Aug. 11, 2026

Leading a City by Growing Its People: Inside Lancaster’s Transformation

Leading a City by Growing Its People: Inside Lancaster’s Transformation
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What if the best way to serve a city is to first invest deeply in those who run it? City Manager Opal Mauldin-Jones shares how Lancaster transformed performance by strengthening its people—through ongoing learning, emotional intelligence, and bias-free hiring. The result: a more capable, connected workforce better equipped to serve residents with purpose and pride.

Working on Purpose is broadcast live Tuesdays at 6PM ET and Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Working on Purpose is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

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solely those of the host and their guests and not

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those of W4CY Radio, its employees, or affiliates. We make

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its employees or affiliates. Any questions or comments should be

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directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing W4CY Radio.

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What's working on purpose anyway? Each week, we ponder the

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answer to this question. People ache for meaning and purpose

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at work, to contribute their talents passionately and know their

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lives really matter. They crave being part of an organization

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that inspires them and helps them grow into realizing their

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highest potential. Business can be such a force for good

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in the world, elevating humanity. In our program, we provide

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guidance and inspiration to help usher in this world we

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all want, working on purpose. Now, here's your host, Dr.

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Elise Cortez.

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Welcome back to the Working on Purpose program, which has

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been brought to you with passion and pride since February

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of 2015. Thanks for tuning in again this week. Great

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to have you. I'm your host, Dr. Elise Cortez. Most

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leaders are sitting on untapped human energy. I help them

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unlock it. I'm an organizational psychologist, logotherapist, workforce advisor, and

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the founder of the Gusto Now movement. The title I

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live by day to day is really much simpler, eye

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traffic and energy. Not the surface level motivation or another

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engagement initiative kind, but the deeper force, what I call Gusto,

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the life force of performance that drives commitment, perseverance, and

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genuine ownership of a shared mission in the clients we serve.

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You can learn more about us and how we can

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work together at gusto-now.com or my personal site, elisecortez.com. Getting

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in today's program, we have with us today Ms. Opal Malden-Jones,

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who has been serving as the city manager of Lancaster,

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which is a suburb of Dallas, Texas, since 2011. She

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is the first African-American woman appointed as city manager and

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the only female ever named to the position of the

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city manager of Lancaster. We'll be talking today about her

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leadership and her service philosophy, her approach to leading and

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developing the 320 employees in her care, and the results

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she has stewarded. She joins us today from Lancaster, Ms. Malden-Jones. Jones,

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welcome to Working on Purpose.

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Thank you for having me.

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Isn't this great? Isn't this fun? I'm so happy that

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we're doing this and we get to celebrate this. And

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I really appreciate so much that you are a trailblazer,

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that you really are a true leader. And it's wonderful

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to come and celebrate this with you.

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Thank you.

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I really am honored to be a part of this.

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And I don't see myself as a trailblazer. I just

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see myself as a servant. And that just gives me

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life and gives me energy.

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Well, and I appreciate that. Incredible, incredibly humble. And yet,

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you know, somebody has to go first, right? And when

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you go first, as you well know, you then make

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it a possibility for others like you to follow behind you.

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And people need that leadership. They need that person that

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shows them that there's a possibility for them as well.

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Absolutely.

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And I really believe that when you're the first, you

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should not be the only.

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Yes.

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And so everything I'm doing, I always say, make sure

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you put, you know, a doorstop in. If you can't

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put a big doorstop in or leave the door wide open,

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put a foot in the door, put a hand in

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the door, something so that someone can follow behind you.

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There's no good to play the trail if there's no

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one following.

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Right.

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That's right. I love that. Well, we all stand on

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the shoulders of those who came before us.

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Absolutely.

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So let's hear, I know this because, of course, we've

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had the opportunity to spend some time together, but let's

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let our listeners and viewers know a bit about your background.

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And you've really got, you've navigated quite an interesting path

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in my perspective.

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Yeah, I think it's been a bit interesting.

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I started my local government career actually in the federal government,

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serving the late Eddie Bernice Johnson, who represented Texas 30th

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Congressional District.

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And I had the opportunity to.

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Work for a trailblazer who literally left grit crumbs for

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others to follow and literally left the door wide open

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for many of us to walk through. Had the pleasure

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of working for her for over 10 years. Also worked

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for another congressman in the state of California before returning

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back to Texas. and returning to the office of Congresswoman

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Johnson and her encouragement to pursue that master's degree if

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you're going to be in this field of public administration,

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which led me to the city of Lancaster, where I've

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had the honor and privilege and pleasure of serving since

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2003 in various roles.

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Now, I think it's important for our listeners and viewers

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to understand, as we talked about before we got on air,

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what exactly does a city manager do?

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That's a good point question. City managers have the pleasure

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of serving the employees that work with them, beneath them,

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alongside them. They serve the city council members that appoint them,

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and you serve.

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The residents of your community.

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So you really are in a servant position, but my

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primary responsibilities are overseeing and administering the day-to-day operations of

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the community, including Lancaster is a full-service city with police, firefighters,

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public infrastructure, including parks and streets and water and wastewater,

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as well as the basic administrative services. I am appointed

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by a seven-member city council that is elected by the residents.

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And after they have that election, they appoint an administrator

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to carry out the day-to-day operations of.

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A city and report back and be their chief advisor.

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Okay. That is, talk about working on purpose. Now, you

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will really appreciate this, Opal. In a previous episode, I

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had a gentleman on air named Arun Gupta, and he

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co-authored a book called The Mission Generation. And essentially what

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he's trying to do, so that doesn't speak to age,

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because any one of us can be at the mission generation,

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and I am one of them, and I think you

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are too. But what he's putting forth that I think

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you might appreciate is he is wanting to invite and

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roll more people to choose careers in service, in government,

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in institution work, because especially the younger ones, I forget

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what that he quoted, the younger ones aren't necessarily fully

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gravitating to that. And he wants, he knows this is

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how we're going to be able to help lift the

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world if we can start to marry technology, academia, and

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government in a way that we are more interdependent and

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can learn from and support and champion each other.

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That is so important because in silos or in buckets,

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we're not as strong as we are with the connectivity

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and the togetherness. And living and working on purpose, it

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creates an environment of service and impact. I really believe

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living my life with impact is critically important. And that

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stat and that data lends itself to just that mission. Mm-hmm.

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Well, I just think about, you know, I want to

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talk a little bit about the demographics of those and

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the people in Lancaster. So let's bring that to life

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first because I'm really clear in my own view when

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I'm talking with you and being with you and hearing

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your perspective, you know, you are lifting the quality of

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life for the people in Lancaster. That's part of what

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you and your team are doing.

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Absolutely. It's the core mission.

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In fact, it's ingrained in our mission and our vision statement.

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is that we don't compromise the quality of life for

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the residents that we serve. And serving a primarily majority-minority

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community is very important. When 80% of the demographics of

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our community are African American and Hispanic, that is not

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something that is a normal thing that you see just

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in general. But our community has not seen that as

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a handicap or a deficit, but as a strength. that

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we've been able to build upon, to capitalize on, that

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has positioned us to continue to be an industry leader

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in many areas and to make significant strides and improvements,

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not just for the residents of our community, but to

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put standards in place, to be innovative and creative, to

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create some ideas that other communities have been able to implement.

