Expanding the Clear Way | People First, Always
Clear Expands Local Government Leadership Services Across the Northwest
Clear Career Professionals is expanding its work with cities, counties, and public sector organizations across the Northwest and western United States.
In this episode of The Clear Voice, James Groom sits down with Clear President Michael Boese and Mark Shrives, Clear Vice President and Northwest Regional Director, to discuss what this expansion means for communities in Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, California, and surrounding states.
The conversation highlights more than geography. It focuses on leadership, service, municipal executive search, emergency preparedness, strategic planning, organizational culture, and the practical challenges facing local governments today.
A Northwest Regional Office Built on Municipal Experience
Clear’s expansion into the Northwest is rooted in direct local government experience. Mark Shrives brings more than 20 years of city management experience, along with a career in military leadership and later work with FEMA.
His background includes service as a City Administrator in Montana, city management experience in Oregon, interim city management in Columbia Falls, and deep professional connections throughout the region.
That matters because municipal recruiting and consulting are not generic services. Cities need advisors who understand council dynamics, department operations, public expectations, community culture, and the real pressure placed on city managers and department heads.
For communities in the Northwest, that means Clear is not simply bringing a national recruiting model into the region. Clear is bringing a team with practical public sector experience, supported by a regional leader who understands the communities, leadership expectations, and professional networks of the area.
Municipal Executive Search With a Candidate Focus
A major theme of the episode is Clear’s approach to executive recruitment.
Michael Boese explains that Clear is not built around an impersonal process. The firm focuses on relationships, candidate communication, and helping communities identify leaders who can serve effectively in real public sector environments.
That includes city manager recruitment, city administrator recruitment, department head searches, and other senior municipal roles.
One example discussed in the episode is the Columbia Falls City Manager recruitment. Mark first encountered Clear as the interim city manager helping the city select a recruiting firm. After reviewing multiple proposals, Clear stood out because of its process, its pricing, and its focus on meaningful candidate evaluation.
That process included live virtual semifinalist interviews with Clear team members and local representatives, rather than relying on one way video interviews or disconnected screening methods.
For candidates, this matters. For cities, it matters even more. Local governments are not just hiring a resume. They are selecting a leader who will influence culture, operations, trust, and service delivery.
Translating Military Leadership Into Local Government
The episode also explores an important leadership pipeline for city management, military veterans moving into local government.
Mark discusses his own transition from military service into city administration. After retiring from the military, he saw a city administrator opening in Hamilton, Montana, and recognized that his leadership, budgeting, infrastructure, planning, and management experience could translate well into municipal government.
The conversation also highlights a key challenge for military candidates. They must translate military experience into language that city councils, city managers, and local government hiring panels can clearly understand.
Titles and acronyms may not mean much to someone outside the military. What matters is explaining the substance behind the work, including leadership, personnel management, capital planning, budgeting, infrastructure, logistics, emergency response, and organizational development.
For cities, this is also a reminder not to overlook qualified candidates simply because their experience comes from a different public service environment. Military leaders can bring strong discipline, planning experience, crisis management skills, and a service focused mindset into municipal roles.
Strategic Planning and Emergency Preparedness for Cities
Clear’s Northwest expansion is not limited to recruiting.
Mark’s background also strengthens Clear’s ability to support cities with strategic planning, emergency management planning, and organizational consulting.
In the episode, Mark discusses how strategic planning is central to both military and municipal leadership. Cities need to understand where they are going, what priorities matter most, and how to align staff, elected officials, resources, and community expectations around a practical plan.
Emergency preparedness is another major focus.
Mark’s FEMA experience gives Clear additional depth in helping communities evaluate their emergency management readiness. The discussion emphasizes that having a plan is not enough. Plans must be exercised, tested, reviewed, and updated before a crisis occurs.
For city managers, councils, and department leaders, this is a practical issue. Emergency preparedness is not only about response after disaster strikes. It is also about mitigation, coordination, risk awareness, communication, and recovery planning.
