Defining superior leadership for the next generation.

• Author: Collins, James B.

If you heard the story once, you've heard it at least a dozen times that approximately 30 percent of the electric cooperative CEO's are eligible to retire over the next 5 years. In reality, however, that number is understated. A recent analysis of NRECA's RS Pension statistics revealed that 40 percent of the presently employed distribution and G&T system CEO's will, in fact, qualify for retirement by the end of 2008.

By the end of 2010, that number rises to over 50 percent. The key word here, of course, is "eligible". While the actual number that will choose to exercise this option cannot be known, it is self-evident that the industry faces a major leadership transition and we are challenged to address it.

PUTTING THIS CHALLENGE IN PERSPECTIVE: A BRIEF HISTORY

It is important to note that this transition is not without precedent. At his keynote address at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Dairyland Power Cooperative last year, Martin Lowery drew attention to the fact that we are approaching the end of the third generation in the electric cooperative movement.

He noted that during the first third of the twentieth century, visionaries such as Theodore Roosevelt, Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot, and senators Robert LaFollette and George Norris established the philosophical foundation for this program by focusing attention on rural electrification and public ownership of electric utilities. From the early 1930's to the late 1960's, giants, such as Franklin Roosevelt, Morris Cooke, and David Lillienthal built the framework for it, by establishing the TVA and the REA. Leaders such as Clyde Ellis and J. K. Smith along with the early managers in this program articulated that framework and, in the closing years, established the Cooperative Finance Corporation and defeated President Nixon's attempt to eliminate the REA. In the final third of this century, leaders such as you have presided over the growth and sophistication of this industry, the advancement of the electric cooperative network, the defeat of numerous hostile takeover attempts, and the creation of Touchstone Energy.

As we look forward to the coming decade, we find ourselves on the cusp of yet another transition, transferring the responsibility for this program to a new generation of leaders. They will be the ones that will guide us through the first third of the 21st century--building upon that which many of you and the founders of this program have established, and maintaining the right of consumers to independence and local control. As such, we will be challenged to recruit the best and develop them to assume these responsibilities.

DEFINING THE QUALITIES OF SUPERIOR LEADERSHIP

Taking on this challenge is no small task. Recruiting and developing the best requires us to understand the qualities and characteristics that will define superior leadership for this next generation.

Over the past 9 months, the NRECA has been working to answer that question by partnering with the Hay Group to develop a "competency model" for electric cooperative CEO's. A competency model is...