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Leadership Development 91
Exhibit 12-2 (Continued)
Industry Strategies: Leadership Development
Strategy Strategy Description
as a leader. Organizations are also providing supervisors with specific training
in how to conduct performance evaluations. This training includes how to
document and score performance as well as how to give meaningful,
actionable feedback. Courses discuss how the type and method of conveying
feedback should be influenced by the personality of the employee receiving the
feedback.
Implement Leadership Female and minority workers often find they face unique challenges as they
Development to Support develop as leaders. For this reason, it is important for organizations to provide
Specific Demographic specific leadership development programs to address their needs.
Groups
Emphasize Follower Research results indicate that leaders who receive transformational leadership
Development in training have a more positive impact on direct follower development and on
Leadership Training indirect follower performance, thereby improving overall organizational
effectiveness, as opposed to leaders who receive traditional transactional
training (Dvir et al., 2002).
Mentor and Coach Organizations indicated that mentoring and coaching programs are a method
Leaders they use to develop their high-potential employees and that this helps with
retention. The mentoring programs mentioned were formal, informal, or a
combination of the two. One participant's corporate leadership team
informally mentors more junior managers. Although the process is informal,
there is a commitment that each leader mentors at least one employee. In
another participant's organization, executives are formally provided a
mentor/coach who works with them during the on-boarding process and helps
them transition into the organization. In some cases, an employee's mentor is
his/her boss, whereas in other cases the employee may be able to choose
his/her own mentor.
12.3 Workforce Practices. Eleven workforce practices that were designed to assist in making
the process of "Leadership Development" within transportation agencies efficient and effective were
reviewed, and we identified two workforce practices that were noteworthy within this context:
Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) Advanced Leadership Program (ALP)
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Joint Workforce Investment (JWI)
Program
For these two practices, we conducted a case study. Summaries of the two case studies are presented
below. The full case studies can be found on the TRB website at http://trb.org/Main/Blurbs/164747.aspx
as part of Volume II: Supplemental Materials. The full case study descriptions detail each practice's
background, implementation, maintenance, evaluation, and transferability.
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92 Strategies to Attract and Retain a Capable Transportation Workforce
Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) Advanced Leadership Program (ALP). The
Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) has approximately 3,100 employees, many of which are
at the top of their career tenure with 20 to 30 years
Maryland State Highway Administration
of experience. In 1988, members of the Maryland
(SHA) Advanced Leadership Program (ALP)
State Highway Administration's (SHA) executive
team designed and implemented the Advanced Job Type: All
Leadership Program (ALP). SHA was, and ROI: Short-term
currently is challenged with recruiting and Generation: All
retaining mid-career employees with 10 to 20
Key Program Highlights:
years of experience. The majority of the agency
has either between 5 and 10 years of experience or o Created to avoid situations where
nearly 30 years and often more. The agency is leadership positions were vacated before
struggling to convince newer employees that SHA the agency had identified and prepared
is a place where they can not only learn, but also an employee to fill that position
advance and build a career. The program was o Employees must apply and be accepted
created to avoid situations where leadership into the two-year training program
positions were vacated before the agency had o Results in an increase in the number of
identified and prepared an employee to fill that qualified leaders that were prepared and
position. ready to move into higher levels of
leadership responsibility
The ALP is a two-year training program that
provides select SHA employees with the opportunity to develop and refine their leadership skills.
Employees must apply to be a participant in the ALP. The selection process is very competitive and only
around five to ten applicants are selected from the more than 30 that apply. Once they have been
accepted, they are provided with an individual development plan (IDP). IDPs, developed jointly by the
participant and the ALP sponsors, focus on four areas: leadership, career, personal, and community. The
IDP requires the participant to first identify leadership areas they need to develop, propose specific tasks
that will facilitate the desired development, and then propose criteria that would signify successful
completion of those tasks. ALP participants can use job rotation, job shadowing, and participation in
statewide panels or task forces, among other avenues, to complete their tasks. In addition to the IDP,
participants begin attending both internal and external leadership courses structured around a core
curriculum of training modules.
The results of the program are an increase in the number of qualified leaders that are prepared and ready
to move into higher levels of leadership responsibility when those opportunities become available.
Another result is an increase in tenure for those junior leaders who would have otherwise moved on to
higher-paying private sector positions if not for their involvement in the ALP. Classes have worked
together to implement projects. They managed conferences like the Smart Growth Conference (Class of
2000), developed manuals and guidelines like the Baldrige Assessment Guidelines (Class of 2005), and
developed the approval process for the placement of bus stops (Class of 2003). The Class of 1994
established a SHA resource center or library for employees. The Class of 2002 developed a guide for
community involvement called "Enhancing Maryland Highways with People in Mind." Not only has the
program produced the desired result of increasing the number of qualified leaders, but also it has
delivered unexpected results such as increasing the number of working mothers in leadership positions.
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Leadership Development 93
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Joint Workforce Investment (JWI) Program.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) employs roughly 2,100 people, of which 650
work in maintenance. In addition, VTA is combined with the Congested Management Agency (CMA),
which adds another 800 employees to the total workforce.
VTA's Joint Workforce Investment (JWI) program,
established in 2006, is a joint labor-management Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
partnership between VTA) and the Amalgamated (VTA) Joint Workforce Investment (JWI)
Transit Union Local 265 (ATU). Both organizations Program
operate together as one "JWI" team. Three primary Job Type: All
programs were brought together under the JWI ROI: Short-term
initiative.
