Winners News
Leadership Award 2008
For the second year running judges have awarded two applicants the opportunity to go on the High Potentials Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.
Stephen Robson joined Bristol Water in 2002 as head of Legal Services and Company Secretary after 10 years as a practising as a solicitor. Stephen is now Director of HR & Legal and a member of the Executive Team at Bristol Water. Stephen is leading a number of important projects for Bristol Water and in particular equipping staff for the future challenges the industry faces. He has already made significant contributions to the water industry:
- working with Energy & Utility Skills on pan-industry submissions for PR09 aimed at addressing the long term skills gap
- speaking at and chairing Water UK Conferences
Stephen is hoping that the Harvard experience will equip him to further advance the skills agenda and of course to become a more effective and influential leader.
Haydn Knowles is Head of Operations at Dalriada Water Services where his role is to oversee, shape and optimise all operational activities covering front line operations, asset management and contract & client management. During his seven years with the Kelda Group Haydn has rapidly progressed from Graduate Trainee to his current position where he reports directly to two Dalriada Boards of Directors as well as providing reports to the Kelda Board.
Haydn will be looking to Harvard to finesse his visionary leadership, enabling him to think ‘outside the box’ and create innovative opportunities. He would like to transform Dalriada into the most forward-thinking, innovative utility in the UK.
Stephen and Haydn will both be attending Harvard in 2009.
2006/7 Winners
Tier 1 Winner
The first USIT Tier 1 Award went to Archie MacGregor - Estates Manager for Scottish Water earlier this year. The Award sent Archie on a Management Programme at the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland. Below Archie reports on his experience.
A Most Rewarding Award
By Archie MacGregor - Estates Manager, Scottish Water
'Work hard, play hard', is a saying we're all familiar with. Switzerland certainly conjures up images of a great place to go for an idyllic break for most of us. Yet as soon as the pre-course reading lists and workbooks started appearing on the IMD website in the run up to the 3 week 'Managing Corporate Resources' program in Lausanne I'd secured a place on with the help of my USIT Tier 1 award it was clear there was certainly going to be a lot of hard work. I wasn't so sure about play.
Each week was very intense when it came to lectures - 4 hours in the morning, 4 hours in
the afternoon, some evening sessions, weekend retreats and case studies to review every night. Guess what? I didn't come back with much of a tan. I didn't even have time for an open top bus tour of the city. What I did return with though was the learning experience of a lifetime. Piece by piece we looked at how to analyse a business from top to bottom - strategy development, financial appraisals, stakeholder management, regulatory environments, supply & value chains amongst others as well as personal leadership skills. You could say we were taught how to use the Swiss Army knife of business management techniques.
To give some kind of measure of the level at which the course was pitched there were many Regional Managers from global plcs in attendance and even a CEO from Brazil. Several of the participants already had MBA or equivalent qualifications, yet everyone agreed that the quality of the teaching was such their understanding of how to lead and develop a business had been broadened and deepened.
So what did someone running the Estates department for a Water company in Scotland get out of it? The first session which looked at global trends in economies, geopolitics and environmental issues put the fundamental importance of our industry firmly in context - world-wide per capita consumption of fresh water has doubled since 1940 and it is estimated that by 2025 over 2.8 Billion people will face conditions of water scarcity/stress. It's essential then that we run our water utilities as efficient, sustainable and innovative businesses. At Scottish Water we are in the midst of putting together our Strategic plans for the 2010-2014 regulatory period and what was emphasised on the MCR course again and again was that strategy is not just a case of setting targets for Property revenues/expenditure or Water Quality indicators or Leakage mitigation - you must also look how the organisation will be structured, how functions will be grouped together & linked and how your people will be trained & rewarded to ensure delivery of those targets. 
We were shown some painful real world examples of where some large corporations had fallen short in pursuit of their business master plans simply because they had failed to consider all aspects of the change management process needed to bring about transformation.
No water company can prosper without earning the trust of its Regulators and customers of course and whilst we in the industry routinely interact with such stakeholders on a daily basis the sections of the course covering such topics from an academic perspective were genuinely insightful. One of the case studies used to highlight the behavioural theory of Regulatory authorities was the Water Industry in England & Wales, which was of more than passing interest! The rise and rise of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) was closely allied to this topic and portrayed as partial failure of regulation to fully address issues of public concern. Whether or not we regard listening to the local protest group campaigning against the building of a new wastewater treatment facility or corresponding with one of the global environmental NGOs as unwelcome distractions, the message was we need to understand how they work as they are only likely to increase in number as time goes by.
At a more personal level we looked at some of the behaviours, values and skills that are
the pre-requisite for successfully managing change in a modern business environment. This used as a reference point the killer question -'Why would anybody want to be led by you?' It doesn't invite glib answers but it's one that all managers would do well to ask themselves from time to time. This aspect of the course also included two weekend sessions with members of New York Actors Institute focusing on presentational and influencing skills. If you don't like getting your speaking habits and mannerisms subject to forensic review this wouldn't have been for you. I enjoyed it even if it was at times the metaphorical equivalent of applying paint stripper to the soul.