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Mm-hmm. And if I remember right, when we had coffee together,

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I think I remember you saying that, I remember those demographics,

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but then I think I also remember you saying, yet

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much of the leadership is Anglos. Is that correct?

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That has been correct. It is correct.

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The largest majority of our workforce has been Anglo. Our

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city council members, we just had recent elections, so the

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majority of, we now have a majority council, but Our

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council is seven members, and now we have four that

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are African American and three Anglo.

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And so it's a good balance, I would say, and.

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Representation of the community to actually implement and connect and

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relate to the demographics of the community. And that's been really,

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really important and valuable as the community has gone through

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this transition. to get more engagement and more involvement from

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individuals that reflect the demographic makeup of the community.

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So important. So let's talk about some of the challenges

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that you inherited. So you inherited opportunities and, of course, challenges.

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But when you started with a city manager 15 years ago,

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let's hear a little bit about what you were facing

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and what you knew that you wanted to work to improve.

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Right.

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And as I was, you know, when we had coffee

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and I shared with you, one of the.

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Things that I worked in the community since 2003, so

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kind of seeing what was transpiring, but always with the

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desire to serve as a manager.

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And when the opportunity presented itself, absolutely took place.

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That step forward. But I took a step forward right

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when the country was coming out of the Great Recession

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and Lancaster was experiencing a financial crisis so much to

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the point that we were talking about, are we going

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to have to close fire stations?

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We were having to do layoffs.

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We had a, you know, a reserve fund or a

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fund balance, kind of a savings account that would keep

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us afloat less than industry standards.

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I mean, less than any standard. We were at a 1%.

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Fund balance and literally not knowing, right, how we're going

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to continue to progress forward without making some drastic changes. And,

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you know, that first week in the seat, you go, okay,

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did I really make the right decision? But knowing that

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I had made the right decision because I knew where

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my heart was. I knew what my passion was. I

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knew what my purpose was. And with that, making some

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tough decisions, making some strategic recommendations to the city council

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that we were going to have to tighten up our

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belt to not close fire stations. where we're going to

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have to reassign, where we're going to have to do

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a lot of innovative and creative things to position this

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city to be sustainable long-term. And here we are, 15

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years later, making some of those initial tough decisions. Lancaster's

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in the best financial position that it has been in

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any recent history that can be noted or even looked upon,

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so much so to the point that, you know, we've

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had two bond rating increases with Standard & Poor's.

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And with Moody's.

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We are now a AA1-rated city, and that doesn't just happen.

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Those farm-rating agencies don't hand those out easy. Those have

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to be earned, and it is now documented and demonstrated,

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making some of those critically difficult recommendations and decisions to

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position the city for long-term growth and sustainability has been

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key and very rewarding.

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Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

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So let's dive in. First, I have to, I can't resist,

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since you said you know your purpose, do you mind

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sharing it?

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No, my purpose is to serve others.

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My personal mission statement is to work hard, stay humble,

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and be kind. And I cannot overemphasize the be kind.

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In fact, I would probably put that at the beginning

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if I were to just reword it, but Hard work

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and humility and kindness go along. And I know that

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my purpose and my calling is to serve others. And

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that service doesn't just stop in the city of Lancaster

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in a paid position.

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It goes beyond.

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It goes with service and impact in my community, whether

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that's my spiritual faith community or whether that's my personal

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familiar community or other outside relationships that I engage in.

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My purpose is to serve others.

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I really appreciate that. And also I appreciate that you,

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how much you value kindness. I, the world would be

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such a better place if we, if people, all of

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us could practice kindness more frequently. I really, I love

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doing that. And it lights me up. It's one of

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the things that gives me energy when I extend kindness

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to other people. So I love that that's part of

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your operating system and it shines through, you know, even

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when I met you at the other conference, I think

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it was back in March and, That's just, you know,

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that's your energy is kindness.

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I believe that if you lead with kindness, it eliminates conflicts.

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That can be avoided just by being kind.

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Because you don't know what another person has experienced, what

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they may be experiencing, what may have just happened.

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And if we begin.

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With kindness and a spirit of kindness, we can overcome

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any differences, any challenges that we have.

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Because we're seeing one another as another.

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Human and not as an opponent or an obstacle or

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a challenge that we have to conquer or to overcome,

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but that we can connect with. And I think that

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when you start with kindness, it just creates connection. And

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when you have connection, it creates opportunity to build. And

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when you can build, you can have impact. And when

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you can have impact, you can have service to others.

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I love that ripple. I'll take that any day. Um,

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so one of the other things that brings you and

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I together is we both share a love and value

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of continuous learning. And, and so that's, that really was

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one of the things that stuck with me so strongly

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when we first met is your focus that you have

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been a proponent for this and you've championed this for

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the city of Lancaster. Why are you such a fan

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of continuous learning and why are you so willing to

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stick your neck out for the investment there?

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I believe that learning is like a plant growing. And

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if you're not learning, you're not growing. And if you're

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not growing, you're not living. And so I believe that

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continuous learning has to be a part of who we

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are because things are constantly changing.

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Time changes.

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People are maturing, so they are changing. And if we're

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not learning, then we stop growing. And that growth process

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has to continue so that we can stay current, so

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that we can stay in tune, so that we can

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stay relevant, so that we can connect, so that we

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can serve and have impact.

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And I believe that that all begins with learning.

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I want to comment a little bit more on that,

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but let's take our first break before we do that.

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I'm your host, Dr. Elise Cortez. We've been on the

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air with Opal Malden-Jones. She's the city manager of Lancaster,

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which is a suburb of Dallas, Texas. We've been talking

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a bit about her earlier career, how she got here,

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her heart for service, and what is a city manager's job.

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After the break, we're going to get into some of

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the things that she has done to help her team

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grow and to help them connect more deeply. We'll be

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right back.

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Dr. Elise Cortez is a management consultant specializing in meaning

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and purpose, an inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies

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visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose-inspired leadership

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and meaning-infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and commitment within

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the workforce. To learn more or to invite Elise to

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speak to your organization, please visit her at EliseCortez.com. Let's

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talk about how to get your employees working on purpose.

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This is Working on Purpose with Dr.

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Elise Cortez.

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To reach our program today or to open a conversation

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with Elise, send an email to Elise, A-L-I-S-E, at EliseCortez.com. Now,

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back to Working on Purpose.

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Thanks for staying with us and welcome back to Working

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on Purpose. I'm your host, Dr. Elise Cortez, as I

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am dedicated to helping create a world where organizations thrive

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because their people thrive. They are led by inspirational leaders

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that help them find and contribute their greatness. And when

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we do business that betters the world, I keep researching

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and writing my own books. So one of my latest

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came out. It's called The Great Revitalization, How Activating Meaning

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and Purpose Can Radically Enliven Your Business. And I wrote

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it to help leaders understand today's diverse and discerning workforce.

