Surviving and Thriving in the Pressure Cooker
/Michael Mucha – Principal Moonshot Missions/
/ May 20, 2025 /
During the 2025 Water Policy Fly-in, Moonshot Missions, together with the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), conducted a roundtable at the Reservoir Center on adaptive leadership with NACWA Board Members to improve leadership strategies.
Utility executives today face complex, emotional, and stressful challenges. Their teams, stakeholders, policymakers, and peers also struggle with similar issues that demand leadership and collaboration. Regardless of size, these challenges are pushing utility leaders into the public spotlight and straining workplace culture.
To address rate hikes, PFAS, extreme weather, resilience, cybersecurity, workforce issues, and equity, today’s utility CEOs must be empathetic listeners, consensus builders, and adaptable leaders in challenging contexts. The prevalence of social media requires more time spent correcting misconceptions, while public service and visibility face heightened scrutiny.
Board members were introduced to Adaptive Leadership practices (see Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky, Harvard Business Press) to address these challenging issues. They explored strategies and techniques to enhance three fundamental competencies: accurately diagnosing situations, skillfully intervening, and effectively managing themselves.
Board members discussed their experiences and strategies, turning them into overarching guidance and actionable lessons for the water sector. Some of these lessons included:
- Recognizing when to step back to observe versus when to actively engage in problem-solving is essential. This idea is referred to as deciding whether to be on the balcony or the dance floor.
- Leadership is an action, not a title. It involves engaging others deeply and cannot be achieved alone.
- Navigating uncertainty and stepping outside your comfort zone require conscious experimentation to learn something new. Regularly audition your ideas.
- Reflect on your feelings during challenges to identify your triggers and habits. Acting with intention regarding these aspects will enable you to manage them more effectively in stressful moments.
The roundtable fostered recognition that open and honest discussions among peers are immensely valuable and empowering, suggesting that more sessions should be organized to further this dialogue.