Emerging Leader Program Development Survey

Since 2021, WaterNow has presented our Emerging Leader Awards on an annual basis. The Emerging Leader Award is dedicated to celebrating and advancing mid-level professionals from backgrounds under-represented in the water utility space, who are poised to take on leadership positions in the coming years, and includes a stipend which supports awardees in their professional development. We see the Emerging Leader Award as an opportunity to support water leaders of tomorrow and foster an inclusive and truly sustainable generation of leaders.

In order to further that goal, WaterNow is developing additional programming to support Emerging Leaders, providing them with the resources and tools they need to thrive as leaders in their workplaces and communities. This survey is intended to inform our decision-making process as we design the new Emerging Leaders Initiative. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of the following questions.

Section 1: Demographics

In order to help us best understand the results of this survey, please tell us about yourself and your organization.

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* 1. What is your name? (optional)

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* 2. What is your email address? (optional)

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* 3. Where is your utility located? (City, State) (optional)

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* 4. Which best describes your role within your organization?

Utility Staff

Utility Leadership

Other (please specify)

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* 5. Is your utility publicly or privately owned?

Public

Private

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* 6. What is the approximate service population of your utility?

Fewer than 10,000

10,000 - 100,000

100,000 - 500,000

More than 500,000

We collect the demographic information below because the Emerging Leaders program is designed to identify and support future leaders from diverse backgrounds, and understanding who is responding to this survey will best support this goal. At the same time, we recognize that many people are not comfortable providing personal information, so please share only as much as you deem appropriate. All questions below are optional.

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* 7. How long have you been working in the water industry?

1-5 years

6-10 years

11-20 years

21-30 years

30-40 years

41+ years

Prefer not to say

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* 8. Which best describes your gender?

Woman

Man

Non-binary

Other

Prefer not to answer

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* 9. Do you identify as transgender?

Yes

Prefer not to disclose

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* 10. Which describes you? Choose as many as apply.

Indigenous (including Alaskan Native, Native American, Native Hawaiian, American Indian)

Hispanic or Latine

Black/African American

Middle Eastern

Pacific Islander

Asian/Southeast Asian/Asian American

White

Another race or ethnicity not listed

Prefer not to say

Section 2: Program Content

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* 11. When you think about the kinds of support and programming an emerging water utility leader might benefit from, which themes below strike you as most important? Please select up to 5.

Water and Public Health (e.g., Lead Service Line Replacement)

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (e.g., developing internal DEI programs; supporting the recruitment or retention of diverse staff)

Water Equity (e.g., affordability initiatives, engaging under-represented or hard-to-reach community members, etc.)

Impacts of Water Management (e.g., environmental, social, economic)

Distributed infrastructure & Nature-based solutions (e.g. Green Infrastructure, Rain Gardens)

Stormwater Utilities and Stormwater Management

Trust-building Between Communities and Utilities

Utility Finance and Rate Setting

Project Funding and Financing Approaches

Professional Development and Leadership Skills

Other (please specify)

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* 12. What types of skills would you most like to build, or think would be most important for Emerging Leaders to develop? Please select up to three.

Communicating with political leadership

Communicating with community members

Developing project plans

Establishing performance metrics

Building teams

Strengthening project management skills

Growing collaborations with outside entities

Strengthening capacity for strategy and visioning

Other (please specify)

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* 13. Please use the space below to provide any additional context and information on your selections above.

Section 3: Delivery

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* 14. Which formats would be most valuable to Emerging Leaders in engaging with the themes presented in the previous question?

Webinars, peer calls, and discussion groups

Structured courses with lecture and interactive elements

Primers, fact sheets, case studies, and other written guidance

Facilitated networking sessions

Direct support in addressing challenges

Mentoring or coaching sessions

Stipends or funding for professional development

Other (please specify)

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* 15. Please use the space below to provide additional context and thoughts about your selections above. What additional support would you or other Emerging Leaders need to participate fully in a professional development cohort?

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* 16. We expect that support from an Emerging Leader’s employing utility will be key in ensuring that they are able to participate in cohort activities while continuing to fulfill their duties at work. What if anything can we do to make our programming worthwhile for participants’ employers, as well as the participants themselves (e.g. employer sign-off, sessions outside of working hours, outreach to Emerging Leader’s utility leadership, etc.)?

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* 17. Finally, please share any other thoughts and insights that might support us in implementing this Emerging Leaders program.

Thank you so much for your time! As a reminder, Emerging Leader Award nominations for 2023 are still open–if you’d like to nominate yourself or a promising mid-level staff member at your organization, please visit our Emerging Leader Award page here.