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What do they want and need from you to give

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their best and want to stick around? And then I

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give you 22 best practices to equip you to provide

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that through your leadership and your culture. You can find

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my books on Amazon or my personal site, EliseCortez.com. If

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you are just now joining us, my guest is Opal Malden-Jones.

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She's the city manager of Lancaster, which is a suburb

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of Dallas, Texas. So we were talking about learning and

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how important that is and how much you value it.

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And one of the things that I wanted to comment

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on that was I read somewhere where if you reflect

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and say, when was the last time I learned something new?

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Was it last week? Was it last month? Was it

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a couple of years ago? And not just learn something new,

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but learn to do something new. And I think if

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you start thinking about that, start reflecting on, wow, when

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was the last time that I really went out of

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my comfort zone? Because there is definitely discomfort in learning

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and extending yourself and also the importance of unlearning things

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that no longer service. I just really thought that was

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such an important way to frame up the idea of learning.

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I love that idea. And when you said a key

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thing for me that you just spoke is unlearning something

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that no longer.

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Serves us as a purpose.

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I think that is a greater challenge for many of

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us than it is something new. Because you can learn

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something new and not apply it. Because what you've done,

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you just keep doing repeatedly. But when it no longer

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serves you, it's important to not just learn it, but

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to implement it, to utilize it. And I think that

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that is what has served me and our organization so

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well over the time that I've had the opportunity to

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serve as manager.

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Because there are.

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Tried and true tested practices that you can do in

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any city. But as technology advances, as people change, as

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the demographics of the community have changed, unlearning something that

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no longer serves you is just as important, if not

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more important, than learning something new that you can implement

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and do. to better serve.

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100 agree and it's not as easy as you we

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might expect to be able to unlearn things right and

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remove them from our operating system it's it's it's it's

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real work it's real work.

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Because it becomes habit and we are creatures of habit

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so we get comfortable and as you said it pulls

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us out of our comfort zone to unlearn something, and

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to implement something new that we have learned. And I

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guess I'm a, you know, glutton for being outside of

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my comfort zone and learning something, continuously learning something new,

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but not just learning it, Dr. Cortez, but implementing it

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and sharing it with my team and getting them as

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excited as I am when we learn something new and

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sharing that.

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Well, so real quick on that front, I'm talking about learning.

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So both you and I are people that take improv classes,

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and that definitely takes you out of your comfort zone.

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I continue to do that for that reason, but you're

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also studying theology right now. I guess you've got more

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hours in the day than the rest of us. That

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must be the reasoning here.

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No, I wish I did.

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It would help me stay on top of my assignments

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a lot better. But my faith is the foundation of

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who I am as a Growing up in the home

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of a Baptist minister, my grandfather, I lived in the

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home with my paternal grandparents as a youth, as a child.

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And my paternal grandfather was a Baptist minister. So all

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my life, I've known religion, I've known church, and I've

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had a relationship in Christ. And so I had the

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opportunity to travel to Israel. back in 2018. And Dr. Curtis,

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I really wanted to pursue a doctorate degree. So I thought.

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I thought I would apply for a PhD program in

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my undergrad and my grad school alma mater.

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But I got a brochure in the mail.

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I don't even know why, but it was for Dallas

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Theological Seminary. And I was like, wow, this is interesting.

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And I didn't even think about it, but I was like, no, something.

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kept speaking to me.

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And I was like, well, I'll never get accepted into

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seminary because I have no background in studying theology or

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being even. But I said, if I apply and if

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it's meant, if God really means for me to study this,

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I'll get accepted.

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I got accepted.

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And I have been studying. It's a slow process, but

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I have been taking one course a semester. Here lately,

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I've taken two. So I am stretching myself a lot.

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But I did them, I had to get so many

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hours on campus, which I did in the evenings after work.

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And now I'm at the point where I can take

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them online and virtually. And so I take, I'm enrolled

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in two virtual courses. And my evenings and my weekends,

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when I'm not doing City of Lancaster business or engaged

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with my family, it is getting, you know, study time in.

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And a lot of it's studying online.

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It's fulfilling. It's rewarding. And you say, well, how does

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that impact the city of Lancaster? Jesus Christ, in my opinion, was.

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A great example of servant leadership.

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And so I'm able to.

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Apply a lot of what I'm learning in seminary to

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what I do every day. And I think it also

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helps me stay grounded. It helps me stay focused. And

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it gives me energy. I'm really enjoying my journey.

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Well, on how did I open the show? That's what

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we do at Gustro now is really help individuals and

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organizations to unleash that energy and find out where the

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energy leaks are. So when you're doing something that energizes you,

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that's just so important. And not you answered it, right?

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It called you and you were obedient to that call.

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And I just really want to celebrate that because not

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everybody is obedient when they get the call. Ooh, that's

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a little inconvenient. Ooh, that sounds hard. Ooh, that's scary.

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But you didn't do that. You didn't shy away from it.

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As an African-American female, life has presented many challenges that

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you could be fearful of them or you could embrace

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them and see the possibility on the other side and

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ask yourself.

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Why not?

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And so I've just lived a life of why not?

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If it's legal, if it's ethical, if.

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It's morally within where I believe my purpose and my

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passion are taking me, why not? And that's been just

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kind of how I live life and the journey that

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I've been on for these past 53 plus years.

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I love that. Why not? As somebody who on the

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Enneagram typing system, I'm the enthusiast. I'm all over why not?

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Okay.

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So now I can't let you get off the show

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without us talking about, you know, this approach that you've

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taken to be able to bring professional development to your team.

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And I want to start by the idea of, you know,

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we were talking here, we live in a time when,

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you know, DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion, is not something

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that especially state organizations or any kind of governmental organizations

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are embracing. But so what your approach has been, even

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before this became, you know, something that we're not embracing,

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has been to double down on culture and values to

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be able to create the team, the diverse team that

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you know that you need. So let's talk a little

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bit about how that happened, your approach to that. I

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want to celebrate that, and I want it to be

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an example for our listeners and viewers.

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Absolutely.

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I say, why embrace something that is a lightning rod

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for conflict and controversy? So we have our employee vision

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00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:46.009
and value statement, which is pride, productivity, resourcefulness, integrity, dedication,

470
00:25:46.069 --> 00:25:48.970
and excellence. And we have tried to live out our

471
00:25:49.029 --> 00:25:52.319
values in the organization and create a culture that of

472
00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:55.099
not just learning but embracing.

473
00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:58.440
What the whole person brings to the organization.

474
00:25:58.460 --> 00:26:02.130
And how we've attempted to do that is we recognize

475
00:26:02.170 --> 00:26:07.529
that everyone has biases. I love the color blue. Blue

476
00:26:07.609 --> 00:26:10.339
or shades of blue or purple are kind of the

477
00:26:10.390 --> 00:26:13.950
favorites for me. But other people may like red. And

478
00:26:14.049 --> 00:26:17.309
so unconsciously, when I see something blue or purple, I'm

479
00:26:17.490 --> 00:26:21.220
automatically drawn to it versus I'd be as drawn to

480
00:26:21.259 --> 00:26:21.920
something red.

481
00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:25.279
And we have those innate things within all of us.

