My current job is as a Community Planner for the government, although my education is in physics and engineering. Like many middle career professionals, I have a toolkit of proficiencies, talents and expertise. I also have many interests, responsibilities and aspirations. These adjectives create more than one nexus. Most recently, that has occurred for me through an opportunity at work in energy management.
Energy management may seem to fall directly into the silo of engineering. It is true that to be a successful energy manager for the government, you need to have training as an engineer or have untapped talent as a technician that you have miraculously discovered which demonstrates a clear ability to understand engineering problems and develop solutions independently. Then, you need very particular training in HVAC and electrical systems, so that you can accomplish energy savings systems alterations with meaningful, quantifiable results.
Seeing an opportunity for enrichment and to make a positive impact at work, I asked for, and received, the technical and management training to run the energy management program at the installation.
Training and permission were not the challenges, but the groundwork to address the challenges. Or so I thought. There were an unexpected challenges that were interpersonal, communal, and organizational to address.
The current energy manager, Tracy, is not really an energy manager. Nor is she an engineer, have technical ability or the desire to have such. Tracy’s motivation in taking over the duties of Energy Manager (before I arrived) stemmed from a desire to capture more job titles and responsibilities in order to request a pay increase. It is also, in her mind, a way of securing her position in the workforce when the US Government closes our installation. With additional duties, she thinks, it will position her to move over to another US base, and displace another employee with fewer responsibilities. We have had many conversations on this topic, so I am certain of these motivations.
While it is understandable that someone would want to secure their position and future employment, it is irresponsible for this particular situation to remain intact. Since the 1973 Energy Crisis in the U.S. the consumption and pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels has been a focus of the U.S. government. On April 18, 1977, President Jimmy Carter gave a speech (text of speech captured on PBS.org) outlining 10 principles to guide the future of U.S. energy policy. This policy position begot a series of executive orders, the establishment of the Dept. of Energy and the infusion of best practices within government agencies to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the Federal Government.
I remember the energy crisis of the 1970’s, and have lived most of my life in an America where reducing energy consumption has become the norm. We insulate our homes to reduce energy consumption (and reduce our fuel bill). We consider how many miles per gallon we can achieve with our cars. We turn off the lights when we leave a room, or use natural lighting as much as possible. It has, essentially, permeated all aspects of our lives, and triggers automatic responses which are considered good habits. The habit is not predicated on who is responsible for paying the fuel bill.
This is in opposition to the culture I have encountered here in the U.K. at work. The guilt resides with both U.K. nationals who work for us, and some of the U.S. leaders who have chosen not to make energy savings a priority.
I cannot explain any personal discomfort over the push and pull that some decision makers at my workplace face with regard to allowing operations to contradict habits that are well ingrained in our culture. I know that I have heartburn after every advocacy I make in support of a robust energy management program on the installation. It is a matter of conscience for us to continue a pattern of energy savings and to look for new opportunities to create savings.
Why has this changed if I am in the U.K., and what can I do about it?
It became clear to me that in order to run an energy program I needed a few things:
- Agreement and support from leadership that energy savings directly impacts the success of our missions.
- Responsibility for collecting and reporting data to higher headquarters on a schedule. This creates accountability throughout the chain of command for timely response and accurate information.
- Access to tools to monitor consumption.
- Ability to communicate energy program goals to the entire installation.
These are obvious tools, but not currently in place. The precursor to all of this requires a much more subtle approach, and is difficult because it impacts a person’s career and perceived value to the organization. That is, the current Energy Manager must understand and accept that she is no longer the Energy Manager. Communicating change within an organization is very difficult when it is perceived as a punishment or a failure. In this case, the person did not fail– our leadership failed when it assigned technical duties to someone who is not capable of carrying them out. The organization continues to fail because she is not capable of any energy management tasks beyond billing customers for their energy use. Compounding the problem, she manages the requests for construction projects for our organization. Because she does not understand the mandates from government, and the opportunities available through system replacement or upgrade, long term energy savings projects do not get funded.
I took these concerns to my supervisor, who in turn, went to his boss. Our mutual boss decided to replace her with me in order to reach our energy goals effectively.
While this puts a competent person in place to manage the program, it also missed some crucial landmarks along the way. No one told her that she was no longer managing the program. While the deputy reported to headquarters that I was in place, he never told her that she was relieved of the requirements, and told me, “no one cares about it (energy) anyway.”
Moving forward, I have three communication issues to deal with.
- I must engage and not alienate my coworker, so we can be productive.
- I must convince the deputy that the government is still watching and does care.
- I must establish a program that reminds our installation that we have a mandate to conserve energy.
These are actions that I am capable of accomplishing. These changes will require much effort — and the engineering has not even begun.
More Sustainable World 
That is a very honest account of a personal experience that is also I’m sure a very common experience. I’ve found there’s a real difference between people who want to do the work and those who want to get ahead. It is typical in the private sector too especially in corporate environments where there are too many people on a career path that does not require them to retrain or take on something really hard. This would only interfere with the executive merry-go-round where its essential to be promoted again within 2 years. I think this is the same problem with politics, programmes that really change things take a long time and require lots of upfront investment. It is very frustrating for people who care and want to make a difference, how many times do you have to pinch yourself while you mutter “how come no-one else sees this?”. It’s unfortunate that the ones who have the courage to escalate important matters, can also be seen as disruptive, “rocking the boat” is a very bad thing. This only makes people feel bad, or look bad. For the funny side of this checkout “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin”, a classic show from the BBC. For a more empirical view based on 50 years of operational research checkout Russell Ackoff and his F-Laws (a brilliant account of organisational behaviour). Russell tells it like it is and he’s the one we should be studying in MBAs, not Tom Peters.