Overall, with 3 large ring binders full of course notes and a couple of CD Roms to bring home with me I've got plenty of occasional reading to fall back on when the winter nights come round. But the legacy of the MCR course is a lot more than just a package of useful 
reference materials. The sheer diversity of the people on the course in terms of nationalities (I was the only person there from the UK) and the industries they represented, ranging from Mining, Food Distribution and Investment Banking, added another dimension to the learning opportunities. I gained a lot just from listening to their contributions to the classes and made some good friends as well. There's quite a few of us keeping in touch to share our experiences in applying the MCR tools back in our workplaces, lending each other encouragement, celebrating successes and reviewing progress. Having joined the IMD Alumni club there's also the chance to network with others within the UK who have previously undertaken studies at this renowned centre of learning.
And finally, the play bit? Well, I did manage a bit of paragliding one weekend (not bad for a self-confessed vertigo sufferer!) and given that the closing dinner happened to fall on my birthday we had a little sing-song at the end. Not that even with all that Alpine scenery as an inspiration I'll be auditioning for a re-make of The Sound of Music you'll understand...
Archie MacGregor
Tier 2 Winners 2007
Abigail Lamberti (formerly Stretch) - Energy Institutes TEMOL (Training in Energy Management through Open Learning) course - The Energy Institute
“I would like to thank USIT for providing me with the opportunity to study the Energy Institute’s TEMOL course (Training in Energy Management through open learning) leading to a Certificate of Competence in Energy Management. I started the course in March 2008 and over the course of the programme I will be studying the fundamentals of energy management thus gaining the technical understanding needed to develop my career. With USIT’s support I am able to reach my goal of becoming a competent energy manager.”
Abigail Lamberti
Siohban McGrath - Msc (Water and Waste Water Engineering) at Cranfield University
Richard Barton - General Management Programme at Cranfield University:
"I would like to thank USIT for giving me the opportunity to attend the Cranfield General Management Programme. The course was very intensive including a very draining weekend project away from the University involving a lot of personal feedback in groups and individually. The course brought together 30 managers from all over the world. The key message from the course was thinking about the bigger picture and how to work more effectively across internal organisational boundaries. I certainly learnt a lot about myself and how I can exert my influence across the entire business, not only within operations, but within areas I have previously kept away from. I truly hope I can bring these new found skills into Bournemouth & West Hampshire Water to add greater value to the business and our customers."
"The USIT awards are a great opportunity for people in the water industry to undertake training and development they might not necessarily get. I would strongly recommend everyone to consider applying."
Richard Barton
Joint Winners of USIT Leadership Award
Ken Hutchison and Matt Lewis have both been awarded the USIT Leadership Award which will send them on the High Potentials Leadership Program at Harvard Business School next year. Judges were unable to separate the two after interviewing five short-listed applicants and decided to send both of them to Harvard.
Ken is General Manager, Capital Investment Delivery at Scottish Water, where is responsible for almost 300 professional, technical and non-technical staff in the newly formed in-house Capital Investment Delivery Team.
Ken's ambition is that he doesn't just want to be a leader; he wants to become an inspirational leader.
Matt is Director of Distribution at South Staffordshire Water, a position he has held for two years. Previously he was Director for Regulation and between the two posts he has had exposure to both strategic and operational issues in the water industry for the past ten years.
Matt recognises the difference between learning about leadership and being an effective leader and relishes the opportunity to network with other high quality delegates.
Matt and Ken are committed to the water industry and demonstrated to the judges they have the desire and potential to grow into director roles. Hopefully the Harvard program will enhance their prospects and unlock their potential.
Ken Hutchison - Harvard: Fun but no Boston Tea Party!
Ken Hutchison has followed in the footsteps of US Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and John F Kennedy after winning a place at the world-famous Harvard Business School.
The General Manager of Scottish Water’s Capital Investment Delivery (CID) Team took part in a ‘High Potentials Leadership’ course at the School earlier this year after beating off competition from the water industry across the UK.
Ken, along with Matt Lewis, Director of Regulation from South Staffordshire Water, was jointly awarded the Utilities and Service Industries Training (USIT Tier 1) Leadership Award which provides a study grant of up to £15,000.
Ken joined more than 90 delegates representing global companies from across the world, including Coca Cola and Barclays.
The week long course was highly intensive with work starting at 7.30am each day and not finishing until 7.30pm. There was then only a short break for dinner before 'homework' began. "I was sometimes up working until 1am and even fell asleep at my desk on a couple of nights!" admits Ken.
Much of the week was spent working through case studies of real situations in businesses and organisations and also listening to lectures by some of the world’s most renowned business and change management gurus.
"It was truly inspirational. The course reinforced much of what we are already doing at CID and gave me an awful lot of food for thought for my role. It has continued to inspire me to be a better leader. We were coached on Change Management by John Kotter (Change Guru) and on Building Leadership Presence by professional actors! It was so intensive that the people formed very strong bonds with each other and I now have an international support network of contacts in industries across the world. The UK participants are already planning to hold a reunion."
Although Ken has returned from the course much of his work has only just started.
"Before we left we all had to write a letter outlining what we plan to do to put some of what we had learned into practice when we return to our organisations. Harvard will follow that up with us in the months ahead to see what progress we are making. I also ended up bringing back so many books with me that I had to pay an extra 50 dollars as they took me over my baggage allowance" explained Ken.
"I would like to express my sincere thanks to Jack Carnell (Chair) and the USIT Board for facilitating a learning experience I will never forget."
See Also
About USIT|Trustees|
