#localgovernment #leadership #disruption

You can't balance on a pogo ball standing still. That's the problem. We keep waiting for things to stabilize so we can find our footing, but static balance doesn't exist anymore. Welcome to 2026, the year of the fire horse. Intense energy, boldness, freedom, transformation, and a pace that doesn't slow down for anyone still trying to plan three steps ahead.

This isn't disruption. Disruption implies something temporary, something you survive and move past. We're living in post-disruption reality now, locked in what Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen at Axios call "the fastest, broadest, most consequential reordering of politics, tech, and business of our lifetimes." The guideposts we used to look up to for direction? They're gone. We're the guideposts now.

So how do you lead when you literally don't know what tomorrow brings? When the profession built on planfulness and looking twenty steps down the road enters a zone where breaking things to see what happens has become the operating principle?

There's a grounding truth that matters. There's no partisan way to flush a sewer. Regardless of what's swirling above us, we're the stewards of making things work. Rec programming still runs. Libraries stay open. We do the basic stuff that keeps communities functioning, even when chaos reigns everywhere else.

This episode kicks off our January series exploring what leadership looks like when balance requires constant motion. Ahead this month we'll explore systems that drive organizational change, signals worth following versus noise worth ignoring, and our role as stewards of the next generation inheriting whatever we build (or break) right now.

The pogo ball doesn't wait for you to feel ready. You move or you fall. We're choosing to move.

00:00 Welcome to Disruption: A New Year Begins

02:49 The Pogo Ball Analogy: Balancing Disruption

05:49 Navigating Leadership in Uncertain Times

09:03 Creating Stability Amidst Chaos

11:50 The Role of Community in Coherence

14:52 Grounding in Tactile Experiences

17:47 Revisiting the Basics of Local Government

20:36 Trust and Disruption in Local Governance

23:55 The Impact of Technology on Community Trust

26:24 The Importance of Listening in Leadership

29:31 Reassessing Local Government's Role

32:38 The Future of Local Government and Data Centers

35:03 The Courage to Question 'Why'

38:28 Preparing for the Future: Systems and Signals

40:42 The Journey Ahead: Embracing Change