Clear Connects with the Next Generation in North Texas
Clear Career Professionals had the opportunity to spend September 11 at the 5th Annual North Texas Leadership Symposium in Plano, hosted by the Urban Management Assistants of North Texas (UMANT) and the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA). With this year’s theme, “Next Generation City Hall,” the event brought together emerging professionals and experienced local government leaders for a day of learning, networking, mentorship and conversation about the future of public service.
For our team, though, some of the best moments happened between the formal sessions.
We came to the symposium with a simple goal: spend time with emerging local government professionals, learn about where they are in their careers, and be available to answer questions about where they might go next. Throughout the day, we had conversations with people who were trying to determine what their next position should be, how to prepare themselves for greater responsibility, and what a long-term career in public service could look like.
Those conversations were easily the highlight of the event. There is something energizing about meeting people who care deeply about public service and are still figuring out the path they want to take. We spend much of our work helping organizations find great people, but events like this give us the chance to work from the other direction: helping great people think intentionally about where their careers may lead.
Learning From Both Sides of the Table
One of my favorite parts of the symposium was participating in the Mentor Roundtable. The format paired two mentors at each table while participants rotated around the room, giving us a short window with each new group to answer questions, share experiences, and hopefully pass along something useful.
I was paired with Wayne K. Snell Jr., a longtime municipal professional who currently serves as Code Enforcement Director for the City of Irving.
Wayne and I came into local government through very different career paths, which made the experience particularly interesting. Yet as the conversations progressed, we kept finding ourselves giving remarkably similar answers. We agreed on the importance of preparing for the job you want before the opportunity arrives, being realistic about the expectations that come with leadership, developing people instead of simply managing them, and taking care of yourself well enough to sustain a long career.
The rotations moved quickly, but that was part of what made the session so much fun. Each table brought different questions and different perspectives, and we had the chance to meet a large number of participants in a relatively short period of time. I enjoyed getting to know Wayne along the way, too. Sometimes the mentors end up learning something from the experience as well.
Sharing 540 Leadership
Among the prizes we gave away were copies of Michael Boese’s new book, 540 Leadership: A Framework for Leaders Who Look Inward Before They Lead Outward.
The book fit naturally with many of the symposium conversations. Michael’s framework challenges leaders to first examine how they lead, how they affect others, and whether they are ready for greater responsibility.
For emerging professionals, that message matters. Career growth takes preparation, self-awareness, and a commitment to becoming a better leader before the title arrives. We were excited to share copies with symposium participants and introduce more people to Michael’s work.
A Different Way to Connect
We also used the symposium to debut the Clear Match Game, a new interactive way for attendees to enter our prize drawings while exploring Clear Career Professionals, The Clear Voice, and our social channels.
Instead of simply asking people to drop a business card into a bowl, we wanted to make the experience a little more engaging. Participants could play the game, learn more about Clear, connect with us online and put their name into the drawing at the same time. It gave us another reason to start conversations throughout the day and was a fun first test of something we hope to continue using at future events.
Thank You, UMANT
Clear’s participation came at the invitation of Sarah Luxton, President of the Urban Management Assistants of North Texas. Sarah has been active with UMANT in several leadership roles and became president in 2026.
Sarah and the entire UMANT team put together an outstanding event. The program provided substantive sessions, strong speakers and, just as importantly, opportunities for people at different stages of their careers to actually interact with one another. The Mentor Roundtable was a great example of that.
We appreciate Sarah inviting Clear to participate and giving us the opportunity to spend a day with so many talented public servants.
We came to Plano hoping we could provide a little guidance to people preparing for the next stages of their careers. We left reminded why we enjoy this work so much.
There are a lot of talented people preparing to lead the next generation of local government.
And getting to meet some of them was a pretty great way to spend a day.
