(Note: This week’s question is inspired by the life of Ed DeLozier, executive director of the E-470 Public Highway Authority in Aurora, Colorado, and first vice president of IBTTA, who passed away suddenly on April 21 after suffering a stroke. Ed dedicated his life to the toll industry. He mentored me and countless others who found their home in transportation. Ed was at his best when he was helping others to be their best. He defined what good stewardship is all about. You can read more about Ed and his life on the Memorial Website set up by E-470 and on the Memorial page set up by IBTTA.)
With the world economy still suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis and high unemployment in many parts of the world, leaders and managers increasingly confront the question of stewardship. How do we do more with less? How do we drive cost out of the system to accommodate declining revenues? Perhaps most importantly, how do we engage, motivate, and retain our best people in a time of economic volatility and uncertainty? And how do we continue delivering the highest level of service to our customers in a constrained environment?
At transportation departments and tolling agencies, stewardship is often a team function – with the general manager/executive director/CEO working in tandem with a board of directors, a commission, a city council or some other governing body. The CEO also works in tandem with a management team and staff who, ideally, share a common vision. One function of the CEO is to provide effective orientation to the members of the board or commission. That means providing a useful frame or context in which to view the world and shape decisions about the policies, people, and resources needed to sustain the transportation network.
Our question this week involves the changing nature of stewardship in a volatile world. As the CEO or senior leader of a transportation organization, what information do you most want your board or commission to have? What are the key attributes of the frame or lens through which you want your board to see the world? What are your obligations to others in the organization – the junior staff and middle managers who will assume the mantle of leadership in years to come? What will you do to help those who surround you to become greater than yourself?
Sunday, April 25, 2010
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When I think of Ed Delozier, who I knew from 1981 in Virginia, I think of his drive to be the best personally and professionally. He knew that to be your best professionally, it takes a close knit team. When he was with us in Orlando and ran toll operations for FTS, he made sure that the staff had what they needed to get the job done and he would fight for that all the way to the top. To Ed stewardship required leadership, strategic thinking, caring and persistence.
ReplyDeleteHe led by example. He started as a toll collector and through hard work became an accomplished internationally recognized industry leader. Clearly he led by example.
He was strategic. When others were trying to sort out how to implement ETC and depended upon the private sector to integrate a solution, ED and E470 took a path which was a bit more risky and developed their own system composed of components of hardware and software that they understood. He sought out those who had key expertise and engaged them in his program. His agency was one of the first to begin AETC.
Ed's stewardship included caring. He cared when someone got hurt on the E470 system whether it was something the agency could do better or whether it was the driver's behavior. It didn't matter because he wanted to be sure there was nothing further the agency could do. In Orlando one of the toll collectors was badly injured and he followed up with them for many months to make sure they had what they needed to recover. If his company could not provide it, he did. He told me once that when he retired, he wanted to be a chaplin and help others.
Persistence was also a part of his definition of leadership. Obviously his personal advancement required persistence but he was also persistent in accomplishing those things which he felt advanced his company or his agency. As the leader of our toll operations in Orlando, he made sure that we had a quarterly accounting of performance and issues that needed resolution. Some of these issues would occur over and over until a satisfactory resolution was developed. I recall in particular the issue of having one plaza manager for two plazas. He was convinced that we could save money and still have satisfactory supervision doing this. We were not convinced. We finallly tried it and as far as I know that is still the case at OOCEA.
Through Ed's stewardship the people of Orlando and I am sure the people of Denver were well served. I will miss his zanny ideas, his laughter, his advice and his friendship.
By: Tom Bamonte, Illinois Tollway
ReplyDeleteStewardship involves attention to both the proverbial forest and the trees. It is hard enough for a board/commission to deal with the volume of "tree" issues that fill a toll authority's agenda--e.g., where to put next interchange, when to raise tolls. Going beyond that to focus on longer-term issues arising from changes in vehicle technologies, regional demographic shifts, and environmental challenges is a struggle.
USDOT just released a major report entitled "Transportation's Role in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions" (http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/32000/32700/32779/DOT_Climate_Change_Report_-_April_2010_-_Volume_1_and_2.pdf). The report outlines a variety of strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Many of them will affect tolling agencies. Indeed, tolling agencies could play a productive role in facilitating the implementation of many transportation strategies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A test for your transportation organization is whether your governing body is kept apprised of the best long-term thinking about transportation or whether decision making in your organization is focused only on matters whose timeframe is limited to the duration of the next vendor contract or election cycle.
