netrashetty
Netra Shetty
AGL Resources, Inc. is a Fortune 1000, Forbes 2000 energy services holding company. Their principal business is distribution of natural gas in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee and Virginia, providing gas for more than 2.2 million customers.
Six utility companies provide local gas distribution to more than 2.2 million customers in Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee and Maryland.
Each subsidiary provides these primary services:
Maintains the gas pipeline infrastructure
Responds to and repairs gas leaks
Sells natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers
Offers customer service and bills customers for gas service
Offers online customer information about natural gas and gas-fueled products
Among Paula Rosput’s many accolades, she might find this one particularly rewarding. Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Collins, a Woodward Academy student who goes to school with Paula’s son, recently cited Ms. Rosput as her role model in the business world. "Usually you think of a big man coming into the room as the CEO," said Elizabeth, " but now there are women CEO’s like Paula Rosput. It’s important to have role models like Ms. Rosput to inspire you."
Since joining the Atlanta Gas Light Company in September 1998 as president and chief operating office, Ms. Rosput has had an opportunity to inspire and lead a lot of people through the transition to deregulation of the natural gas industry in Georgia. This has not been an easy task, but Paula came well prepared. Formerly, she was president and chief executive officer of Houston-based Duke Energy Power Services, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, and before that, president of PanEnergy Power Services. In August, 2000, after helping to acquire Virginia Natural Gas as a part of AGL’s growth strategy, Paula was thrust into a new role, that of CEO of AGL Resources, stepping in behind Walter Higgins who retired unexpectedly. Things haven’t been the same since at the company Rosput describes as "the oldest corporation in the city."
Almost skyrocketing onto the scene of the Atlanta business community, Paula Rosput is racking up impressive accomplishments. She has been selected to chair the Metropolitan United Way Campaign for 2001-2002; received the Atlanta Women’s Foundation’s Shattered Ceiling Award; and hosted a very non-traditional board dinner before the company’s annual meeting. Besides the normally invited officers and board members, Paula also invited key business leaders, politicians, newspaper publishers, and even AGL vendors. Asked why she broke with tradition on this auspicious occasion, Rosput replied: "It’s all about where we need to go. We need to look outward, not inward." According to those who work with her closely, this is but one example of her "inclusive" style of leadership.
Her leadership has also led her to be recognized as one of the10 Leading Innovators in Energy for 1999 by Public Utilities Fortnightly and to serve on the Georgia Conservancy’s Board of Trustees, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, the Midtown Alliance’s Board of Directors, the Georgia Cities Foundation’s Board of Directors, The Carter Center’s Board of Councilors, the Wellesley Business Leadership Council, and the Institute of Public Utilities (Michigan State University, faculty).
Asked to reflect on her own background, Paula is quick to give credit to other leaders who have influenced and inspired her. One was Dr. Carolyn Shaw Bell, her professor of economics at Wellesley and her thesis advisor. Wellesley is Paula’s alma mater and where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and graduated with high honors. Dr. Bell inspired Rosput because she was one of the first women in her field and was full of determination. She counseled her to find a niche, a place where she could rise. "This is part of the reason," said Paula, "of why I chose heavy industry – because there were no women and I’d be unique."
Another leader who helped Rosput define her own style was Paul Anderson, her last boss before coming to Atlanta. He is now CEO of BHP in Melbourne, Australia, one of that country’s largest employers. He told Paula he only puts "thoroughbreds" in his stable and that included selecting her for his organization. "Paul taught me everything I know about managing to the bottom-line," she said, " and about shareholder value." They also shared discussions about competing concerns in business, i.e., employees, customers, and shareholders. She believes you think about them in that order and the results will follow. Paul Anderson also taught her to define the discipline around accomplishing results. "All of this," Rosput says, "is part of the ‘restlessness of being a leader" – the work is never done and the balance must always be reevaluated."
Sharing other insights she has learned about leadership, Paula believes that a leader’s skills are always diminishing, or what she refers to as "the half life of a leader." Among other skills, leaders need an emotional quality that links people in the organization. They also must keep the vision fresh and bring vitality to the team. One strength of an organization, as she sees it, is its ability to make its’ dissenters its leaders. That’s why the best leaders embrace out-of-the-box thinkers and diversity of thought. But when a 100 ideas are given, leaders must also learn to sift through them because launching all ideas at once will be self-defeating. She likes to leave as much room as possible for others to create and contribute their ideas. "An important lesson in leadership, therefore, is to learn to subordinate yourself in certain ways."