482
00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:30.529
We have... change our hiring process. We recognize that we

483
00:26:30.569 --> 00:26:35.380
need diverse thoughts. We need a range of ages. We

484
00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:41.180
need all people of all standards and types to make

485
00:26:41.380 --> 00:26:46.240
this community run. So we implemented unconscious bias hiring. We

486
00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.819
call it blind hiring. And what we did over six

487
00:26:49.859 --> 00:26:52.960
years ago now, actually going into our seventh year, we

488
00:26:53.019 --> 00:26:58.329
stripped away any personally identifying information that from applications for

489
00:26:58.390 --> 00:26:59.690
hiring managers to see.

490
00:27:00.150 --> 00:27:01.529
They were able to see that.

491
00:27:01.450 --> 00:27:06.309
They have an individual that has these qualifications that meet

492
00:27:06.349 --> 00:27:09.099
the standards for what we're looking for in the job posting,

493
00:27:09.319 --> 00:27:12.160
whether they've worked X number of years in this profession

494
00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:15.980
field or a municipality. We don't even tell you what

495
00:27:16.019 --> 00:27:19.420
municipality or the size of the municipality, because if I

496
00:27:19.460 --> 00:27:25.039
graduated from somewhere I didn't go, Stanford, And this person

497
00:27:25.079 --> 00:27:28.000
graduated from UT, I may have an affinity or an

498
00:27:28.099 --> 00:27:31.160
unconscious bias towards Stanford. So we don't tell you that

499
00:27:31.180 --> 00:27:33.900
they went to Stanford. We don't tell you what clubs

500
00:27:33.960 --> 00:27:37.599
they were a part of because that may be demographically

501
00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:41.119
pinholing someone. You don't get their name because if their

502
00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:46.079
last name is Cortez, you may go, that's a Hispanic

503
00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:47.059
heritage name.

504
00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.519
So, no.

505
00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:51.579
We take away all of that. And what that has

506
00:27:51.640 --> 00:27:56.430
done for us is... The diversification of our hiring has

507
00:27:56.470 --> 00:28:01.809
significantly improved. An example, my fire department, we're a civil

508
00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:05.190
service agency, so you take a test to get hired.

509
00:28:06.289 --> 00:28:10.880
But we had one African-American employee in our fire department.

510
00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:15.079
We hired an African-American fire chief, and he was very

511
00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:19.900
intentional about, no, once people take the test, we're not

512
00:28:19.940 --> 00:28:24.819
going to allow the team to see or pigeonhole them

513
00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:28.819
when they do the panel interviews, it has increased the

514
00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:33.480
diversification of our fire department. My public works department, non-civil service,

515
00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:38.700
so anyone that applies, applies. We had a single demographic

516
00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:44.140
department seven years ago. Today, that department is very diverse,

517
00:28:44.420 --> 00:28:47.349
inclusive of... I have two women working in my public

518
00:28:47.390 --> 00:28:51.369
works department. I had zero women before that. It has...

519
00:28:51.740 --> 00:28:55.779
changed our organization, and I believe for the better.

520
00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:57.819
So we're not saying.

521
00:28:57.799 --> 00:29:00.890
That we have a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement or

522
00:29:00.910 --> 00:29:04.230
a diversity, equity, and inclusion standard. We're saying, no, we

523
00:29:04.289 --> 00:29:09.009
embrace and celebrate everyone. We have an unconscious bias hiring

524
00:29:09.089 --> 00:29:12.430
process that allows us to be inclusive and build a

525
00:29:12.509 --> 00:29:17.890
culture of inclusivity and connectedness, and it has improved performance.

526
00:29:18.869 --> 00:29:22.079
And it's proven. And it just works out so well.

527
00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:23.779
I love to see how you light up when you

528
00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:26.900
talk about this. It's just clear and just so beautiful

529
00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:29.660
what you can do to live the values of the

530
00:29:29.700 --> 00:29:33.650
organization in your own through your leadership. Just yummy. Okay,

531
00:29:33.670 --> 00:29:35.730
but then we have to talk about, you know, as

532
00:29:35.869 --> 00:29:40.470
your team became more diverse, there was an adjustment. period

533
00:29:40.490 --> 00:29:43.299
you talked about as the interaction of the team became

534
00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:45.259
more diverse. And so one of the things I was

535
00:29:45.339 --> 00:29:48.140
delighted to hear that as a result of that, starting

536
00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:50.640
to witness and seeing some of that, the change in

537
00:29:50.660 --> 00:29:56.079
the interactions, you brought in some EQ, emotional intelligence training,

538
00:29:56.539 --> 00:29:59.690
especially for the fire department, you said. So let's hear

539
00:29:59.730 --> 00:30:02.039
about why did you choose to bring in that kind

540
00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:04.240
of training? What was going on and how did the

541
00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:04.880
training help?

542
00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:11.299
Intellectually, everyone is, you know, at a great level. That's

543
00:30:11.380 --> 00:30:16.380
not a muscle that we necessarily have to exercise and

544
00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:21.059
be exercising if you're a learning organization. So you're constantly

545
00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:26.299
improving your intellectual capability. But emotional intelligence is something that

546
00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:30.549
has been, you know, industry deemed a soft skill or

547
00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:35.170
not as important. And I think that your emotional intelligence

548
00:30:35.450 --> 00:30:38.769
is as important, if not more important, than your intellectual

549
00:30:39.769 --> 00:30:40.970
skill and your quotient.

550
00:30:41.289 --> 00:30:41.829
And why?

551
00:30:41.849 --> 00:30:44.710
It's because it is how we connect. It is that

552
00:30:44.750 --> 00:30:48.430
connection piece. and having an African-American fire chief and a

553
00:30:48.470 --> 00:30:54.029
predominantly Anglo department, again, only one African-American and only one

554
00:30:54.109 --> 00:30:59.349
female in a department of now 91 individuals, we had

555
00:30:59.390 --> 00:31:04.730
some differences. And we recognized that those differences were not

556
00:31:04.819 --> 00:31:07.880
because they didn't all have the same level of intelligence,

557
00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:09.940
but it was because there was misunderstanding.

558
00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:11.920
There was a cultural disconnect.

559
00:31:13.009 --> 00:31:16.869
And the way to bridge that gap and keep the

560
00:31:16.890 --> 00:31:19.569
individuals from crossing paths in the night but having them

561
00:31:19.630 --> 00:31:22.970
connect and meet and then decide to turn and go

562
00:31:22.990 --> 00:31:24.880
in the same direction was to bring in a third

563
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:27.819
party to come in and do some emotional intelligence training

564
00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:31.299
with the leadership of the fire department so that that

565
00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:37.559
took precedent. And having individuals understand how they view the world,

566
00:31:37.619 --> 00:31:41.660
how they see the world, what their emotional quotient looks like,

567
00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:45.819
And then how others process it. And then how do

568
00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:50.000
we grow together? When I tell you the night and

569
00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:53.720
day difference that that made with our department. And we

570
00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:56.549
were in the media quite a bit about the differences

571
00:31:57.210 --> 00:32:01.049
that the fire department was having with the chief. And

572
00:32:01.089 --> 00:32:04.069
we recognized while it was being made to be about

573
00:32:04.089 --> 00:32:07.710
a thing, we recognized it was just a difference in

574
00:32:07.750 --> 00:32:11.200
communication style. It was a difference in cultural understanding and,

575
00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:14.460
And we started bridging that gap, and it has improved

576
00:32:14.539 --> 00:32:19.839
relationships across the organization. So when we saw how impactful

577
00:32:19.859 --> 00:32:21.819
it was with the fire department, we did it with

578
00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:26.829
my leadership team across the entire organization and looked at,

579
00:32:27.349 --> 00:32:30.269
as a team, what was our emotional quotient as a team,

580
00:32:30.430 --> 00:32:33.730
and where were areas of opportunity for us to work on?

