Nobody hands you a checklist for building a memorial golf outing out of nothing. I’ve been thinking about that all week. This past Saturday was the fourth annual René Rangel Jr. Golf Outing, and I kept thinking back to the very first one. Before that first year, the people who built it had never done anything like it. It reminded me of something I believe all the way down: you can do anything you put your mind to. I know, it sounds like a poster in a school hallway. Stay wi

Not long ago, one of our road crews was working behind giant orange signs, flashing lights, and a traffic regulator holding a stop sign. A car was already stopped in front of him. Then another vehicle came up fast and showed no signs of stopping. Our traffic regulator radioed a warning and ran for his life. The speeding vehicle rear-ended the stopped car, launched over it, landed on its top, and came to rest on its side within feet of him. Then he climbed up on that vehicle

What are expectations? It's knowing what someone can count on you for, and what you can count on from them in return. What you'll do. How you'll do it. What the end result is supposed to look like when it's done. Saying “everyone needs to know what's expected of them” sounds so obvious it barely feels worth saying out loud. Of course that makes sense. Who would argue with it? And yet, in more than twenty years of public sector leadership, this is the piece I watch teams str

For years, every time I asked a question, I got the same reaction. People got defensive. Their shoulders would tense up. Their answers got short. And for the longest time, I couldn't figure out why. Now I understand it completely. And once I did, it changed everything about how I show up at work, and honestly, at home too.

Last week I walked into a room full of finance and human resources professionals. Smart people. Experienced people. The kind of room where you'd think, after 21 years in this field, I'd walk in and simply belong. Instead, I felt that familiar flash. Quick, sudden, gone almost as fast as it arrived, but it still landed. A pang that told me everyone else in that room already had more of what it takes than I did. Not a long drawn out thought. Just a flicker of doubt, there and

Last week I had the opportunity to work with several teams across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Two of the sessions were Real Colors workshops. And every time I mention Real Colors, I get the same question: what in the heck is that? Real Colors is a personality workshop. If you've heard of Myers Briggs, DiSC, or any of the other tools out there, it's similar. It's a way to explore how people think, how they act, how they communicate, and what things mean to them. This is

You make the plan. You walk out the door ready to execute it. And within an hour, something happens that throws the whole thing off course. If that sentence made you nod, you have probably worked in public works. But honestly, it doesn't matter what field you're in. Plans falling apart is not a public works problem. It's a work problem. It's a life problem. The only difference is how often you have to face it and how quickly you have to adjust.

Last December, I sat through a conference presentation on permitting and solar farms. I'm not in the permit department. I'm not in engineering. At the time, that presentation meant absolutely nothing to me. But the people presenting had lived it. They'd hit every wall you can hit, chased down every regulation, and dealt with every frustrated landowner and township board along the way. They were generous enough to share what they'd learned, mistakes included. So I listened an

Clutter is just a lot of things out of place. That's it. But don't let the simple definition fool you. Clutter can surround us at home, at work, in our car, in our lives, and in our minds. If we aren't careful, it creeps into every corner we have, including the corners where our leadership lives. That's because clutter accumulates slowly, and it looks the same whether it's in my office or my home. Something comes in, and I set it down. The first piece of paper. The first boo

Over the last few weeks, I lost my focus. Not entirely, but when you've got a lot going on and like to make progress on a bunch of different projects, even a small sidestep in focus makes a big difference. If you write it down and put it somewhere you see it regularly, guess what happens? It actually happens. You still have to put in the effort, don't get me wrong. But seeing it, right there in front of you, helps. It reminds you of your goals, your focus, your priorities.

We watched the whole thing unfold. Let's be honest, watching is a generous word. It was closer to staring. From the back of the boat, someone called out, “We must be something to watch.” I called back, “You really are!” What I missed in that moment was tone. A second after I said it, I caught myself and asked someone else who was clearly watching whether I'd misread the situation. I had. Her body language said it all. She was not enjoying being the center of attention.

I've been at the Road Commission for 21 years. That's a long time. Not the longest tenure in the room, but long enough that my brain is basically a filing cabinet of random history, processes, institutional knowledge, and details that most people don't even know to ask about. I remember looking at the long-timers when I first started and thinking...how do they know all of that? Will I ever get there? Well, I sure don't know everything. But I've gotten there in a lot of ways.

The result? They look like a diamond. Their coworker looks like a chunk of coal. And nobody actually did anything different. One person just decided their shine required someone else's shadow. Here's what I know about people who build others up. They are magnetic. People want to be around them. People want to work for them and with them. They create environments where everyone does better, because when one person wins and it feels safe to celebrate, the whole team gets more

I have spent a lot of time in rooms with leaders. New ones, seasoned ones, reluctant ones, and ambitious ones. And one thing I see over and over again is this: most leaders are so busy leading that they never stop to ask themselves the most important question of all. Who am I as a leader right now? Not who they want to be. Not who their organization needs them to be. Who they actually are today, with all the strengths and blind spots and unfinished edges that come with bein

Last week I interviewed 19 people for the same position. One hundred and eighteen people applied. Getting from 118 to a manageable interview list took time, focus, and more than a few passes through a whole lot of resumes. It got me thinking. About the process. About what makes someone stand out. About what hiring managers are really looking for and what applicants often miss. So whether you are on the applying side or the hiring side, this one is for you.

So that’s what this post is. The actual how. What job shadowing looks like when it works, how to cross-train without overwhelming your team, and how to stop wasting your vacation coverage opportunities. Let’s get into it. And yes, I know all of this. I’ve written it right here. That does not mean I do it perfectly or consistently. I am a work in progress too, and that is completely okay. I share this stuff because I believe in it, not because I have it all figured out.

Here's where I am sitting today as I write this. Graduation is May 9th. I'm not walking. There won't be a ceremony for me, no cap, no stage, no speeches. And yet, somewhere in my brain, I've decided I am not allowed to celebrate until after May 9th. Why? I don't have a good answer. The work is done. The degree is earned. But there's some invisible permission slip I'm waiting for. Some "official" moment I think has to happen before I am allowed to mark this.

Change is hard. Some people love change. Some people resist it. But honestly? Whether you welcome it or dread it, change is still a challenge. Picture this. You're at work, somewhere you've been for a long time (in my case, 20+ years). You know the systems. You know the people. You know how to get things done. Then someone new walks in with fresh ideas, a different perspective, and a totally different way of thinking. Suddenly, the way you've always done things is up for de

Here's what this year has taught me: you learn by doing. By setting goals. By having dreams and actually sticking to them. By living it. A year ago, I set a goal to share my leadership experiences through this blog. I didn't know if anyone would read it. I didn't know if I'd have enough to say. I didn't know how it would fit into my already busy life. I had doubts. I had fears. I had a million reasons why it might not work. But I set a plan. I created a path. And I dove in.

If you're reading this and wondering how self-aware you actually are, that's a good sign. People who completely lack self-awareness don't ask that question. Here's how to develop it: Pay attention to the cringe. When you look back at an interaction and something doesn't sit right, don't dismiss it. Explore it. What about it bothers you? What would you do differently? Notice the patterns. If you keep having the same problem with different people, the problem isn't them. It'