| Title | Developing Transportation Agency Leaders: A Synthesis of Highway Practice |
| ShortDescription | The report focuses on leadership development approaches in state Departments of Transportation (DOTs). It reports on retirement, retention and succession planning efforts in DOTs to develop and maintain effective leaders. |
| LongDescription | This synthesis will be of interest to state Department of Transportation (DOT) personnel, as well as other public and private sector professionals dealing with the issues of leadership training and succession management in the 21st century. Workforce issues remain at the forefront of discussions occurring within the ranks of public agencies and throughout corporate America. Leadership development is viewed as a key success factor. This synthesis examined practices and programs in search of optimal solutions to this important aspect of state DOT management and operations. Program information is presented about practices and innovative approaches that address the development of transportation leadership in today's work environment. The four key subtopics examined were demographics, recruitment and retention, leadership training, and succession management. Appendices offer narrative survey responses, leadership resources, and examples of leadership development programs. This synthesis report of the Transportation Research Board contains information derived from a survey distributed to state DOTs. Twenty-five agencies responded. In addition, a literature review was undertaken to ascertain the depth of published information on the topic. Private-sector companies that engage in these types of programs were identified. Seven private-sector companies were willing to share their experiences and policies. Because they view leadership development as an investment and an important contribution to their long term productivity, it is suggested that state DOTs might benefit from studying these examples in seeking further improvement. A panel of experts in the subject area guided the work of organizing and evaluating the collected data and reviewing the final synthesis report. A consultant was engaged to collect and synthesize the information and to write the report. This synthesis is an immediately useful document that records the practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added to that now at hand. |
| SourceAuthor | Warne, T. |
| Reference | 2005, NCHRP Synthesis 349 |
| Organization | National Cooperative Highway Research Program |
| ContactAddress | Washington, DC |
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| Website |
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_syn_349.pdf
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