Leadership Insights from Public Transit Success Stories

There are leadership lessons from every business on this planet. Big or small, leading a company is a hard job, and the people who are really good at it, make a huge difference in their industry and the lives of the people who work for them. On Transit Unplugged we spend a good amount of our conversations with transit executives talking about their lives, their careers, and how they lead teams to achieve things they didn’t think possible.

Here are some insights from a few of our recent guests, and host Paul Comfort, on leading agencies large and small. We’ve made a playlist with all these interviews in one place for you. Just click and start listening!

Mistakes will happen, just try not to make expensive ones

We’re all human, we make mistakes. It’s part of our nature mess up sometimes, but more importantly, mistakes are how we learn and grow. Adam Barth, CEO of Stanislaus County Transit, told us about a great piece of advice he got early in his career: “You’re going to make mistakes, and that’s okay. Just try not to make expensive ones.” None of us want to make mistakes, and Eve Wiggins said in her interview with Paul, “Nobody comes to work to do a bad job,” but sometimes we get so wary of mistakes we don’t take risks. We keep on the safe path and don’t try anything new, but it’s when we take those risks, we achieve great things.

And when we take a risk, sometimes things don’t work out. Things go wrong. You make mistakes. But if you know you’re allowed to make mistakes, that it’s okay, you feel the freedom to innovate. And the most important thing, when you make mistakes, you learn and grow from them. As Randy Clarke said in his interview to kick off Season 7, “If you’re making zero mistakes, you’re not trying.” He encourages his people to try things, to take a chance on an innovation. That’s how things move forward.

In his conversation with Adam, Paul told a story about an expensive mistake he made early in a new role. He was doing something new and made a mistake, but he didn’t beat himself about it (for too long), he dusted off, and made sure he didn’t make that mistake again. Paul also learned, while he could have played the blame game—there was a good argument to be made that the mistake wasn’t entirely his fault—he took responsibility for the mistake and tried to make it right.

Always pointing the finger at someone or something else and saying “that wasn’t my fault, it was out of my control,” doesn’t give you the chance to learn and grow. Accepting the mistake, taking responsibility, trying to make it right, and learning from the experience is what’s critical to improving our lives and careers.

We don’t learn, we don’t grow, unless we push ourselves and make some mistakes. Allow yourself to make mistakes, even silly ones, and learn and grow from them.

Building a CASTLE to build up your people

Eve Wiggins, Director of Mississauga Transit, follows the CASTLE (Courage, Authenticity, Service, Truthfulness, Love, and Effectiveness) leadership philosophy, and it has served her well in her 20 years in transportation. One of the interesting aspects of CASTLE is service. Who are you serving? For Eve while she was at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and Metrolinx, her focus was being of service to the agency’s leaders to achieve their goals. As the head of MiWay in Mississauga, she has flipped the idea of service around. She is now in service to the people who work for her. She sees her job as clearing obstacles that keep people from getting things done.

You might not think “Love” belongs in a leadership philosophy, but consider this, when you love your job, things just seem to fall into place. When you have setbacks, you know why you’re doing the job. Most importantly when you treat the people you work with as real people, treating them with love, kindness, and empathy when they are having a rough time, you build the foundation for the rest of the CASTLE.

Treating people with love doesn’t mean excusing their mistakes or letting them escape the consequences of what they did, it means when you’re dealing with that person you see the person and not the mistake. If you’re a fan of Ted Lasso, in one episode Roy Kent talks about the aftermath of a player yelling at a fan. In the press conference he doesn’t excuse the behavior, but he reminds us we don’t know what is going on in each other’s lives, and approaching the problem with love for the person can resolve things better than focusing on the mistake alone.

Don’t be afraid to get into the trenches

Holly Arnold, Administrator for the Maryland Transportation Authority, started at MTA as a contractor and has worked her up through the ranks to the top job. When she was leading the Capital Planning Department, she realized she didn’t know what these projects looked like on the ground. So, she donned a hard hat and visited the projects under construction. She saw how things worked. She sat at the controls of a MARC Commuter train.

She got to see what was really going on. And she asked questions. Getting into the nitty gritty of how agencies work sets leaders apart. Leaders who ride their systems—like Adam, Holly, and Randy do—or make sure they visit garages and talk with operators—like Eve talks about—are the ones who build that trust and connection with employees.

Be passionate about the things you believe in

We kicked off 2024 with Congressman Earl Blumenauer talking about his 50 years of public service. Rep. Blumenauer has always had a passion for transportation and transit. From getting the first modern streetcar network launched in Portland, OR to promoting sustainable cities, Rep. Blumenauer has followed his passions. As he winds down his career in public service, he continues to work and push for the things he is passionate about.

In work and life, have passion for the things you believe in and use that passion to not only get things done, but inspire others too. Nothing ignites people like passion. Nothing can help you beat the odds and accomplish the impossible like passion. Find your passion, follow it, nurture it, and use that passion to fuel the rest of your life.

Carl Sedoryk is passionate about the practice of martial arts and has several black belts to prove it. He brings that passion and everything he’s learned about martial arts—dedication, focus, resilience—to his job leading the Monterey – Salinas Transit District. He might not be breaking boards in the boardroom, but he instills passion and drive in all of his employees to work hard to achieve their goals. Maybe your passion for building detailed models helps instill patience and attention to detail. Maybe playing on a team outside work, brings the passion for teamwork.

Whatever your passion is, when you can connect that with your work, you can help others not just achieve amazing results, but maybe find their own passion too.

Every Wednesday the Transit Unplugged podcast brings you insights, lessons, and a look to the future of transit from leaders around the world. The podcast is everywhere podcasts are found including Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube! Check out some recent episodes of Transit Unplugged and follow the show.

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