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Cleon Cauley’s upbringing is testament to the modern aphorism that not all heroes wear capes – or pull in seven figures every year.
Growing up in inner-city Philadelphia, in an analogue era before rampant influencer worship and overnight viral stardom, the current General Manager of the New Castle County Department of Public Works in Delaware, was magnetized by the “pillars of the local community”, the majority of whom worked in the public sector.
“You just appreciate and respect their discipline and the pride in what they do,” Cauley says wistfully. “You have conversations with them over the years about how much they love their job and the people they work with.
“Then when you have the chance to work in the public sector, it’s inspiring to see people choose their life’s work not based on the highest salary, but on the greatest impact they can make. I count myself as one of those people.”
“I don’t ask anything of my team that I’m not willing to do myself.”
This early fascination with public service may have made an indelible impression on Cauley’s worldview, but he is by no means a dyed-in-the-wool civil servant per se. His varied, Delaware-based career has been split between the public and private spheres.
Previous roles include serving as a land use attorney with the county and as University General Counsel at Delaware State University, as well as founding his own legal practice, The Cauley Firm, representing clients in both criminal and civil matters.
Cauley took up his latest post in January this year, resisting a primal urge to hit the ground running and immediately put his stamp on the department – as he was prone to do in the salad days of his professional life.
“As you get more mature, you realize there’s time and that you can appreciate the knowledge your predecessors have,” Cauley says of his now measured approach to actioning change.
“The more you know, the more you realize how much there is to learn. So you come in with eyes wide open as a student of the organization. That’s the approach I take, one of coming in and becoming part of the culture.”
That workplace atmosphere, according to Cauley, begins with personal accountability and transparency on his part.
“I don’t ask anything of my team that I’m not willing to do myself, and I ask them to hold me accountable before I hold them accountable,” he explains.
“You want to make sure you’re not just talking the talk, but you’re walking the walk. That’s the culture we’re pushing, and that’s the culture we’ll hire in the future.”
Cauley is already in the throes of implementing a four-part framework to propel the department forward across vital local services. First up, there is a pledge to financial excellence, ensuring budgets marry with strategic goals; then comes the concept of internal business process mastery, meaning all documents, be they policies or procedures, align with the county’s overarching vision.
This is followed by a commitment to sustained growth, a tenet linked to everything from nurturing talent to building infrastructure; and finally, high-quality stakeholder service, applicable to both citizens and commercial partners.
“We’re not building things that won’t be needed, we’re building things that the data is showing us will be needed.”
In this regard, Cauley is keen to highlight the importance of the far-reaching, “symbiotic” relationships he and the county have cultivated with suppliers such as Duke’s, a 75-year veteran of the underground infrastructure business.
“As the private sector is growing, do we have the infrastructure set in place for growth to actually happen? You can’t have the housing you want and you can’t have the lines of business you want in your community or in your government if the infrastructure hasn’t been laid,” he points out.
“So we’re always future planning. We’re not building things that won’t be needed, we’re building things that the data is showing us will be needed.”
Indeed, for this vision to materialize, Cauley has put considerable faith in a refined, tech-driven model.
“I come from a legal background, so for me data and facts are similar, if not the same,” Cauley reveals. “Data is central to every major decision we make.
“You have to start from the standpoint of: is it quality data, is it usable data and are they important questions that we’re answering? A lot of times in my past, I’ve seen organizations start with the newest, shiniest tool and miss the first initial question of: ‘OK, is our data good?’”
As someone who spent most of his adult life in Delaware – “When your mom and wife are from the state, what choice do you have?” he quips – Cauley feels rooted personally in the region.
This helps explain why he views growth not merely as a financial measure, but also as a reflection of its positive impact on the community – parks restored and beautified, sewers strengthened to serve effectively, and facilities built to last.
“The more you know, the more you realize how much there is to learn.”
Moreover, his affinity with the community feeds into the generous civic side of his personality, traits molded during childhood by neighborhood figureheads in Philly.
“We can talk about data and technology and all those things, but none of this happens without really, really good people who work in these organizations and these governmental entities,” he stresses.
“Leadership sets the tone – it begins with the people our communities elect, and from there it filters through every level. What many don’t see is just how much work it really takes to carry a project across the finish line.
“While most people are just waking up, our crews are already in the streets – digging sewers, repairing infrastructure, restoring parks. That’s why I do this work: because those men and women, those heroes, deserve advocates who can make their jobs, and their lives, a little easier.”
Maybe it’s time for Cauley to collect his own cape.
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