Building Something Bigger Than Yourself

Mayor Nick Rutledge

Moody, Alabama

“Building Something Bigger Than Yourself”

Nick Rutledge already has a fairly demanding job as Mayor of Moody, Alabama.

But he also drives a school bus.

He originally started because his community needed drivers. What he discovered behind the wheel was something else entirely.

During our conversation, Nick told me about what he sees traveling through his community each day, what children sometimes reveal to a bus driver that they might not tell another adult, and how that experience has affected the way he thinks about the people he serves.

That led us into a much bigger conversation:

How does leadership change when you stop seeing a community primarily through its issues and start seeing the individual lives behind them?

Nick’s journey from construction worker to volunteer, councilmember, mayor, and, yes, school bus driver offers an unexpectedly thoughtful way to explore that question.

Listen to “Building Something Bigger Than Yourself” with Mayor Nick Rutledge.

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An Invitation to Share Your Leadership Story

Community Catalysts is built on the belief that some of the most valuable leadership insights are earned quietly, through real service in real communities.

If you serve in a civic leadership role—and you’d be open to sharing hard-won lessons from your own experience—I invite you to consider being a guest on a future episode.

You can learn more and volunteer by completing a brief guest questionnaire at:www.CatalystGuest.us 

Every submission is reviewed personally. Your story may help another leader see their own work more clearly, or feel less alone in the responsibilities they carry.

Thank you for the work you do—and for considering this invitation.