Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Nate Sassaman is a 1985 West Point graduate whose leadership skills have been demonstrated from the battlefield to the boardroom. LTC (R) Sassaman led over 1,500 soldiers as a Combined Arms Infantry Battalion Commander in the heart of the Sunni Triangle from 2003-2004. Using the leadership lessons taught at West Point and the hard lessons on the Iraqi battlefield, Nate takes his amazing leadership experiences and develops today’s leaders and aspiring leaders at some of the largest companies and government agencies in the United States. Nate’s high-energy approach, challenging facilitator methods, and focused determination on developing his student-leaders and their teams makes for the best leadership training available. His St. Martin’s Press published book, Warrior King, has sold nearly 100,000 copies and is a regional best-seller.

Topic: "Effectively Leading Your Agency Through Change and Reform - Proactive Leadership and Strategic Considerations"

Nate Sassaman will be focusing on how to lead and manage change: present a workable model, discuss potential obstacles and the support that is needed, consider how to overcome resistance, and provide options for effective communication. He will also be focusing on “Upstream Strategic Thinking” – a framework for solving complex problems. Rather than senior leaders focusing on the day-to-day tactical issues, there are advantages to having a one-year strategic plan along with a 2-3 year projection to clearly guide departments forward. Strategizing how to leverage key relationships, resources, and support is key to effectively leading departments. Effectively positioning resources to accomplish unique, specific city/community missions while facing the complexities of politics, budgets, and general chaos/adversity will also be a focus of the presentation.