581
00:32:33.750 --> 00:32:37.690
And when you learn that, you can be intentional about

582
00:32:37.910 --> 00:32:42.019
ensuring that you're moving forward Where your strengths are, you

583
00:32:42.779 --> 00:32:45.819
support those strengths, but where there are weaknesses, you're intentional

584
00:32:45.859 --> 00:32:48.940
about building upon those and making sure you're constantly addressing those.

585
00:32:49.880 --> 00:32:54.019
It has enhanced and bettered our organization. We're not a

586
00:32:54.109 --> 00:32:58.670
perfect organization, but we are a learning organization that is

587
00:32:58.730 --> 00:33:02.150
working on purpose and for a purpose.

588
00:33:03.009 --> 00:33:08.049
Oh, do you have any openings? Let's grab our next

589
00:33:08.089 --> 00:33:10.839
break here. I'm Elise Cortez. We've been on the air

590
00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:13.849
with Opal Molden-Jones. She's the city manager of Lancaster, which

591
00:33:13.910 --> 00:33:16.390
is a suburb of Dallas, Texas. We've been talking in

592
00:33:16.430 --> 00:33:20.029
this segment about how she has instituted blind hiring processes

593
00:33:20.150 --> 00:33:23.990
and injected emotional intelligence training into her organization to help

594
00:33:24.029 --> 00:33:27.539
it create a learning organization. After the break, we're going

595
00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:31.200
to also talk about how she has had to demonstrate

596
00:33:31.259 --> 00:33:34.279
to city council the return to residence with this training.

597
00:33:34.839 --> 00:33:35.420
We'll be right back.

598
00:33:40.670 --> 00:33:40.960
Thank you.

599
00:33:50.619 --> 00:33:54.170
Dr. Elise Cortez is a management consultant specializing in meaning

600
00:33:54.250 --> 00:33:58.009
and purpose, an inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies

601
00:33:58.089 --> 00:34:02.430
visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose-inspired leadership

602
00:34:02.529 --> 00:34:06.819
and meaning-infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and commitment within

603
00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:09.719
the workforce. To learn more or to invite Elise to

604
00:34:09.780 --> 00:34:14.300
speak to your organization, please visit her at EliseCortez.com. Let's

605
00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:17.219
talk about how to get your employees working on purpose.

606
00:34:22.860 --> 00:34:24.780
This is Working on Purpose with Dr.

607
00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:25.739
Elise Cortez.

608
00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:28.679
To reach our program today or to open a conversation

609
00:34:28.699 --> 00:34:35.269
with Elise, send an email to Elise, A-L-I-S-E, at EliseCortez.com. Now,

610
00:34:35.590 --> 00:34:37.190
back to Working on Purpose.

611
00:34:42.599 --> 00:34:44.320
Thanks for staying with us and welcome back to Working

612
00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:47.789
on Purpose. I'm your host, Dr. Elise Cortez. As I

613
00:34:47.849 --> 00:34:49.769
mentioned in the last segment about the book, The Great

614
00:34:49.789 --> 00:34:52.010
Revivalization Coming Out, what I did for you is I

615
00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:54.969
created a simple three-page assessment to learn just how you're

616
00:34:54.989 --> 00:34:57.780
faring as a destination workplace. You can find it on

617
00:34:57.820 --> 00:35:01.860
our website at gusto-now.com. If you are just now joining us,

618
00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:05.480
my guest is Opal Malden-Jones, city manager of Lancaster, which

619
00:35:05.539 --> 00:35:09.300
is a suburb of Dallas, Texas. So in that last

620
00:35:09.340 --> 00:35:13.239
segment there, talking about the emotional intelligence training and also

621
00:35:13.300 --> 00:35:15.070
the blind hiring process, one of the things that really

622
00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:18.090
struck me too about our conversation over coffee was You

623
00:35:18.130 --> 00:35:21.869
talked about how you had to demonstrate to city council

624
00:35:22.349 --> 00:35:25.090
how this, when you're going to sell the investment in

625
00:35:25.110 --> 00:35:27.570
this kind of training, how are the residents going to

626
00:35:28.070 --> 00:35:29.610
be bettered for this? How did you do that?

627
00:35:31.849 --> 00:35:34.610
It was critically important to demonstrate to council.

628
00:35:34.829 --> 00:35:37.949
We have a vision, my council has a vision of

629
00:35:38.280 --> 00:35:40.960
impactful customer service, always putting the.

630
00:35:40.940 --> 00:35:42.940
Residents first, top and center.

631
00:35:43.969 --> 00:35:46.289
And, you know, earlier in the show, we shared about

632
00:35:46.369 --> 00:35:49.989
the financial crises that we were experiencing when I came in.

633
00:35:50.010 --> 00:35:52.230
And so one of the things we share with them

634
00:35:52.329 --> 00:35:55.150
is if employees aren't learning, they're not growing. And if

635
00:35:55.170 --> 00:35:58.329
they're not growing, it impacts their ability to serve. And

636
00:35:58.610 --> 00:36:02.210
they allowed me to create a training program that we

637
00:36:02.489 --> 00:36:09.150
have labeled Lancaster University. And what Lancaster University is is

638
00:36:10.510 --> 00:36:14.500
As a city manager or as any of my professionals,

639
00:36:15.039 --> 00:36:17.659
we have the opportunity to go to professional development or

640
00:36:17.739 --> 00:36:21.539
conferences in our areas of expertise, whether it's me with

641
00:36:21.579 --> 00:36:25.679
the International City County Management Association or my planners with

642
00:36:25.699 --> 00:36:29.449
the American Planning Association or American Public Works Association or

643
00:36:29.489 --> 00:36:34.110
Parks Association. As leaders, we have that extra level of

644
00:36:34.210 --> 00:36:37.269
training that allows us to have innovative ideas, creative ideas

645
00:36:37.309 --> 00:36:40.170
that we can bring back. My frontline employees who are

646
00:36:40.190 --> 00:36:43.820
the ones really having the most direct contact with the residents,

647
00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:47.199
there is no professional development training for them. And I

648
00:36:47.239 --> 00:36:49.400
share with council, if you allow us to create this

649
00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:54.139
for all employees, their return on investment is improved customer

650
00:36:54.179 --> 00:36:55.679
service to the residents.

651
00:36:56.260 --> 00:36:58.119
It is more innovative.

