The Dirty Side of Leadership with Ron Ward Leadership is often portrayed as vision, strategy, and motivation. But experienced leaders know there is another side. The difficult conversations, personnel decisions, and moments when doing the right thing carries real consequences for people and organizations. In this episode of The Clear Voice, host and Retired Police Chief James Groom sits down with Ron Ward, Amazon bestselling author of The Dirty Side of Leadership, executive coach, and founder of 4Ward Operations. Ron spent more than 26 years in federal service, including leadership roles...

#47 - Collateral Hope: Dena Petty and Mentors Care Strong communities are built one life at a time, and at the center of every strong community are its kids. Episode 47 features Dena Petty, Founder and Director of Mentors Care, in conversation with host and Retired Police Chief James Groom. This episode explores how structured mentoring programs create measurable impact for at-risk students and strengthen schools, cities, and entire communities. Episode Summary Founded in Midlothian, Texas in 2009, Mentors Care connects students with consistent, caring adult mentors inside public high...

Assistant Chief of Police at Bridgeport, Texas PositionCast™ Are you exploring command-level law enforcement leadership opportunities or preparing for a future Chief of Police role? In this PositionCast™ episode of The Clear Voice, retired Chiefs of Police James Groom and Jeff Spivey sit down with Bridgeport Chief of Police Steve Stanford to discuss the newly created Assistant Chief of Police position in Bridgeport, Texas. Clear Career Professionals partners with cities to recruit Chiefs of Police, City Managers, Finance Directors, and other municipal executives across Texas and beyond. Our...

Building Strong Public Sector Teams with Cheree Bontrager How do Texas cities attract, hire, and retain strong executive leaders? In this episode of The Clear Voice, host and Retired Police Chief James Groom and Retired City Manager Michael Boese speak with veteran municipal Director of Human Resources Cheree Bontrager about municipal hiring strategy, executive interview preparation, retention, and building a workplace culture that attracts leadership talent. For councils preparing to hire a City Manager in Texas or organizations navigating municipal executive recruitment, this episode...

In this PositionCast™ episode of The Clear Voice, Host James Groom, Clear Vice President and Retired Police Chief, sits down with Mayor Jimbo Snyder of Morgan’s Point Resort, Texas, alongside Retired City Manager Kent Meyers, Vice President at Clear Career Professionals, to provide a detailed look at the City Manager recruitment. Listeners gain direct insight into council expectations, organizational structure, leadership culture, and the real priorities facing the next City Manager. Morgan’s Point Resort is a residential lakeside community on Belton Lake in Central Texas, offering small...

Bobby Quinten, PCC, Founder of To A Better Place Executive Coaching, joins James Groom, Retired Chief of Police and Host of The Clear Voice, for a powerful conversation on executive coaching, emotional intelligence, work life balance, culture transformation, and sustainable leadership in both public and private sector organizations. With decades of experience in leadership development, nonprofit governance, and municipal advisory service, Bobby helps executives strengthen communication, performance, and organizational culture through strengths based leadership and intentional growth...

Episode 42 of The Clear Voice looks at a shift many public leaders are not planning for, the possibility that population growth cannot be assumed. Author and public policy researcher Bill King joins the show to discuss how changing demographics are reshaping the long-term outlook for cities, school districts, and public infrastructure. The conversation moves beyond theory and focuses on practical implications for capital planning, facilities, and financial strategy. King explains why growth has historically helped local governments manage debt, expand services, and plan for the future, and...

Infrastructure problems rarely start the day a pipe breaks or a road fails. Most begin years earlier with decisions cities did not realize carried long term consequences. In this episode of The Clear Voice, Host James Groom and Clear Career Professionals President Michael Boese sit down with municipal engineer Craig Kerkhoff, Managing Partner at BHC, to discuss the infrastructure realities city leaders face but often cannot see coming. Craig explains what engineers regularly encounter once construction begins, hidden system deficiencies, aging infrastructure that was never mapped or...

What does it take to lead municipal finance in one of the most economically dynamic regions in the United States? In this PositionCast™, James Groom,  Host of The Clear Voice, is joined by Kelly Kuenstler, Vice President with Clear Career Professionals, and Aaron Smith, City Manager of Odessa, Texas, to discuss the Chief Financial Officer opportunity with the City of Odessa. This conversation goes beyond a job posting and gives candidates a direct look at executive leadership expectations, organizational direction, and the financial complexity facing Odessa’s next CFO. Odessa operates in the...

Episode #39 of The Clear Voice features Brad Stafford, retired City Manager and Vice President at Clear Career Professionals, in an honest and important conversation about city manager burnout, leadership stress, and mental health in local government. Brad is joined by Kelly Kuenstler, Vice President at Clear Career Professionals and former city and county manager, along with James Groom, Host of The Clear Voice and public sector leader. After 28 years serving as a City Manager, Brad Stafford shares the personal and professional realities that led him to step away from city management, not...