Transforming Leaders of a Top Water Utility

Overview

A water utility based in Columbus, Georgia, faced significant strategic challenges and a need for leadership readiness in anticipation of key retirements. To address these needs, they partnered with Thrivence for a targeted succession planning and leadership development strategy aimed at preparing their leaders to meet future challenges and greater responsibilities.

The Ask

The client needed to expand talent development to ensure leaders were prepared to fill upcoming executive openings and take on critical strategic challenges. Specific issues included:

• Assessing and improving key competencies in negotiation, innovation, strategic planning, and navigating the external environment.
• Preparing for the transition of key leaders, ensuring knowledge transfer.
• Enhancing trust, collaboration, and self-leadership within the leadership team.

Solutions

• Needs Assessment
  • Led by Ann, Thrivence conducted thorough interviews to identify strategic challenges, associated leadership competencies, and gaps in the current development offering.
• Developmental Retreats and Team Building:
  • Identified four key competencies critical to meeting upcoming challenges: negotiation, innovation, strategic planning, and stakeholder management.
  • Developed and conducted workshops focused on these competencies, led by expert thought leaders.
  • Retreats incorporated team building activities.
• Group Applied Learning Project
  • With executive team sponsors, conceptualized and structured a project where program participants built a business plan for a strategy that addressed multiple identified challenges.
  • Team membership rotated to deepen camaraderie and knowledge sharing.
  • Project leveraged workshop key learnings, and provided opportunity for application.
  • Debriefs with executive sponsors facilitated deep knowledge transfer.
• Individual Development and Coaching:
  • Provided individual development planning workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions to address personal growth and leadership skills.

Results

• Leaders developed a deeper understanding of strategic challenges and improved their key competencies.
• Successful knowledge transfer from leaders, ensuring continuity of culture.
• Enhanced trust, collaboration, and self-leadership within the leadership team.
• The client is now well-prepared for future challenges, with a leadership team ready to navigate and lead the organization forward.