The Opportunity to Lead

The utility industry is facing a storm of converging forces. 

U.S. energy consumption, primarily driven by industrial demand, is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades. Natural disasters are a near-daily occurrence, raising the costs for recovery. Pressures from consumers to keep energy affordable continue to grow. And investment in grid modernization is at an all-time high, meaning more work with little room for mistakes.

Our industry's goals are lofty – meeting sustainability targets, improving resiliency, mitigating risks to grid assets, and keeping costs down. We need investment. We need innovation. 

And we need leadership now more than ever.

During my career in both the military and the private sector, I've had the good fortune to view the impact of leadership, both good and bad. Good leadership allows teams and organizations to achieve well above the standard, team members go the extra mile, and leaders at all levels feel empowered to make decisions that move goals forward. Bad leadership kills morale, breeds mediocre performance, and slows an organization down to the point of almost being ineffective.

In the utility industry, the days of the gruff "do as you're told" mentality are mainly behind us, and with good reason: fostering a culture of collaboration, empathy, and accountability in which teams feel safe to innovate is imperative. That is the only way to a path of sustainability.

What is leadership?

Many definitions exist for the term leadership; the dictionary definition is "the action of leading a group of people or an organization." That's a broad description. So, I will state my idea of leadership more clearly. 

Leadership is the act of inspiring people to follow you regardless of position.

A leader understands that they are not leading machines; they know that everyone on their team has their intrinsic value system and reasons for being present at work, on the team, or in the group; leaders should not overlay their motivation on their teams. 

A leader uses those motivations to drive to a common goal with a common set of standards that are clearly and routinely communicated and reinforced to minimize confusion or distraction. 

A leader empowers those around them to make decisions and coach them. 

A leader works with the team in the trenches, never asking them to do something they themselves wouldn't. 

To take an axiom from my military days, a leader says, "Follow me!" 

Leadership is something that should not be taken lightly.

It is not a product of position, nor is it for everyone. A natural leader commits to their team 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If a team member needs support, a leader provides to the best of their ability without considering working hours. 

My father taught me a lesson, and it was later reinforced during my time in the infantry: Leaders eat last. Some may think: "What does that mean, or why does that matter to me?" But it surmises leadership: you ensure those under your care have what they need to accomplish the mission and achieve their objective. You are their ward, their caretaker. Never put yourself in a position to take from your people. 

Leadership is a choice.

Formidable leadership can propel a team or organization to unimaginable heights, whereas leadership that falls short of its potential creates friction and toxicity that metastasizes. 

It is up to everyone to choose the type of leader they want to be. Here's my call to action to my industry colleagues. Let's choose the right path. With healthy leaders, we can achieve the huge goals sitting in front of us. We must embody those traits that foster innovative thought and collaboration; we must nurture trust in our teams and organizations; we must lead with empathy, never losing sight of accountability for our teams or ourselves: only then will we release the true potential of our teams to propel the utility grid into the future.

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Author

Paolo Paruccini, Ed.D

Director, Shared Services

4Liberty

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