The Illinois Tollway has taken two steps recently to broaden its decision making perspective. First, it recently organized an Earth Day transportation summit that involved the leadership of the state and regional highway, public transit and planning organizations (http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=54,2612704&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL). Second, it has established a multi-disciplinary transition team designed to assist the Tollway's new executive director and the board in planning the Tollway's future course (http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=54,2610955&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL).
The IBTTA might consider putting on half-day or one-day workshops on long-term transportation trends, challenges and opportunities customized for the governing bodies of transportation agencies--a traveling road show if you will. It might be easier to bring the IBTTA and its "forest" perspective to many of the busy members of the governing bodies of transportation agencies rather than trying to get these members to the IBTTA.
Posted by Tim McGuckin, Executive Director, OmniAir Consortium
ReplyDeleteThis week’s question re: stewardship is a vague and challenging one for me. I find it much easier to write and opine about more concrete things – transportation policies, practices, technologies, trends, and for that matter, the actual concrete (and asphalt and steel) elements of this industry. This week’s topic though was made easier by the passing of Ed DeLozier because he represents the concept of stewardship to a T (and is still giving back, to me at least, in the form of guidance for this posting).
Stewardship has many connotations: environmental, personal, health, financial, organizational, etc. What I could write about? What do I do that applies here? Well, I run a trade association now and most of my career has been spent in support of it and others. In this context, stewardship refers to my responsibility to properly develop and use resources, including member’s time, their property and financial assets to ADVANCE or DEVELOP something – something you hopefully believe is good. And, at least I do this without (much) regard for personal gain.
I sincerely and strongly believe that what I do at OmniAir and what I did at IBTTA before that is the right thing and the good thing to do – for people today that I know well or don’t know at all and - as importantly - for people alive after I depart the industry or am simply gone. These are people I may never know, but ‘stewardship’ means you value them as much.
What Ed’s passing told me was that NO ONE is guaranteed that there will be a ‘tomorrow’ for them. On one hand this means we need to live abundantly. Ed DeLozier did that. He really enjoyed life. He seemed to seize, leverage and exploit it! And build, build, build upon each and every experience.
This is interpreted by some, however, to live carelessly and selfishly, in ways that do not respect the future. But people with stewardship engrained in them – LIKE ED – live in recognition that people are coming after them – people who depend on our stewardship to preserve and maintain things (an industry, an environment) in a way that they can be built upon, refreshed and renewed. Or, in the case of the toll industry at this moment in time – reinvented perhaps.
Lastly, in another sense, stewardship also refers to thanking and recognizing donors and conveying the impact that the donor's gift had. Well, “thank you” Ed for being who you were, and for being such a great example of ‘stewardship’ to follow.
I like Stewardship as a topic this week, as it not only reminds us of Ed, and all he stood for, but also reminds us of the things we sometimes overlook as we go about our busy days.
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I ever remember ever giving Stewardship more than a cursory thought until attending an IBTTA Board meeting a number of years ago. Sure, I had thought about responsibilities, obligations, tasks, problems, solutions and so forth, but not in the context of what Stewardship really means. It was Ed giving us a briefing of our duties as Board mmembers, explaining the duty of care, the duty of loyalty, and the duty of obedience, where it become very evident to me that those were critical pillars of good Stewardship. Ed was passionate in most things, but specially so in his core belief that good Stewardship was more than good managment...it is an absolutely necessary element of organizational success.
Ed not only preached these things, but he lived them. I will always be greatful to him for the kindness, understanding and patience he showed me as I started to really learn the toll business. Not known as a wall flower, I've ocassionally been known to ask a question or two at Board meetings that might have riled someone up a bit....not to be antagonistic, but to honestly question and start a discussion on a topic that I believed needed further review. It wasn't always a popular thing to do, but Ed understood & encouraged me to continue to question things, as that's what good Stewardship requires.
I will miss Ed dearly, as will so many others in our industry, but I have taken from him so many valuable lessons in life and leadership that I know will make me a better Steward of my organization.
well, although it is possible to deal with stewardship without talking about Ed, what those who worked with him wrote in the memory book of the memorial website for Ed, or what we find in the IBTTA memorial page for Ed compells me to start from there.
ReplyDeleteMany used the word "mentor, is a common feeling, indeed. I think a lot of people had that feeling because he was always open, he believed in sharing ideas, he understood that the key to success for any organization (it takes two people only to have an organization, although small)is sharing knowledge and ideas. He was never secretive and furtive, whenever he had a contribution he would not have spared it. That's why so many felt he was their mentor, because he was always helpful and caring.
