As 2025 comes to a close, our LIFT (Leaders in Fellowship and Transformation) cohort celebrates another year of learning, connection, and community-building across Team Baytown. Made up of employees who have completed the Manager Series or Black Belt training, LIFT meets monthly to deepen leadership skills and strengthen the relationships that help us build a better Baytown, together.

We kicked off the year by diving into Radical Candor by Kim Scott, a transformative approach to leadership rooted in caring personally while challenging directly. Throughout January, LIFT members explored what it means to give feedback that builds trust, sparks growth, and invites honest conversation. Participants used memorable scenes from well-known TV shows and movies to identify feedback styles, from radically candid to ruinously empathetic, and to better understand their effects on team dynamics. In February and March, we continued the journey, focusing on how people respond to Radical Candor and the importance of phrasing feedback with clarity, courage, and kindness.

In April, we launched a new series centered on Tribal Leadership by Logan, King, and Fischer-Wright. This book challenges leaders to elevate workplace culture by shifting from “I’m great” to “We’re great” and ultimately toward innovation driven by shared values and a noble cause. LIFT participants identified the cultural stages within their own teams and collaborated on strategies to help move their groups toward stronger, more connected, purpose-driven cultures.

We closed out the year by returning to our roots in continuous improvement. Participants refreshed their Green Belt and Black Belt knowledge and applied process-improvement tools to real City challenges. This year’s program also featured two new hands-on opportunities: the LIFT Job Swap, where participants shadowed each other for two hours to gain a deeper appreciation of the roles that keep Baytown running, and the Continuous Improvement Teams, which bring participants together to map and improve multi-departmental processes across the organization.

As we look toward 2026, we’re excited to continue this never-ending journey of learning, growing, and lifting one another higher. With more opportunities on the horizon and new participants joining the fold, the future of LIFT, and of Baytown, is brighter than ever.