652
00:36:58.099 --> 00:37:01.949
Ideas that get implemented to better serve the residents at

653
00:37:01.989 --> 00:37:07.469
a more cost-effective and efficient means. From that, we've demonstrated that.

654
00:37:08.010 --> 00:37:11.449
We've had employees in one department, you know, make a

655
00:37:11.510 --> 00:37:16.550
recommendation to another department just because they understand the value

656
00:37:17.150 --> 00:37:18.730
of what we believe they get.

657
00:37:18.630 --> 00:37:19.449
From this training.

658
00:37:19.469 --> 00:37:22.219
And we've been able to implement a number of activities,

659
00:37:22.380 --> 00:37:26.000
a number of service delivery enhancements. And the council has

660
00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:29.260
seen that. We invite them to Lancaster University where we

661
00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:32.860
take a full day. It's a day at work that's

662
00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:36.489
away from work where we're not Serving the residents that day,

663
00:37:36.570 --> 00:37:39.090
we work with the community college in our district, in

664
00:37:39.130 --> 00:37:42.250
our city, and they allow us to use the campus,

665
00:37:42.469 --> 00:37:46.920
and we bring in phenomenal speakers like yourself, and they

666
00:37:46.940 --> 00:37:51.519
come in and share insightful information that help improve our employees,

667
00:37:51.980 --> 00:37:55.380
not just their professional lives, but also their personal lives.

668
00:37:57.380 --> 00:38:00.179
So, of course, I totally jam on that because that's

669
00:38:00.219 --> 00:38:02.260
my whole world. Our whole world has been devoted to

670
00:38:02.300 --> 00:38:06.920
that since we've been in business. And what I'm wondering, too,

671
00:38:07.099 --> 00:38:09.860
is did you was there any part of that, you know,

672
00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:12.409
in terms of demonstrating to the city council the value

673
00:38:12.429 --> 00:38:15.289
of the return on investment? Did you have any like

674
00:38:15.369 --> 00:38:18.940
before and after like survey sort of data to work from?

675
00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:25.559
We had before resident feedback, but what we did is

676
00:38:25.639 --> 00:38:29.199
we did not have the before employee feedback. And so

677
00:38:29.699 --> 00:38:32.460
the first year we were able to capture some employee

678
00:38:32.500 --> 00:38:36.679
feedback before and after, and we've been utilizing this. 2027

679
00:38:36.679 --> 00:38:39.920
will be year 10 that the city council has been

680
00:38:39.980 --> 00:38:41.719
embracing Lancaster University.

681
00:38:42.320 --> 00:38:44.349
But what we do have is testimonials.

682
00:38:44.909 --> 00:38:50.070
I have a former employee who... when we started this,

683
00:38:50.170 --> 00:38:53.489
he was one of those individuals kind of like, the

684
00:38:53.530 --> 00:38:57.090
city manager's making us do some training. I don't want

685
00:38:57.110 --> 00:38:59.170
to spend a whole day. I got work, real work

686
00:38:59.309 --> 00:39:03.409
I could be doing in my area, right? But he

687
00:39:03.469 --> 00:39:08.570
went and we had a full day of personal and

688
00:39:08.610 --> 00:39:14.179
professional development training across the spectrum, whether it was customer service, IT,

689
00:39:15.579 --> 00:39:21.960
health and wellness, mental health, just really keynote speakers, breakout sessions,

690
00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:28.050
point and template. After that first year, this gentleman literally

691
00:39:28.110 --> 00:39:30.989
came to me and he told members of my council

692
00:39:31.010 --> 00:39:33.550
this very thing. He said, I did not want to

693
00:39:33.590 --> 00:39:35.409
do the training. I thought it was going to be

694
00:39:35.429 --> 00:39:38.880
a waste of my time. And he said, my wife

695
00:39:39.260 --> 00:39:42.760
has told me that I've been implementing some of the

696
00:39:42.800 --> 00:39:45.059
things I learned. And he said, his wife told him

697
00:39:45.639 --> 00:39:48.800
she noticed a difference in how he was engaging at

698
00:39:48.940 --> 00:39:52.320
home His employees talked about they noticed a difference in

699
00:39:52.340 --> 00:39:54.909
how he's engaging at work.

700
00:39:54.929 --> 00:39:57.949
And that year we had a really good.

701
00:39:57.829 --> 00:40:00.789
Keynote speaker that kind of wrote a book about one word.

702
00:40:01.530 --> 00:40:04.769
And he started implementing and living out that and being

703
00:40:04.909 --> 00:40:07.929
intentional and on purpose. And for an individual, for a

704
00:40:08.070 --> 00:40:11.809
male to tell you that it made a difference and

705
00:40:11.849 --> 00:40:15.469
my wife notices the difference, my family notices the difference,

706
00:40:15.639 --> 00:40:18.840
and my employees are noticing that For him to come

707
00:40:18.860 --> 00:40:20.820
forward and say that and give that to my council,

708
00:40:21.260 --> 00:40:24.409
my council said absolutely continue to do it. And they

709
00:40:24.449 --> 00:40:28.489
have allowed us to continue investing in our workforce every

710
00:40:28.530 --> 00:40:31.510
year for the last nine years. Again, March of 2027

711
00:40:31.510 --> 00:40:34.369
will be our 10-year celebration anniversary.

712
00:40:34.389 --> 00:40:36.889
And the council has even said, this has got to

713
00:40:36.929 --> 00:40:38.329
be a big one because it's year 10.

714
00:40:38.329 --> 00:40:42.179
And so I'm super excited about it.

715
00:40:42.849 --> 00:40:45.849
Oh, you know, that's so great. That kind of testimonial.

716
00:40:45.889 --> 00:40:49.409
And that's why... You know, for me, Opal, I haven't

717
00:40:49.489 --> 00:40:52.210
found a better drug, if you will, than being able

718
00:40:52.250 --> 00:40:56.889
to witness the molecules of somebody's person changing and transforming

719
00:40:56.909 --> 00:40:59.949
in front of my eyes as they realize something, they

720
00:41:00.320 --> 00:41:03.800
awaken to something more, they elevate themselves, they realize more

721
00:41:03.820 --> 00:41:06.380
of their potential, and they become a better human. I mean,

722
00:41:06.960 --> 00:41:08.840
that's why I keep doing the work that we do.

723
00:41:09.900 --> 00:41:12.219
And so having that kind of a testimony was so,

724
00:41:12.260 --> 00:41:14.360
so powerful. And I know in my own work, I

725
00:41:14.380 --> 00:41:16.780
can't tell you how many times that I have been

726
00:41:16.820 --> 00:41:19.250
out giving a session and somebody approaches me afterwards, the

727
00:41:19.309 --> 00:41:20.969
same thing. I did not want to come. My boss

728
00:41:21.010 --> 00:41:23.210
made me come. And oh my gosh, did I get

729
00:41:23.250 --> 00:41:26.090
this out of it? And then for me, like also

730
00:41:26.110 --> 00:41:29.550
with this person's wife, when I get the calls from

731
00:41:29.570 --> 00:41:32.150
significant others saying, I don't know what you're doing over here,

732
00:41:32.210 --> 00:41:34.389
but boy, I like this person I'm living with much better.