Stewardship comes, in my opinion, from an inner feeling, a basic necessity to care and to be helpful, not impose own ego, just to help.
Starting from this, one will want to help his colleague, together they will want to help their organization be successful, their organization will want to help the community surrounding it, and so on.
Stewardship is openness, trust, confidence, positivenness; the result of all this is summarized in what people that worked with him is writing.
In business terms, stewardship takes specific attention to remind board members that they live in a real world and, by the way, to merge in that world is far better than to clash against it; to remind them that teach a junior is not risky for their career because they might be nursing a competitor, rather not to teach him wold be risky, because their organization would be less effective (and they would have to do work he may do in their behalf).
Stewardship means to come at ease with the concept that the world would go on rolling around with or without us, so why not to help a little bit while we are here.
It was, it is, a good idea for 2011, stewardship encompasses good practice, sustainability, better meeting future challenges and so on. It is a good idea not only for 2011, it is a good idea all around and all along, for IBTTA and for the tolling industry as a whole.
Maurizio Rotondo
Is it really the role of a CEO to “shape” the context or views of the boards they report to and to decide what information they should see? Since this subject has been brought up in the context of Mr. Ed DeLozier, I have to say that one of the things I admired most about Ed was that he was such a straight shooter. You knew where he stood on issues. He wasn’t afraid to debate the issues based on the facts and he was willing to be wrong. There was no need to hire outside help to co-opt others to his world view or to be selective in the information he passed on to his board. I think he truly believed that good governance comes from open, honest and candid conversations. Of course it certainly didn’t hurt that he had such a superior intellect that cutting to the core of an issue came easy for him. I believe this is also what made it so easy for him to truly listen to opposing ideas and remain open minded. But he understood that the buck stopped with the board. His job was to supply them with the most accurate information, let them make a decision and then to carry out those decisions to the best of his ability, regardless of whether he agreed or not. He worked for his board, not the opposite. Understanding his role was one of the things that made him such a great leader.
ReplyDeleteI can’t think of a professional organization other than IBTTA where stewardship is a more central theme. When I think of stewardship of infrastructure, I often think of the irreplaceable infrastructure assets IBTTA members care for, including national landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge. Stewardship of highways and bridges requires money and technology- and if you have enough, you can keep a bridge standing for a very long time. Stewardship of an organization is more difficult because it involves human beings, who tend to be less predictable than concrete and steel. Ed DeLozier was both steward of his toll road infrastructure and the people who make up the E-470 organization. The fact that he had energy left over to provide stewardship to IBTTA on a regular basis is really admirable. Several of my classmates at the Leadership Academy mentioned him as being a favorite among the instructors because he made it real for us, and he also knew how to make learning fun.
ReplyDeleteI’ve only known Ed for five years, but he made me feel like an old friend from day one. There was no one better to greet newcomers to IBTTA. There were two things for which I could count on Ed. First, anything you needed he would get you quickly. If I called him with a question he would answer it or if he didn’t know the answer I would get a call from his staff within a few minutes. I often thought he would make a great consultant. The second thing I could count on was that any meeting with him would include a moment where I would laugh uncontrollably at something he said. His comic timing was impeccable. I often though he would make a good stand up comedian. It occurred to me at his memorial that if he could crack a joke to make us all feel better, he would have.
Stewardship is noble, but it is no bed of roses. Stewardship or lack thereof, is a critical issue in our society. Stewardship is not for everyone because it involves sacrifice. Ed made it look easy, but I can guarantee you it wasn’t easy. To really honor Ed includes acknowledging the sacrifices he made. All of the good he did for others came at a personal price. I suspect he gave more to life than he took from it. People like Ed are the glue that keeps our world from flying into disorder. People like Ed who make sacrifices for others counterbalance the vast majority of us, who by no fault of our own and just by our human nature, tend to take a little more than we give back.
Having written some words here, even with the fear that I might somehow say less than about Ed than he deserves, I have a final thought to share. Words can be a fine tribute, but the finest tribute can be silence. The most moving tribute for Ed at the memorial service came from those who could not speak. Several very strong men and women, those closest to Ed, accepted my outstretched hand, but couldn’t speak a single word. Some of these are people known for always having something good to say. Glancing up from their quivering jaw to their eyes, I saw profound sadness, shock and deep emotional pain. I'm guessing your silence would have meant the most to Ed. To those closest to him I can only say I am truly sorry for your loss.
