In his 1997 book, “An Integrative Theory of Leadership,” social psychologist Dr. Martin Chemers writes that leaders are ultimately woven from the fibers of trust that a group has in him or her to accomplish the task at hand. He refers to such confidence and optimism as “mettle.”
The word conjures pictures of a sports team that, despite being against the ropes, shows resiliency and resolve to make the big play and win the game. The same certainly applies to leaders in business, education and student transportation.
“There are two sources of mettle,” said Chemers, a professor of psychology and dean of the Social Sciences Division at the University of California at Santa Cruz in an interview with the college paper. “The first is part of an individual’s disposition – your belief in your leadership ability – because a big part of leadership is convincing your subordinates that you can do the job. And the second is the degree to which you feel that you fit in and are accepted as a leader.”
Using that definition, this year’s STN Leadership Award winner displays the necessary mettle to help lead a student transportation organization and she more than fits in with the entire staff. Charmane White is the deputy director of transportation at Albemarle County Public Schools that serves the Charlottesville, Virginia, region.
The industry veteran got her start like most do, behind the wheel of the school bus.
She said her first career straight out of high school didn’t work out the way she planned, so she decided to go to college. What better way to make some extra money in between classes than to drive the school bus?
“A story I share with people all the time is, after my first day of driving, I said, ‘I’m not going back,’” she chuckled. “That was 22-odd years ago when I talked that way.”
But, like so many others, the job was so rewarding that it became her career.
“You get through the training, but when you get out there with students, it’s totally different,” she added. “I certainly enjoy the business, I like what I do and it’s quite rewarding the various things I’ve learned.”
This has translated into her current role of overseeing training and operations for James Foley, Albemarle County’s director of transportation, who refers to White as his “right hand.” Foley was new to student transportation when he joined Albemarle County five years go, coming from private industry where he specialized in operations and plant management. But as school busing is a different beast, he said he’s relied heavily on White’s experience as a driver and trainer.
“She’s been in the business a long time. She’s very well respected by the staff. She’s a senior leader, the most tenured of the key leaders as far as bus operations go,” he explained. “She just has a very open approach with people. People will come to Charmane with issues because they respect her and her experience.”
Jennifer Green, the lead driver for one of the elementary schools, said the advice White gives is always spot-on because she’s been there and done that.
“She can relate to what goes on, on the buses. Having that experience behind the wheel, it let us know that you understand that it is not easy being out there,” Green added. “Leadership is letting you know when you’re doing right and wrong and that is what she does.”
Admittedly, White tries to stay clear of disciplining, leaving that to Foley. “I have to correct drivers from time to time,” he laughed, “but we do have a very good staff,” he added.
Instead, White said she focuses on being fair and consistent in enforcing the district’s training policies while keeping an open door policy and regularly seeking feedback from staff.
“You really need to know the people you are working with. I give a lot of credit for that to Jim in terms of being open,” she explained. “I’m of the mindset that if people are aware and informed and you are transparent about what it is you do, then you get buy in.”
At Albemarle County, transportation is about being a part of the process, and that, White added, makes it easier to implement department goals. This especially was the case recently with the implementation of a new bus purchasing specification that White spearheaded and is projected to save the district about $250,000 a year.
At the request of Foley’s boss, Albemarle County COO Dean Tistadt, White set out to reverse the old way of going out to bid each time the district needed to purchase a new bus. While transportation did refer to the state contract, White said Albemarle County often found itself restricted to buying whatever bus model or options the dealer happened to have in stock rather than the exact features it wanted and needed.
White formed a committee of transportation department team leaders and a sub-committee that included bus drivers to select features that not only added to the comfort of the ride for all but also increased safety. Driver roundtables discussed the importance of heated mirrors, air ride seats and adding a second handrail to the step well.
“The feedback from the drivers helped us design the specifications,” White added.
It was a process that took months, as White brought together the committees and included the director of purchasing.
The result was a spec that was sent sent out to vendors, and White scheduled meetings to evaluate the various presentations. The district team’s comparison looked at such aspects as oil usage, fuel economy, camera systems and service and vehicle warranties. In the end, the district chose Blue Bird, specifically diesel-powered Visions.
“Some of (the choice) was based on cost, some of it was based on design features, how responsive they were,” explained Foley. “For the cost piece of it, we looked at a five-year operating plus capital costs. For example, a 100-gallon fuel tank would be more economical to us than a 65-gallon because we’d spend less money on labor for fueling. We looked at warranty, trade-in values, projected maintenance costs, upfront capital costs to determine least costly vendor over five years.”
The savings from the new specification is hardly chump change for an operation that features a fleet of 222 buses, 157 of which operate routes each day in service of 8,500 students, roughly two-thirds of the total enrollment.
“Charmane is tenacious when she wants something accomplished,” said Bill Morse, a district transportation management analyst. “She drives a hard bargain with vendors and expects a high level of competence from those she supervises.”
Pat Hunt, a lead driver for Baker Butler Elementary School, transportation staff from drivers to maintenance staff respect White not only for her experience behind the wheel but for the oriented values she espouses and her openness.
“Working with Charmane I have learned so much, like what is involved in dealing with vendors, what questions we should be asking and what type of buses you need to accommodate your school division,” Hunt added. “Charmane plays a big part in safety, training and buses.”
In addition to identifying big-time savings for the district, she said her “repertoire” is safety. In addition to serving as the district’s lead trainer and is certified in both the 10- and 30-hour OSHA guidelines, as well as being a certified CDL third-party tester in the state of Virginia.
She prides herself in not only looking at what the district can do “mechanically” to increase safety for students, but making things safe for the employees. She said the various training opportunities the district provides staff with helps to look at the “bigger picture.”
“Charmane is familiar with what types of issues that may occur with us because she has been a contact person with testing program,” explained Hunt. “She is aware of all the paperwork and procedures we must follow as a third party tester. Because of Charmane’s knowledge with DMV (regulations), she is able to make connection with right individual when asking questions.”
Taking such a collaborative approach has spelled success for White, who added that she likes to be open with people and to seek engagement. Those were learned skills, and as she said, she wasn’t always comfortable with those traits. Certainly obtaining her associate’s degree in business administration while she continued working during the day helped. But she also credited Foley for instilling an environment of transparency.
“I see the fruit of that approach,” she continued. “People are more open, they embrace the concepts better and that lends itself to a really good working relationship. If my answer was no, you’ll understand why I said no. You might not agree but you’ll understand.
“Leaders influence. It takes having an open mind and listening and leading by example. I really do want to lead by example. I don’t want to say one thing one day to an employee and another thing to someone else.”
