Women who are working in local government management positions are not an anomaly these days. But the good news has a bad-news question attached to it in the January/February 2015 PM: “Why so little progress [for women’s leadership] in 30 years?”

I suspect that no part of this question surprises women and probably doesn’t surprise the authors of the PM article “Women Leading Government.” Written by Heidi Voorhees and Rachel Lange-Skaggs, the article speaks to the question with five steps women can take so they aren’t holding themselves back from choosing a leadership job. I’ll share two of the steps that I think are helpful: Effectively assess your skills (conduct an honest assessment) and make your intentions known—discreetly (make sure recruiters, ICMA, even a supervisor knows your career plans).

Speaking of opening new doors and accomplishing what a person might have previously thought unreachable, the article “A New Year: Are Your Goals Challenging Enough?” might be just what everyone needs to set challenging goals and to take the risks to achieve them.

I like sharing good news, so publishing the article “Paying It Forward,” written by a retired manager about how he enjoys giving back to the management profession, was a no brainer. He writes that retirement opens up more opportunities and by volunteering, he truly is rewarded. I also hope the story of a manager who worked in a small community in Colorado, “Putting a Town on the Map,” will make you smile. Smiling is something I hope we all do more of in 2015!

January/February 2015 PM