WASHTO’s Emerging Leaders program
takes on new look in virtual world,
but features same goals

ITD Director Brian Ness brought Emerging Leaders training to the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO) when he was the association’s president in 2015. Now it has been fully adopted by the group and is a regular program. The two-year program is designed to equip employees with the leadership skills they will need to succeed and advance in their transportation careers.

This year’s graduating class of 34 people included Justin Wuest from District 1 and Shanon Murgoitio from the Headquarters Bridge section. The group's Capstone project focused on the serious issues surrounding a challenge currently facing all departments of transportation — Workforce Development and Retention.

Following that up, the group also put together a satirical video that was unveiled at the recent WASHTO virtual conference. See if you can spot Justin and Shanon in the wrap-up video. It is a funny piece with a serious message about that same topic — organizational strength built via employee development and retention.

The video was in addition to the class’s Emerging Leaders assignments. It shows employees doing more than just working hard, and the group collaborating to tackle an important issue.

The Emerging Leaders program is intensive and places demands on people as they build relationships. Natural introverts have to get out of their comfort zone a bit, and natural extroverts are forced to do some introspection. One constant, though, is personal and professional growth.

Check out Director Ness' message.

 

Published 08-21-20