is also true in private industry, but since local governments literally serve everyone in a community, the pressure to get things done is unique. 

Without good listening instructions fall apart, people feel dismissed, mistakes occur, projects fail or are delayed, productivity goes down and frustration pervades. 

Your personality plays a role in how well you listen.   

• If you’re a dominate or driver style personality, you may have a hard time listening to others because you already know the answer….so why even listen!   Strong driver styles are actually often right, so they get impatient with listening, gathering others' input and needless research.

• If you are an inspiring and influencer style personality, you may struggle to listen as your mind can easily get overloaded as you take in the information around you.  This personality style often has so many ideas and projects going, they f
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