733
00:41:36.530 --> 00:41:37.510
It's amazing.

734
00:41:37.530 --> 00:41:42.369
He was absolutely the best. He literally, I mean, he

735
00:41:42.389 --> 00:41:46.320
just was different. He started making recommendations for speakers for

736
00:41:46.440 --> 00:41:51.480
subsequent years. It's just amazing for someone who said, nope,

737
00:41:51.519 --> 00:41:55.500
you're forcing me to do something to the point of, oh, no, okay.

738
00:41:57.929 --> 00:42:01.730
Well, and that's why introducing the idea of here's something

739
00:42:01.789 --> 00:42:05.800
that I'm inviting you to come to, And being able

740
00:42:05.860 --> 00:42:07.980
to introduce that, because we don't know what we don't

741
00:42:08.039 --> 00:42:09.900
know to learn. We don't know what we need to

742
00:42:09.940 --> 00:42:12.539
learn oftentimes. We don't know that there are so many

743
00:42:12.559 --> 00:42:17.119
other ways that we can learn. So presenting those opportunities

744
00:42:17.219 --> 00:42:20.260
as you're doing through Lancaster University is one of those

745
00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:24.960
ways of being able to offer that and expand the

746
00:42:25.199 --> 00:42:28.340
repertoire of thinking and feeling and behaving that makes a

747
00:42:28.360 --> 00:42:31.070
better difference to the quality of life for your residents,

748
00:42:31.110 --> 00:42:32.190
for each other as a team.

749
00:42:32.210 --> 00:42:38.110
Yeah. It has changed individuals' lives. I've had individuals who said,

750
00:42:38.469 --> 00:42:40.860
I wasn't living on purpose.

751
00:42:40.980 --> 00:42:42.019
I was working for money.

752
00:42:43.519 --> 00:42:48.980
And this session showed me that I'm doing the wrong thing.

753
00:42:49.199 --> 00:42:53.260
I have to go do this because to do what

754
00:42:53.300 --> 00:42:55.659
I'm supposed to really be doing on why I'm here,

755
00:42:55.679 --> 00:42:58.659
it should not be working for a paycheck. It should

756
00:42:58.679 --> 00:43:00.570
be doing what I believe my purpose is.

757
00:43:01.489 --> 00:43:02.489
And that was sad for me.

758
00:43:03.550 --> 00:43:06.500
Because I lost Jim, you know, to have him go

759
00:43:06.519 --> 00:43:11.119
work somewhere else. But it was powerful because what we

760
00:43:11.179 --> 00:43:13.639
did is, you know, we want to invest in the

761
00:43:13.679 --> 00:43:19.340
person professionally and personally. The world is better because an

762
00:43:19.380 --> 00:43:24.889
individual is better. And so that, again, pays dividends no

763
00:43:24.909 --> 00:43:25.590
matter how you look.

764
00:43:25.590 --> 00:43:30.269
100%. 100%. Well, as we near the close of our

765
00:43:30.309 --> 00:43:33.170
conversation here, I would love to celebrate a little bit

766
00:43:33.250 --> 00:43:36.429
of the results of your leadership and your management philosophy.

767
00:43:36.510 --> 00:43:39.269
And you already talked about the rating that you've been

768
00:43:39.309 --> 00:43:42.820
able to achieve here. But I also see that there's

769
00:43:42.860 --> 00:43:46.639
other things like, for example, the Dallas Business Journal ranked

770
00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:49.539
Lancaster as the top five of the best managed cities

771
00:43:49.559 --> 00:43:51.380
in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in 2017. That's amazing.

772
00:43:54.639 --> 00:43:58.690
That was a huge feather in the cap because a

773
00:43:59.070 --> 00:44:02.070
lot of difficult decisions had to be made. We were

774
00:44:02.309 --> 00:44:06.449
named in 2019 as an All-America City by the National

775
00:44:06.510 --> 00:44:12.579
Civic League. That's like the Oscar Awards for municipalities. And

776
00:44:12.619 --> 00:44:14.139
so to win that award.

777
00:44:15.760 --> 00:44:19.389
Speaks volumes about the community, because that is not just

778
00:44:19.489 --> 00:44:22.329
an award that the city wins. That was an award

779
00:44:22.389 --> 00:44:26.690
that brought together the business segment, the educational segment, and

780
00:44:26.710 --> 00:44:30.969
the community services and nonprofit segments of our community, as

781
00:44:31.070 --> 00:44:34.630
well as the city, all together to go to Colorado

782
00:44:34.670 --> 00:44:38.829
to demonstrate why collectively we.

783
00:44:38.889 --> 00:44:40.130
Are an all-America city.

784
00:44:40.449 --> 00:44:43.389
And that was very powerful, and it's something that we

785
00:44:43.429 --> 00:44:45.070
cherish very well.

786
00:44:46.639 --> 00:44:48.119
And, you know, and then in terms of you mentioned,

787
00:44:48.760 --> 00:44:50.719
excuse me, you mentioned this a little bit earlier or

788
00:44:50.800 --> 00:44:52.260
sort of alluded to it a little bit earlier to

789
00:44:52.300 --> 00:44:56.570
just the financial, the economy and the overall development. I

790
00:44:56.590 --> 00:44:59.030
think I got this from right from our first conversation

791
00:44:59.469 --> 00:45:02.130
grew from one point billion to nearly seven billion in

792
00:45:02.170 --> 00:45:05.900
assessed value within a 10 year period. much of it

793
00:45:05.940 --> 00:45:08.099
during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

794
00:45:08.179 --> 00:45:08.659
Is that right?

795
00:45:08.699 --> 00:45:09.280
Do I have that right?

796
00:45:09.480 --> 00:45:13.639
That is very correct. We were about $ 1. 7 billion. And

797
00:45:13.699 --> 00:45:16.389
during the COVID pandemic, when a lot of things were

798
00:45:16.449 --> 00:45:25.550
shutting down, we were experiencing phenomenal growth. And we're at $ 7. 8

799
00:45:22.949 --> 00:45:27.909
billion in assessed value. But not even just that, in

800
00:45:27.949 --> 00:45:30.730
the course of all this, we also had an F3

801
00:45:30.789 --> 00:45:33.130
tornado come through town. Oh, hello.

802
00:45:34.170 --> 00:45:34.409
So.

803
00:45:35.360 --> 00:45:40.480
It's just the challenges that this community has experienced, but

804
00:45:40.539 --> 00:45:47.670
the resiliency and the intentionality has made this a much stronger,

805
00:45:47.809 --> 00:45:54.030
united community that weathers so many opportunities and challenges together

806
00:45:54.050 --> 00:45:56.730
that we continue to just grow and blossom.

807
00:45:56.989 --> 00:46:01.809
And we're benefactors. of that phenomenal growth.

808
00:46:01.889 --> 00:46:05.929
And it's amazing to serve in a leadership capacity.

809
00:46:06.869 --> 00:46:07.690
During all of this.

