﻿Wide Open, a Podcast by Sevenfold﻿

Wide Open is a Sevenfold podcast about thinking and leading better in communities across Kansas. At Sevenfold, we believe that leadership requires a boldness to approach issues with an open-handed curiosity. In a world that’s getting faster and faster, our goal here is to slow down and examine the complexities right before our eyes in such a way as to empower leaders across our state to better engage and support their local communities, regardless of the challenge.  

We’ll be doing this through a wide range of topics, guests, and ideas, with each season exploring one central issue or question through thoughtful conversations designed to spark clarity and impact.  

Listen now on all common streaming platforms.

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Season 1: Strong Mayor or Strong City Manager

In this four-part series, season one of Wide Open focuses on local government, and more specifically the question of whether communities across Kansas should maintain a council-manager (strong city manager) form of government or explore returning to a mayor council (strong mayor) form of government. ﻿
Though it may seem like a technical choice, an evaluation of historical context, expert interviews, and real-world examples reveals that it may tie into deeper themes of vision, expertise, and community identity. Join us as we unpack the ideas, risks, and opportunities shaping the future of local governance.  

Wide Open S1 E4 | Leadership in Context: Why Structure Isn’t Everything 

In our final episode of Wide Open season one, we widen the lens. We look at the interplay between structure and the leaders who bring those structures to life.

We revisit our core questions and take two short field trips to Oklahoma City and Omaha, where different models of local government each produced decades of growth and civic identity. Along the way, we hear from experts about why leadership, trust, and community ambition can matter just as much—if not more—than the form on paper.  

Finally, we turn the questions toward you, the listener. What kind of leadership does your community need? And how might your presence and influence shape its future? 

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Wide Open S1 E3 | City Manager Explained: Upholding Trust and Expertise

Who leads a city when leadership is shared?  

In Episode three of Wide Open, we turn our attention to the council-manager model, a system built on professional expertise to run the daily operations of a city while elected leaders set direction and represent the community. With insights from our experts, we look at why many cities rely on this approach, what strengths it offers, and where tension can emerge when authority is distributed.  

Does this model risk placing leadership too far from the people it serves? Or has it proven itself over the last 100 years, solidifying its place as the best model to lead us into the future?

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Wide Open S1 E2 | Strong Mayor Explained: Protecting Representation and Identity

In episode one, we introduced the big question and framed the discussion around the types of local government. In episode two, we take a closer look at the mayor-council (strong mayor) structure. ﻿
With the help of experts, we explore its context, potential benefits, and the critiques often raised around it. The goal isn’t to argue for one side or the other, but to better understand the approach and its practice.  

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S1 E1 - Wide Open | Forms of Local Government: How and Why it Matters

Episode one sets the stage for our central question with the help of input from experts around the state of Kansas. In this episode, we explore the essence of local government, how our local government supports our notions of community, and the historical context of both the council-manager and mayor-council forms of government.  

What is the key role of local government? What do these structures mean for leadership, accountability, and community identity? And, what structure is best suited for communities into the future?   

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Spotify

Youtube