AWWA JTMGT61327

Facts about the changing workforce are clear and profound. Over the next five to 10 years, utilities will experience an increase in the retirement of top leaders. Taking action now to successfully sustain an organization through the imminent workforce changes begins with understanding organizational values, strategic direction, leadership traits, characteristics, competencies, and institutional knowledge residing in current leaders. Ensuring continuity in leadership is a key to providing organizational sustainability as the impact of workforce changes occur. This paper presents four actions an organization can take to sustain its leadership capability: understand organizational values; capture leadership skills, traits, and competencies; identify leader institutional knowledge; and, create a learning environment to foster the transfer of skills, traits, competencies, and institutional knowledge to existing employees. The paper includes a framework and examples of tools that can be used to ease the process of leadership transition. Learning how to take action now before the wave of leadership retirements and transitions will be of interest to all utility managers who are concerned about the future of their organization. Includes figures.