Written by a friend of Ed.
Posted by Neil Tolmie, Chief Executive Officer, N3 Toll Concession (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa
ReplyDeleteStewardship - conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” Source Google.
This definition encapsulates it all. The “something” referred to includes your staff, shareholders, customers, contractors, vendors, advisors and lenders, i.e. everyone and everything you work with to ensure success, however measured.
Your staff:
Create trust and lead by example. Always encourage and reward innovative thinking and execution thereof. There is nothing that beats dedication. Establish a culture of ownership, if you own something you will care for it.
Employ the best and reward them accordingly. I very much support managing by walking around, talk( not e-mail) to your staff, there is nothing like eye contact and body language; they need to understand what you think and what you expect of them and always say thank you.
Take care of the small things in life, try and “read”, understand your staff..............”What’s wrong, I can see something is worrying you............”
Your Shareholders (Board);
Shareholders or your Board are not only driven by financial returns, establish other key drivers and pay attention. Is it social development, green house gasses, road safety, customer service..... Contract with them on Key Performance Measures and agree on outcomes.
Your Customers:
At N3TC we embrace customer safety, convenience and mobility. Always engage with the customers and provide something others do not. For example we have introduced a customer call back service whereby a few days after our Route Services have assisted a stranded motorist we will call that customer and ask about our service and any suggestions in general. Do annual customer surveys, they work!
Contractors, vendors and advisors:
Run engineering and traffic models and do annual engineering (pavement) and traffic surveys. Make sure you have sound contractual documentation. Optimise price, quality and risk. Use only the best. Stay in touch with technology but never forget “tried and tested”
Lenders:
Be financially astute, employ specialists and use expert advisors. Learn from others.
Posted by Mario Cecchi, Parsons Brinckerhoff /Florida Toll Services
ReplyDeleteStewardship - Taking Care of Passengers
The idea of stewardship as it relates to the transportation industry, specifically toll operations, is interesting since that's what we should be striving to accomplish in this profession each and every day. We are working toward a better tomorrow and finding new ways to take care of the traveling public. We continually seek ways to enhance to mobility by providing safe roadways, up-to-date travel information (via 511 or variable message signs), greater access and routes, as well as traveler amenities for those whose lives require constant. Plus, we provide additional information via our websites and through the efforts of organization such as the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA).
Stewardship encompasses the idea of partnering with the public and staying tuned-in to our customers wants and needs. The very people who often make a choice to utilize our roads and pay user fees.
In May of 1994, I met Ed DeLozier at an IBTTA event in Richmond, Virginia. At that time I was employed with the Richmond Metropolitan Authority. During our journey back to the Amtrak station, Ed was sharing with me a story about how he wanted to improve the overall image of toll collectors. He said that toll collectors always seem to get a "bad rap" and he wanted to change that impression. He told me about this idea he had of taking over a state run toll facility in Orlando and privatizing it. Ed wanted to give the people of Orlando something he felt they may not have had previously - attention and respect. He wanted the toll collectors to do more than just collect a toll; he wanted them to provide a service. He even changed their title from "Toll Collectors" to "Toll Service Attendants."
In September of 1994, I joined Ed's quest to start up a business in Orlando. The name of this company would be called, "Florida Toll Services" (FTS), a joint venture with Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) and Morrison Knudsen Corporation (now URS Corporation). After FTS responded to an Request For Proposals (RFP), we went through the orals process, were ultimately selected as toll operations contractor for the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA), and what followed was nothing but amazing.
PB had just acquired some office space in downtown Orlando - better known as "Ewok Village." During our first day at that site, Ed proceeded to remove his office door from the hinges and set it down on some stacked boxes. That would become our conference table and from that, Ed's company, FTS, was launched. Amazing to know Ed and his accomplishments along the way, his desire to make a difference and his quest for stewardship.
Ed influenced many people throughout his career. Not only did I begin to understand his passion for toll operations, but I was please to be part of his efforts toward stewardship.
And Ed lived what he loved...........he was always taking care of his crew and his passengers.
It was during one of IBTTA’s conferences, when I was on staff, that Ed DeLozier and I were sharing thoughts on the world and life, and he leaned in and stated, “Well, you know the opposite of love isn’t hate – it’s apathy.”
ReplyDeleteOne thing Ed certainly was not, was apathetic. He also encouraged those he worked with to avoid this trap.
