Tought Leader
Te Challenge of Our Time: Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today
WRITTEN BY TIM AMMON W
hat is the most difficult challenge the industry faces? Ask 100 transportation directors and 90 of them will probably say finding
a way to address the bus driver shortage. Tis is probably true in the immediate term, but what about longer term concerns in the industry? It seems to me that maintaining and in-
creasing the skills and expertise of the person answering the question is at least as much a concern. How will he or she find and/or develop the high-quality managers who can handle all of the complexity associat- ed with managing a modern transportation program? A key strategic threat to the industry is recruiting the next generation of transportation directors and finding a way to offer them the professional development opportuni- ties that will both keep them in the industry and help educate them on the intricacies of the business that can only be learned through hard won experience. Take a second and think about how you learned how to be a supervisor or a manager. Was it through a for- mal training program? Was there a plan for you when you were hired into the organization that allowed you to progress from one stage to the next? I didn’t think so. After working with hundreds of transportation op- erations from across North America it is clear that the typical professional development structure is to receive a promotion and a pep talk encouraging you to do what you think is right but lacking any real direction. Is it any wonder that it can be difficult to recruit people to the industry? A critical challenge will be developing a professional development structure that is recognizes the industry’s need to support the educational processes of school districts across North America.
MANAGEMENT ISN’T STOPPING THE PHONE FROM RINGING
In many locations the success of the transportation manager is measured by whether or not they keep the superintendent’s phone from ringing. Te underlying premise of this “performance measure” is that a skilled manager is able to design an organization and routing structure that is both efficient and effective such that most if not all customers are happy with their services. Let’s presume that this probably dramatized descrip-
28School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2016
tion of this rationale is correct. If it is, how do we train the industry of leaders of today and tomorrow to achieve this state of nirvana? Every transportation operation is challenged to do much more than to get students to school on time. Issues that must be considered include those where the level of control and influence the manager can exert range from full to virtually none. How do we teach the manag-
ers of tomorrow which items are controllable and which are not? How do we teach them to exert the appropriate control in the right situations? Te overwhelming focus of professional develop- ment in our industry is focused on being technically good at managing specific aspects of the transporta- tion network. A review of most conference agendas clearly indicates that topics related to safety, accident investigations, seat belt use, managing special needs students, and technology use receive significant if not overwhelming attention. Tis makes sense in light of a performance goal of keeping the superintendent’s phone quiet. However, the skills required to manage the organi- zation that efficiently addresses the technical aspects of a transportation operation receive much less attention, certainly not no attention but definitely much less attention. Fortunately, a recognition of the need plus innovations in content distribution can address this gap.
WHAT IS THE ROUTE FROM HERE TO THERE? Te skills necessary to manage the transportation organizations of the future will require a greater empha- sis on non-technical skills associated with leadership, decision making, strategic thinking, coaching subor- dinates, customer service management, and human capital management. Tis is because the scope of the services we are supposed to support, the expectations of all stakeholders, and the demands of the people who work for us will experience exponential increase in complexity and connectedness. Given the traditional emphasis on technical training, it is becoming necessary to look both inside and outside the industry for content and methods. Today’s transportation leaders will be the key to providing the educational content to the next generation of leaders.
CELEBRATING25YEARS
Tim Ammon is vice president of School Bus Consultants, LLC and has more than 15 years experience in the student transportation industry
specializing in operations, fleet, program and customer service management.
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