The newest iLead cohort kicked off in April with 13 participants attending a two-day orientation session.
The first day included an informative icebreaker where the cohort got to learn about one another followed by the General Manager/CEO Tony Cannon, discussing current challenges, future issues, and GUC’s history and governance shared by Assistant General Manager/COO Chris Padgett. Legal, Public Information, Customer Relations, Human Resources, Finance, and Information Technology provided departmental overviews. The attendees also toured the Administration, Information Technology, Analytics, Finance, and Cashier areas.
Sitting at the Board of Commissioners conference room table, Tony outlined the reason iLead exists along with the value of leading from where an employee is on the hierarchy chart.
“I think it is important that we give all our employees an opportunity to advance here if they want to do so,” Tony said during the orientation session.
“Part of that is on us to design a system that can make that happen and a lot of it is on you to get those skills that are necessary to move forward. I am not talking about just technical skills. We have about 500 employees here and that requires leadership skills. It requires leadership from all levels of the organization. What gets you to where you can be promoted is not necessarily what will make you successful once you get promoted. You can be the best in the world at what you do, but unless you develop the skills to do proper management and leading, your ability to be promoted will be minimal.”
On the second day of orientation, the cohort toured the Water Treatment Plant, Wastewater Treatment Plant, Liquified Natural Gas Plant, Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Station, the Control Room, and the Mumford Road Substation sites. The class also heard from operating department leaders, Assistant Director of Electric Systems Jacob Swink, Director of Water Resources David Springer, Director of Natural Gas Systems Durk Tyson, and Director of Operations Support Kevin Keyzer.
Organizational Development and Training Manager Carrie Peed said this year’s class enjoyed seeing how different departments worked behind the scenes and visiting areas they normally would not have the opportunity to see. The class also enjoyed hearing from Tony, Chris, and Chief Administrative Officer Andy Anderson about the nuances of leading a large publicly owned utility and having the opportunity to ask them questions directly.
Each year the group is divided into teams to develop a project related to GUC’s mission.
“Again, this year, we are going to intentionally assign the teams early and focus on the team building aspect of the projects over the actual projects themselves,” Carrie said.
“Last year, we put the teams together early, and it worked out well.”
This year’s class includes: Communication Specialist Erin Walton (Public Information); Staff Support Specialist II Autumn Pollard, Engineering Assistant II Ryan Van Scoy, Meter Technician I Sean Smallwood (Electric); Accountant Auditor III Meredith Dent, Accountant Auditor I Charo Smith (Finance); Senior Damage Prevention Technician Cody Adams, Gas Systems Technician IV Ramsey Covington, Gas Systems Crew Leader I Roger Waterfield; Facilities Systems Supervisor Sam Ristow (Operations Support); O/M Tech III Tanner Butler, WTP Operations Crew Leader Brooks Nobles, and WTP Operator III Mildred Betancourth Zuniga (Water Resources).
