Creating Visionary Leadership for the Value of Water

To effectively support the community's growth and sustainability into the 21st century, Louisville MSD's 2014 strategic plan resulted in strategies designed to cultivate an organization that is technically innovative from an operations perspective, but also innovative with leading a community conversation about the value of water infrastructure. The agency found it must create visionary leaders who inspire its workforce and its stakeholders by clarifying the link between the agency’s work and a sustainable quality of life for the city. Based in part upon the Transformational Leadership Model as described by Bass and Riggio (2006), Louisville MSD created a leadership development program to promote innovative thinking and increase community engagement. The first “class” of program participants is nearing completion of the first year of this three-year program, and the results so far are positive. Community engagement is becoming an expectation of the agency’s culture, and four teams have emerged from the participant group that will soon be presenting innovation recommendations to the agency’s executive leadership for endorsement.