Cities in the Northwest and western states face a wide range of emergency management concerns, including wildfires, winter weather, flooding, infrastructure disruption, and other local risks. A practical review of emergency readiness can help leaders understand immediate needs, mid range priorities, and longer range planning issues.
Organizational Reviews and Culture Improvement
Another important part of the conversation is Clear’s ability to help cities assess organizational performance.
Michael and Mark discuss organizational reviews, department assessments, leadership evaluations, and the importance of identifying what is working, what is not working, and what needs to change.
For many local governments, the issue is not a lack of effort from frontline employees. Public works employees, police officers, firefighters, utility crews, administrative staff, and other municipal professionals often work hard every day to serve residents.
The larger challenge is often leadership alignment, organizational culture, supervision, communication, accountability, and clarity of direction.
Clear’s team brings experience from city management, public safety, department leadership, consulting, emergency management, and executive recruitment. That gives communities access to a broader team, not just one consultant.
Bringing The Clear Way to More Communities
Clear’s expansion into the Northwest reflects the same core philosophy that guides the firm’s work in Texas and other regions.
The goal is to help communities hire better, lead better, plan better, and serve better.
That includes municipal executive search, city manager recruitment, strategic planning, emergency preparedness, organizational reviews, leadership consulting, and other practical services built around the realities of local government.
For cities in Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, California, and nearby western states, Clear’s Northwest presence creates a direct connection to experienced municipal professionals who understand public service and the leadership demands placed on local governments.
As Michael explains in the episode, when a city hires Clear, it gains more than one person assigned to a project. It gains access to the full Clear team.
That team based approach is central to The Clear Way. Clear focuses on value, integrity, service, relationships, and long term community impact.
A Practical Partner for Northwest Local Governments
The needs of local governments are not getting simpler.
Cities are navigating workforce challenges, leadership transitions, infrastructure demands, emergency planning, community expectations, council priorities, and increasing competition for experienced public sector talent.
Clear’s Northwest expansion is designed to help communities meet those challenges with experienced guidance and practical support.
Whether a city needs help recruiting its next city manager, reviewing an organization, developing a strategic plan, preparing for emergencies, or strengthening leadership culture, Clear Career Professionals is positioned to help local governments move forward with clarity and confidence.
About The Clear Voice Podcast
The Clear Voice is a dedicated platform for transparency and expert led dialogue within the professional and public sectors. The show serves as a vital resource for leaders who want to move past surface level discussions and dive into the real world mechanics of governance, management, and organizational growth. James Groom is the host of the program. As the Vice President of Clear Career Professionals and a retired Police Chief, James brings a unique, high stakes perspective to every conversation. His background in public service and executive leadership allows him to extract practical, actionable insights from industry experts that help modern organizations function with total clarity.
Our Core Focus Areas
Executive Leadership: Exploring the transition from technical competence to high level strategic management.
Organizational Transparency: Discussing the importance of open communication and accountability in public and private leadership.
Governance and Strategy: Breaking down the complex decision making processes that drive successful communities and organizations.
Professional Development: Insights on coaching, culture building, and high performance team management.
About Clear Career Professionals
Clear Career Professionals is a specialized recruitment and strategic consulting firm focused on the public sector. We believe that the strength of any municipality or school district lies in the quality of its leadership and the cohesion of its teams.Our team is comprised of former practitioners and retired executives who understand the nuances of public service. We provide organizations with more than just a list of candidates; we provide the strategic oversight and expertise necessary to navigate transitions, maximize taxpayer funds, and implement long term solutions.
Our Strategic Services
Executive Search and Recruitment: A tailored approach to identifying top tier talent for leadership roles in cities and school districts.
Interim Leadership: Providing experienced professionals to guide organizations through critical periods of transition.
Governance and Board Training: Specialized sessions designed to strengthen board relations and help leadership teams function as a unified School Board or City Council & Executive Team.
Shared Solutions Initiative: A program focused on fostering collaboration between municipalities and schools to address shared community challenges.
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