Pub. 1 2018-2019 Issue 1

Q&A Are there any specific individuals that has a major impact on your career? How? I learned a lot from Kent Millington, the recently retired Transportation Commission Chair. Kent had the ability to ask hard questions and hold people accountable while encouraging them to grow. I learned that asking ques- tions respectfully is a really good way to get people on the same page and dig deeper into the situation at hand. Because of Kent, I find myself not backing off asking those questions, and I’ve found that many times we end up with a better solution than we had at the beginning. What is themost rewarding part of your career? I am really proud of our employees when I see them think- ing for themselves and assessing situations to make the right decision. A good example is when a couple of our snowplow drivers assisted Utah Highway Patrol in rescu- ing some stranded motorists in Wyoming. A snowstorm closed US-191 on the Wyoming side and their highway patrol couldn’t get to them. When UHP called and asked if we have resources to help, our plow drivers made the right call. It wasn’t part of their job description and wasn’t part of their defined area of responsibility, but it was the right thing to do. I love seeing that our employees care about what they do and are willing to jump in and help. What do you think will be some of the dom- inant trends within the industry in the next 5-10 years? Multi-modal solutions will be key to our transportation future. We can’t build our way out of congestion with the growth that is projected in Utah. We need to explore other modes of travel and how to operate transporta- tion systems more efficiently. We need to look at how to best leverage our tax dollars and work to further public/ private partnerships to move people in ways that go beyond our current approach. What are your priorities and goals as the new UDOT Deputy Director? What’s in store for UDOT in the short term and long term? I’m new to this position and only about a month in to under- standing the work that needs to be done. The big picture for me is to lead UDOT’s focus on the future, including addressing transportation issues related to Utah’s growing population, advances in technology and the evolution of the transportation industry. Do you have past experiences that will help your leadership in UDOT? I have been fortunate to have some different types of lead- ership experiences in various phases of my career with UDOT. During my years on the Mountain View Corridor project, I was able to go deep with my information and understanding. I knew everything about that project and could speak fluently about almost any aspect of it. When I became the UDOT Region 3 director (an area that covers road maintenance and construction in Utah, Juab, Wasatch, Duchesne, Uintah and Daggett counties), I had to adopt a leadership style where I depended on others to know the deep content and make recommendations. As a region director, there is a broad range of topics to cover and you can only skim the surface, not to mention covering a large area geographically. I relied on people to share the information I needed to make good decisions because I couldn’t know it all myself. So, part of my career was proj- ect-centered and the latest part was people-centered. It’s exciting for me to be able to merge those two approaches within this position. If you could look back at your career, what would be three things that you have learned that you would pass onto someone looking to you for mentorship? First, I think it is important to project confidence and take your seat at the table. You don’t have to talk much, but, showing up and participating is more than half the battle. Second, find a mentor willing to give you feedback – both good and bad – because we all learn from both. People are really willing to help if you just ask. And finally, build rela- tionships. The value of one-on-one time with people can’t be understated. It opens up communication channels and you typically end up with strong allies. 3 17