Elevating leadership capability at West County Wastewater in Richmond, CA

The West County Wastewater District (WCWD), based in Richmond, California, serves a critical role for 100,000 residents and nearly 1,000 businesses: protecting public health and promoting environmental stewardship. As a utility district, WCWD management requires both technical excellence and strategic leadership.

The Deputy General Manager recognized the importance of supporting the ongoing development of leadership skills in several key mid-level managers. This included helping managers move from being competent “technical experts” to becoming “people leaders.” As WCWD delivers on its mission and aims for excellence this is essential. As a result, WCWD sought our assistance in providing executive coaches.  

Engaging and active

Raftelis approached this executive coaching assignment with the knowledge that leadership growth is not achieved through generic workshops or "check-the-box" training. Our unique insight was that leadership is deeply personal and that an individual’s interests and goals drive their development.

We created a confidential, safe space using individualized coaching for three key leaders. Our approach was to arm these managers with self-awareness and a specific development plan. By utilizing a proprietary self-assessment tool, we helped them see not just how they led, but why. Our coaches engaged with each leader in multiple sessions to help them develop new skills to support their success now and in the future.    

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A curated path to development

The execution was deeply collaborative. It moved through three distinct phases:

• Calibration: We began by engaging each leader with introspection and deploying a self-assessment tool to help identify specific strengths, blind spots, and areas for development. This data served as the foundation for developing personalized, meaningful goals. As with any real-reflection effort, the process was hard work. These three leaders had to be vulnerable and uncover their "blind spots.” They could do so because they knew a Raftelis coach was by their side throughout the journey. 
• Customization: Working alongside the individuals we were coaching, we created a customized coaching plan for each leader. These were not static documents but living roadmaps that aligned personal professional goals with the District’s strategic needs.
• Real-time navigation: Coaching sessions were dual-purpose. While we focused on specific development goals, we also utilized "real-time" coaching, helping the leaders discuss and strategize approaches to real issues, conflicts, and decisions arising in their daily work. Leaders were able to have a confidential "sounding board" where they could admit uncertainty without it being seen as a weakness.

Cultivating organizational strength

The engagement supported each leader’s ability to be even more successful in their roles. By the conclusion of the coaching engagement, the three leaders expressed that they were more self-aware, motivated and equipped with a toolkit to negotiate future complexities.

• Organizational resilience: The District successfully signaled to its staff that it is an organization that invests in its people.
• Sustainable growth: Each leader emerged with a clear, self-directed path for continued development, ensuring that benefits of the coaching experience would outlast the engagement itself.
• Mission alignment: By strengthening its leadership core, WCWD is better positioned to execute its mission of protecting public health, ensuring that the decisions made at the top effectively support the community it serves. When the leadership core is strong, the water stays clean, the rates stay stable, and the community thrives.