Certainly, part of being a good steward is taking care of your staff….motivating, incentivizing and rewarding them. Ed was very proud of the E-470 staff and celebrated their successes with peers at conferences like IBTTA. He conveyed confidence, respect, and curiosity - was always accessible - and showed he cared by spending time with people. And besides, he was never apathetic to the occasional wry joke and gin martini!
Posted by Frank G. McCartney, Executive Director, Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
ReplyDeleteI had an opportunity to speak with Ed DeLozier recently about the very topic of stewardship. As IBTTA members may know, incoming presidents of IBTTA typically pick a particular theme for their year leading our organization. Ed, who was serving as First Vice President and was to assume the role of President in 2011, told me that his theme would be stewardship. So it is fitting that as we remember Ed and his contributions to the industry that we also keep in mind the topic of stewardship, an issue that was near and dear to his heart.
Ed was a consummate professional, a leader whose focus was always on the best interests of the IBTTA and the industry. He used his skills, experience, and knowledge to make everyone in the IBTTA family better. He was a champion for better service, improved professionalism and innovation within the toll industry. And while he always had his eye on the future – looking for opportunities and new technologies for our industry to do things better and more efficiently – he also recognized that we have limited resources with which to put into practice or implement advances.
He would do anything for anyone. He was just an incredibly unselfish and giving person. In short, Ed put the practice of stewardship to use in his daily interaction with his fellow members of IBTTA, working to make each of us better, so that we could in turn make our own individual organizations better and provide better service to the public.
Ed was larger than life. He had a commanding presence about him and his message was always on target. He always asked the right questions at the right time and quickly cut to the meat of an issue. As anyone who attended an IBTTA conference where Ed performed one of his skits can attest, he had an amazing stage presence and could easily exceed the command of an experienced actor. In recent days, I have joked with my co-workers that had Ed not gone into tolling, he could have easily gone on Broadway.
We were fortunate to have Ed dedicate so much passion to the industry. His contributions have changed the face of tolling in so many ways, and I for one will miss him both professionally and personally. While his passing is a blow to the industry and our members, we are each better off for having known Ed and working with him.
At the OMW workshop in Austin, Ed shared with me that his theme for 2011 would be that of “Stewardship”. My response to him was an immediate large smile followed by “How appropriate!”
ReplyDeleteThose of us who serve as stewards in the tolling industry are ultimately serving the shareholders and / or the users of our facilities.
As executor director of the E470 Ed DeLozier was the consummate steward. His dedicated service to the E470 was visible thru all he did. From the selection of staff to his continuous commitment to their ongoing professional development he was focused on helping and encouraging them to be the best they could in their individual roles and also as a team.
In today’s world of governance stewardship is most frequently considered in relation to the environment, finances and physical assets. Based on my discussions with Ed and his team along with my personal observations during my visits to the E470 it is clear that their dedication to achieving a superior level of stewardship is a high priority.
In light of the ever more rapidly changing business and political worlds in which we function our need to focus on our responsibilities as stewards is today more important than ever.
The pressures of environmental impact from the automobile, the shrinking revenues for the maintenance of our transportation infrastructure combined with the increasing need for infrastructure maintenance necessitate that we focus on peak performance in order to sustain a functional transportation system that will serve future generations.
Let’s make Ed proud!
There have been many excellent reflections on Ed Delozier’s special talents and his contributions to the toll industry. I think there is an interesting intersection between his intention to make “stewardship” his theme for the year as IBTTA President, and as so many of these blog responses have rightly focused on what a good “steward” he was. He didn’t “preach” stewardship – he taught and led by example.
ReplyDeleteTo my mind one of Ed’s hallmarks was the recognition of the “duty” associated with choices. When he attended a meeting he went to every session he could (albeit with a crossword in the mornings) but he felt he owed his agency a duty to honor their investment in his attendance.
Similarly he viewed board membership as an honor and a duty, meaning you attend the meetings, you do the reading, you listen – and most importantly - you speak up when its needful whether it wins you friends or not. He had a talent for pointing out elephants in the room in a most diplomatic fashion .
I think a subtext here is that good stewardship is not just quietly tending your “garden” – it is an active pursuit that involves continuously stretching yourself, helping your colleagues and workforce to improve themselves, caring about improving everyone’s garden as well as your own.
Ed and the E-470 have been tremendously open to hosting groups to share their learning and practices and have also travelled widely to help others. In my experience the toll industry is unusually open to information sharing among peers but the E-470 truly embraces the concept.
I think one of the best tributes we can offer Ed is to emulate as much of what he showed us in our own activities.