Engaging Local Government Leaders

🚨 Fam, we need your help with a very important research project. 🚨

We measure potholes. We measure response times. We measure permit turnaround. But do we really understand the people doing the work?

Today's Special Edition from Harvard Kennedy School's Elizabeth Linos dives into this fascinating challenge; local government has surprisingly little data about the experiences of the public servants who keep our communities running.

Burnout. Purpose. Trust. Teamwork. Pride. Bureaucracy. Joy.

The new Public Servant Pulse survey aims to create a national benchmark for what it's actually like to work in state and local government today.

Think of it as a love letter to the planners, librarians, analysts, public works crews, communicators, finance pros, firefighters, permit techs, and everyone else making happen.

📊 If you work in state or local government, take a few minutes to complete the survey and share it with your colleagues. The more voices included, the stronger the data—and the better we can build workplaces where public servants thrive.

Because if no one leads alone, we shouldn't be trying to understand public service alone either. Read the article and click over to the survey below. 👇

Culture isn’t magic. It’s the tiny stuff. The sticky notes. The “yes, and.” The coffee chats. The honest feedback. The clean office kitchen (okay… maybe that one is magic). ✨

This Morning Buzz from Michael Baskin, Chief Innovation Office with Montgomery County Government, is such a good reminder that the culture we want in doesn’t appear overnight — we build it one action, one norm, and one interaction at a time.

Also: “You are not the toilet paper police” may now be one of my favorite leadership lines of all time. 😂

If you’ve ever wondered how to create a more innovative, connected, reflective, or human workplace… this one’s worth the read.

Because the best local government cultures aren’t accidental. They’re intentional. 🚀

Give it a read here: https://elgl.org/build-culture-in-action/

📚 Local Gov should be more like a serious book club. Today’s Morning Buzz from Josie Peery, enterprise account executive at Zencity and ELGL Board Member, takes something wonderfully simple; a group of friends reading books together and turns it into one of the best reflections on community, leadership and culture we’ve seen in a while.

The big takeaway?
✅ Show up.
✅ Respect disagreement.
✅ Take turns leading.

Whether you work in city hall, public works, communications, budgeting or somewhere in between, this is a reminder that strong communities aren’t built by everyone thinking the same thing — they’re built by people who keep showing up for each other anyway.

Honestly, local government really is just one giant group project/book club/community meeting hybrid.

👉 Give this one a read.

🏁 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… START. YOUR. NETWORKING. 🏁

The green flag is about to drop on the 🏎️ ELGL Government Grand Prix 🏎️ and this isn’t your average annual conference pit stop.

We’re intentionally capping attendance at around 100 racers because the goal isn’t a bigger crowd; it’s better connections.

As a volunteer organization committed to the idea that No One in Local Gov Leads Alone, we are going for less “find your people in a sea of thousands.” And want more “you leave knowing people by name.”

Expect fast ideas, meaningful conversations and enough energy to fuel the whole track. ⚡

So grab your crew chief, tune up your stories, and get to the starting line before all the spots are gone.

🚦Ready to race?