I have been frustrated by the inertia of organisations especially around important issues where you’d think there’d be an automatic response to do the right or smart thing. This is especially hard when you know and like the people you work with or report to, some are your friends, some are very smart, and yet there’s a reluctance to step up or change up. In my younger days I was always full-on, identifying myself with the issue, and sometimes losing sight of the objective because my ego got in the way. As I got older, I became more manipulative by appealing to the financial (bonus) motivations of my bosses, putting the money first and getting the right thing done quietly through the back door. Now, I understand more about the circumstances of the people I work and live with, their vulnerabilities and fears, and how uncomfortable they are in areas they don’t understand (e.g. sustainability). Sometimes, this can lead people who lack essential knowledge in an area to become quite defensive and entrenched in their beliefs. In my own sphere, a manager doesn’t need to know technicalities (thats just detail), or about the subject matter area itself (thats not what managers do), instead they relay headlines and smiley faces to their bosses in a comforting way. It is also detrimental to be about anything other than the money. Unfortunately, we are not at the point where we can be perceived as delivering the money AND being sensitive to the environment AND being empathetic or caring. Too often its not about what’s being said but who’s saying it.
You have a tricky situation there, in an established culture, to balance these psychological factors with the main ingredient. Your challenge requires skills in human behaviour and communication, which is probably where you’ll have to spend most of your time, instead of working the actual problem (which is where I suspect you identify the real value). In a way, as a technician and engineer, you’ll have to adapt to becoming Amy Adams (in the movie Arrival) as you try to communicate in novel ways with an intergalactic species. Isn’t it funny how you think you need one set of skills, but end up needing another?
Good luck with your challenge. You are right, the engineering hasn’t even begun.
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Thank you for your reply. You would think that someone who claimed that she didn’t want the task anyway, would feel relieved about me taking it over.
There is another management mechanism that needs to change in the way we do business in this country, and “Energy Manager” is just one example. The job is not actually a management position, nor was it ever. It is really, in all facets, nothing more than a project engineering position with the word ‘manager’ tacked on the end instead of ‘engineer.’ This is because the U.S. can’t afford to hire as many engineers from the U.K. labor pool as are needed. To remedy this, they alter the job description just enough to make it suitably generic and not require a college degree, and pay them. The additional insult is that they are actually getting paid what a U.S. engineer would get PLUS the component that gets paid into the NHS and retirement on top of that.
Many problems outside the scope of my authority here. But everyone one wonders what person got hit over the head with the good idea fairy here.
The skills to manage this engineering program are typical to engineers, but it also helps that I was beat over the head with Org Behavior classes in my MBA! ha ha
Thanks for your comments!
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Thank you for sharing your leadership challenge and the comments are enlightening.
Firstly, it’s never really fair or comfortable for anyone being in a position they are not fully proficient within to achieve their job requirements, but more importantly not to able to fulfil the goals and targets set out for the organization with a clear direction. I understand your predicament and wonder whether this could be turned into an opportunity with your colleague.
Might you consider greater collaboration, and based on your understanding of the colleague’s strengths and weaknesses, play to her strengths.
You clearly have the expertise and knowledge to create a vision for what you are trying to achieve for the government, and make a difference here. Shape the plan of action and find areas of responsibility or tasks for the colleague that she can shine in and be motivated to achieve successfully within. Perhaps she could champion some of the areas you listed above, the reporting for example, whichever area plays to her strengths and experience.
Find that common ground, and you could do this by creating a clear vision for the project.
Second, generate buy-in from your peers and also management. As you mentioned, “no one cares about it (energy) anyway.” Perhaps you could create an internal marketing campaign to raise awareness of the issues or develop a research study to show the company’s negative impact on society and how this will affect their long-term sustainable future, or not by continuing ‘business as usual’. Is it the fact that they do not take notice, show sheer lack of interest and understanding, or have little information available on the subject? All of these areas can lead to disengagement.
So how can you engage your stakeholders?
Story-telling we have seen from our workshops, attracts attention. People do listen and take notice if told in a highly visual and empathetic way, and often fear can be the wake-up call needed. The success of the story stems really from understanding their motivations. You mentioned you know the colleague’s motivations, understanding the management’s apprehensions and concerns will also help in developing the programme.
Interestingly, Maslow’s (1943, 1954) hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory which is often considered when seeking to communicate effectively with people. Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people by drawing upon psychological behavior to identify five basic hierarchical human needs, self-actualization, esteem, love/belonging, safety and physiological. Looking at the basic needs of people, such as eating and sleeping, and moving up the pyramid to consider ‘morality’ and ‘acceptance of facts’.
I wonder if this may be worth considering when developing the communication programme.
I look forward to reading more posts on your leadership journey…
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