Utilities are under continuing pressure to increase productivity and efficiency, to generate good returns, and to attract infrastructure investment – tasks made no easier by today’s tough economy. These consistent demands put great pressure on management, so it is vital that those at the helm of utilities have both the ability and drive to deliver.
To better understand the mindset of managers in the current climate, talent consultancy Wickland Westcott recently carried out a survey of bosses in the UK, which revealed some fascinating insights into life in utilities management.
Despite the recession, the average wage of a utilities boss is £84,000 – higher than the average salary across other sectors, including manufacturing, hospitality, construction and education. The findings also suggest that those in the utilities sector are more content with their lot than those in other trades, with 75 per cent happy with their level of pay, compared with just half of respondents overall.
In terms of work-life balance, most of the utility bosses surveyed formally work a standard 36-40 hour week, although many also work weekends and less than half take their full annual holiday entitlement.
Our experience on motivation is contrary to the common assumption that bosses are motivated by financial gain, and the outcome of the survey certainly adds weight to this notion. The results suggest the biggest driver for utility leaders is job satisfaction, implying that most of those at the top have a genuine interest in the industry and a level of emotional investment in the businesses they work for.
In terms of good leadership attributes, those questioned overwhelmingly cited being a team player and being hard-working as the two most important. Interestingly, respondents did not often cite qualities we might traditionally associate with leadership, such as resilience and intelligence, as top of the list. Our experience is that when it comes to effective leadership, it takes much more than a good work ethic and the ability to build team rapport.
Indeed, resilience is more pertinent now than ever, particularly in the utilities sector where the demand to provide customers with more for less shows no signs of abating. Utility leaders require a high level of emotional and physical resilience to meet the demands of the business, both in the short and long term.
As well as the confidence and intelligence to make difficult decisions on an individual basis, effective leadership also involves challenging the team as a whole. The capacity to inspire is essential, as is the ability to deliver constructive criticism in such a way that it will encourage rather than demotivate.
When it comes to great leadership, selecting the appropriate candidate for the job is vital. Expert assessment methods are advisable, particularly to identify transformational candidates (if that is what is required) as opposed to those who might join the business and simply maintain existing ways of working.
But what happens after that? The importance of continuing performance management at the very highest level should not be underestimated, because the efficiency and productivity of a leader has a significant impact on the wider senior team, and on the business as a whole. Simply put, ineffective leaders make for an ineffective business.
Executive assessment – as a means of evaluating the status quo and determining what or who needs to change to drive the business forward – can be extremely useful. This is best done by an external specialist in the interest of objectivity, as well to gain the benefits of their experience and assessment methods. It can be used to assess anyone from established long-serving leaders to new executive recruits.
In the latter case, for instance, new executive recruits can first be assessed on an individual basis to evaluate the personalities and attributes of each team member using tools such as psychometric testing and business simulations. This will help to better understand how each person is predisposed to act – and react – in certain situations.
The level of insight gained from these individual assessments can then feed into more effective group analysis, to uncover common themes and help drive the business forward. An effective executive team must be made up of strong individuals with the ability to form a cohesive unit to meet the long-term objectives of the business. Indeed, arguably the most important aspect in executive team productivity is cohesion. Each member of the team must be “on message” and buy in to the vision for the business. In our experience, once the executive team is on message, other employees will follow suit.
Through rigorous assessment and other progress talent management techniques, it is possible for utilities to achieve greater returns even in the current climate, but not without a great deal of hard work, commitment and tough decision-making. To emerge stronger from these difficult times, it is essential that companies establish and maintain an effective, reliable and productive executive team, who can deal both individually and collectively with the challenges that will inevitably come their way.
Stuart O’Reilly is a talent consultant at search and talent specialist Wickland Westcott
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 21st September 2012.
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