810
00:46:08.389 --> 00:46:09.789
For sure. Talk about growth.

811
00:46:10.449 --> 00:46:10.690
Okay.

812
00:46:10.750 --> 00:46:14.260
Two final questions here. So one is for your fellow

813
00:46:14.360 --> 00:46:17.440
public service professionals. So what would you like to say

814
00:46:17.500 --> 00:46:20.500
to your fellow public service professionals around the country, or

815
00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:21.360
maybe even the world?

816
00:46:22.820 --> 00:46:25.099
What I would say is we live in a glass

817
00:46:25.179 --> 00:46:35.969
bowl that oftentimes feels very, very, SUFFOCATING. AND IT'S VERY

818
00:46:36.070 --> 00:46:39.030
CRITICAL OF US, AND THERE'S A LOT OF CRITICISM THAT

819
00:46:39.070 --> 00:46:44.190
COMES AT US. HOWEVER, WE ARE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE

820
00:46:44.329 --> 00:46:48.269
REALLY HAVING IMPACT ON THE DAY-TO-DAY LIVES OF THE RESIDENTS

821
00:46:48.309 --> 00:46:51.460
THAT WE SERVE. EVERYTHING WE DO IN THE MUNICIPALITY, FROM

822
00:46:51.500 --> 00:46:53.159
THE MOMENT YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND TURN

823
00:46:53.199 --> 00:46:55.420
ON THE WATER TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH, TAKE YOU BACK

824
00:46:55.460 --> 00:46:58.519
OUT OF YOUR DRIVEWAY, OR IF YOU HAVE TO DIAL 911,

825
00:46:58.519 --> 00:47:02.500
WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE SERVICES. And remember that it was

826
00:47:02.579 --> 00:47:06.900
transmitted to us, and we have an obligation, a duty,

827
00:47:06.940 --> 00:47:11.400
and a responsibility to care for it, to nurture it,

828
00:47:11.739 --> 00:47:15.190
and to support it. And we chose this profession not

829
00:47:15.250 --> 00:47:18.650
because of any financial gain or benefit, but to have

830
00:47:18.690 --> 00:47:19.409
an impact.

831
00:47:20.550 --> 00:47:23.010
And remember that your colleagues are.

832
00:47:22.989 --> 00:47:27.340
Supporting you, loving you, and there to continue to support you.

833
00:47:28.039 --> 00:47:32.050
Keep doing it. Keep embracing it. Keep serving with kindness.

834
00:47:33.710 --> 00:47:36.789
And then finally, for the general public at large, what

835
00:47:36.809 --> 00:47:38.409
would you like to leave all of us who aren't

836
00:47:38.469 --> 00:47:40.789
maybe in a public service role?

837
00:47:41.909 --> 00:47:44.090
What I would say is be kind.

838
00:47:44.760 --> 00:47:46.440
You never know what someone is going through.

839
00:47:47.599 --> 00:47:48.340
Build bridges.

840
00:47:50.019 --> 00:47:54.820
Because there is always a point of a connection with

841
00:47:55.059 --> 00:48:00.130
someone that you can identify, that you can find. Always,

842
00:48:00.369 --> 00:48:04.929
always find opportunities to learn something new and make sure

843
00:48:04.969 --> 00:48:08.929
that you're living, that you're working, and that you're loving

844
00:48:09.489 --> 00:48:14.219
intentionally and on purpose. And you'll be blessed an amazing life,

845
00:48:14.659 --> 00:48:15.699
no matter what comes your way.

846
00:48:16.949 --> 00:48:19.570
Ms. Malden-Jones, I'm so grateful to know you. I'm so

847
00:48:19.590 --> 00:48:23.449
grateful to be connected with you, to be inspired by you.

848
00:48:23.989 --> 00:48:26.690
I really appreciate your approach to leadership as it very

849
00:48:26.730 --> 00:48:29.190
much aligns with my own. And I really hope that

850
00:48:29.269 --> 00:48:31.650
our listeners and viewers got to see an example in

851
00:48:31.690 --> 00:48:34.449
you about how important it is to create a learning organization,

852
00:48:34.590 --> 00:48:37.130
among other things, and exercise that great kindness.

853
00:48:38.670 --> 00:48:41.489
Thank you for having me. I've enjoyed this show, Dr.

854
00:48:41.530 --> 00:48:42.989
Lee. Thank you so much, Ms.

855
00:48:43.050 --> 00:48:43.250
Opal.

856
00:48:44.550 --> 00:48:46.409
Listeners and viewers, if you want to learn more about Ms.

857
00:48:46.489 --> 00:48:49.679
Opal Malden-Jones or what's happening in the city of Lancaster,

858
00:48:49.739 --> 00:48:55.639
you can just head to the website. It's lancaster-tx.com. Last week,

859
00:48:55.659 --> 00:48:57.159
if you missed the live show, you can always catch

860
00:48:57.199 --> 00:48:59.820
it via recorded podcast. We were on air with Rabbi Dr.

861
00:48:59.840 --> 00:49:03.400
Bahug Halevi talking about the work he does in men's groups,

862
00:49:03.460 --> 00:49:06.630
helping them heal and come home to themselves. We talked

863
00:49:06.670 --> 00:49:09.190
about his book, The Guy in the Glass, six questions

864
00:49:09.469 --> 00:49:11.630
to see the man you were meant to be. It

865
00:49:11.670 --> 00:49:14.989
was an incredibly raw, real, and powerful conversation. where we

866
00:49:15.010 --> 00:49:17.820
started off with the incredibly tragic statistic that a man

867
00:49:17.980 --> 00:49:21.289
takes his life every 13 minutes. So the work he

868
00:49:21.349 --> 00:49:24.159
is doing and our conversation are an invitation to help

869
00:49:24.199 --> 00:49:28.079
men start healing and becoming whole. Next week, we'll be

870
00:49:28.119 --> 00:49:30.059
on the air with Jason Wild, one of the authors

871
00:49:30.119 --> 00:49:33.800
of Genius at Scale, How Great Leaders Drive Innovation. See

872
00:49:33.840 --> 00:49:36.420
you then, and let's continue leaning in to learn how

873
00:49:36.460 --> 00:49:39.280
to help more people flourish, elevate your operating system as

874
00:49:39.320 --> 00:49:42.909
a leader, and create destination workplaces where legendary business takes place.

875
00:49:43.309 --> 00:49:44.329
Let's work on purpose.

876
00:49:47.550 --> 00:49:50.170
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program. Be sure to

877
00:49:50.210 --> 00:49:53.860
tune into Working on Purpose, featuring your host, Dr. Elise Cortez,

878
00:49:54.039 --> 00:49:57.800
each week on W4CY. Together, we'll create a world where

879
00:49:57.840 --> 00:50:02.719
business operates conscientiously, leadership inspires in passion performance, and employees

880
00:50:02.760 --> 00:50:05.300
are fulfilled in work that provides the meaning and purpose

881
00:50:05.340 --> 00:50:05.920
they crave.

882
00:50:06.380 --> 00:50:06.940
See you there.

883
00:50:07.260 --> 00:50:08.619
Let's work on purpose.