Generation: All
The first program is called the Maintenance Career Key Program Highlights:
Ladders Training Project (MCLTP). This one-year o A joint labor-management partnership
project ended in 2008. During that time, it established between VTA and the ATU
the Mechanic Helper program. The maintenance o Led to the creation of three programs,
division has three positions: (1) service worker, (2) including Maintenance Career Ladders
service mechanic, and (3) full transit mechanic. First, Training Project (MCLTP), New
the program involved utilizing funding that was meant Operator/Mentor Pilot Project , and
to support the salaries of vacant full transit mechanic Health and Wellness Project
positions and reallocating that funding to create
o Resulted in an increased level of skill
vacancies at the mechanic helper (mechanic trainee)
and organizational commitment across
level. The program then provided training to mechanic
the VTA
trainees for them to be eligible for promotional
opportunities. The external mechanic helper training
involved enrolling employees in an 18-month Associate's degree program at local community colleges.
Once employees at the mechanic helper level had completed the required training, they were promoted
into the service mechanic positions. In doing this, VTA addressed the bus mechanic shortages and
provided members of the community with living-wage-level employment.
The second program is the New Operator/Mentor Pilot Project. This 1-year pilot project, now complete,
paired 26 new operators who graduated in January 2008 with 17 veteran exemplary operators who acted
as mentors. The program provided best practice customer service and job stress coping skills through on-
the-job mentoring and classroom training. At the beginning of the mentoring relationship, the new
operators would spend 8-hour days on the veteran's bus and then later the veteran would spend a similar
amount of time on the new operator's bus. This early intervention prevents new operators from
developing bad habits and attitudes that amplify stress.
The third program is the Health and Wellness Project. This mentor-led, "operator to operator" project
conducts various informal activities at the three bus operating divisions to promote the JWI approach to
health, wellness, and professional development. Activities emphasize mastering the "human element" of
driving a bus and applying stress management/health and wellness techniques. During the project, new
operators are brought in to a classroom to debrief after completing some initial driving time. They discuss
their experiences and whether or not they were able to release the stress that some situations may have
caused them.
The Deputy Director of Maintenance, representing the maintenance division management, a
representative of technical training in the maintenance division and a union representative, led the
implementation effort. Some of these meetings involved an HR representative and other union
representatives. The group met several times over a 6-month period and eventually drafted a
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94 Strategies to Attract and Retain a Capable Transportation Workforce
memorandum of agreement, which addressed the relationship between the new program and the collective
bargaining agreement. They also worked to develop and submit grant requests to support JWI. With a
brief explanation of the goals of the program, the team obtained signatures of approval from VTA's
General Manager, Chief Operating Officer (COO), and president of the union. There was a cost to
implementing the program. Direct costs were associated with planning and design meetings ($300,000 in
time spent) and consulting services ($18,000), while indirect costs occurred from having employees in
training instead of doing their regular job. Some of the indirect cost can be negated by offering trainings
after hours.
As a result of JWI, the level of skill and organizational commitment across the VTA increased.
Specifically, ten mechanic helpers graduated from their training programs and were promoted into the ten
service mechanic vacancies. Retention of new bus drivers rose from 80% to 100% for participants of the
program. Anecdotal conversations between the management team and employees have indicated that
employee morale has also increased due to the program. For example, employees who formally
envisioned being in service worker positions for the rest of their careers have now begun to actively
pursue promotional opportunities. Additionally, retention statistics tracking and exit interviews, self-
assessments, and anecdotal conversations with operators have indicated that the mentoring and health and
wellness programs have had a positive impact on their work experience. Comparison of statistical records
and other indicators between mentored and non-mentored operators revealed dramatic differences in key
indicators of competence and confidence. A Program Performance Statistics Summary used by VTA
benchmarked quarterly data comparing JWI participants and non-JWI participants on four categories:
absenteeism, retention, number of grievances, and complaints. According to the data collected each
quarter, this initiative helped the agency alleviate several workforce issues. For example, the data
collected from April 1, 2009, to June 30, 2009, shows the following for bus operators:
Less absenteeism in JWI vs. non-JWI (3.5% vs. 8.5%)
Higher retention rate in JWI vs. non-JWI (100% vs. 84.3%)
Slightly less grievance per employee in JWI vs. non-JWI (0.5 vs. 1.7)
Slightly less complaints per employee in JWI vs. non-JWI (0.5 vs. 2.0)
Other Example Practices
To serve as an additional resource for agencies interested in "Leadership Development," we have
included a list of other practices that transportation agencies have implemented for this purpose.
Additional information on each of the following practices can be found in one- to two-page summaries
within the supplemental materials.
Employee Empowerment and
Decentralization of Decision Making Leadership Development and Succession
Eno Center for Transportation Leadership Planning Integration
(CTL) Transit Executive Seminar Management Development Training
International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike The Women's Network
Association (IBTTA) Leadership Washington Metropolitan Area Transit
Academy's Executive Development Authority's (WMATA's) Training Program
Program Young Executive Development Program
Leadership Education and Development
The practice summaries include information, such as the lead organization, practice description, practice
purpose, targeted participants, return on investment (ROI) timeline, influence of the economy,
innovativeness, and resources to find out more information on the individual practices.