One of Rosputs’s greatest concerns is seeing talent leave the company. She’s proud that there’s been only one resignation at a high level since she arrived and she actually encouraged him to go because the opportunity was just too good to turn down. When one executive let a good person leave without trying to retain her, Paula sent the employee an email about her plans to leave. Her boss was so stubborn that he said, "Just let her go if that’s the way she feels." She left, but later, contacted Paula asking to return. "Now," said Rosput, "the former boss is praising her, despite the fact that he let her leave in the first place." Rosput says that each manager or executive must take each employee’s tenure seriously. For her, each person staying or going is a personal matter because the company is composed of talented people they need for the future.
Does Paula Rosput have a personal view about women leaders and women in the workplace? Indeed she does. She believes women have strong multi-tasking abilities, perhaps more defined than men. Women also have a breadth of understanding and the ability to leverage – to touch every point. And if a woman uses an inclusive style, then it will add richness to her interactions. As for making it to the top, Rosput says that when that happens, it’s a struggle to then learn the new game among peers and learn what the signals are. "Typically caution sets in," she explains, "and where there have been risks to get there, now you don’t want to fail, but is the same level of risk-taking going to be rewarded? The skills that helped get you to this level may or may not begin to change. You can’t be too different from your peers, yet one doesn’t want to become a clone either."
In a clear example of mentoring – although not giving credit to herself for it, Ms. Rosput said she once spoke to the Association of Blacks in Energy. A young man asked her about the importance of playing golf to fit in even though he didn’t particularly like golf. Paula’s response: " Playing golf or not shouldn’t be an issue in career advancement. Work should be about business and not about making everyone have the same interests in order to be successful."
This ideology – and indeed every aspect of Paula Rosput’s leadership - seems very appropriate for the times. Inclusion, diversity, emotional investment, and restlessness – not your everyday leadership characteristics, but they certainly define this leader who happens to be a woman.
Six utility companies provide local gas distribution to more than 2.2 million customers in Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee and Maryland.
Each subsidiary provides these primary services:
Maintains the gas pipeline infrastructure
Responds to and repairs gas leaks
Sells natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers
Offers customer service and bills customers for gas service
Offers online customer information about natural gas and gas-fueled products
Among Paula Rosput’s many accolades, she might find this one particularly rewarding. Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Collins, a Woodward Academy student who goes to school with Paula’s son, recently cited Ms. Rosput as her role model in the business world. "Usually you think of a big man coming into the room as the CEO," said Elizabeth, " but now there are women CEO’s like Paula Rosput. It’s important to have role models like Ms. Rosput to inspire you."
Since joining the Atlanta Gas Light Company in September 1998 as president and chief operating office, Ms. Rosput has had an opportunity to inspire and lead a lot of people through the transition to deregulation of the natural gas industry in Georgia. This has not been an easy task, but Paula came well prepared. Formerly, she was president and chief executive officer of Houston-based Duke Energy Power Services, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, and before that, president of PanEnergy Power Services. In August, 2000, after helping to acquire Virginia Natural Gas as a part of AGL’s growth strategy, Paula was thrust into a new role, that of CEO of AGL Resources, stepping in behind Walter Higgins who retired unexpectedly. Things haven’t been the same since at the company Rosput describes as "the oldest corporation in the city."
Almost skyrocketing onto the scene of the Atlanta business community, Paula Rosput is racking up impressive accomplishments. She has been selected to chair the Metropolitan United Way Campaign for 2001-2002; received the Atlanta Women’s Foundation’s Shattered Ceiling Award; and hosted a very non-traditional board dinner before the company’s annual meeting. Besides the normally invited officers and board members, Paula also invited key business leaders, politicians, newspaper publishers, and even AGL vendors. Asked why she broke with tradition on this auspicious occasion, Rosput replied: "It’s all about where we need to go. We need to look outward, not inward." According to those who work with her closely, this is but one example of her "inclusive" style of leadership.
Her leadership has also led her to be recognized as one of the10 Leading Innovators in Energy for 1999 by Public Utilities Fortnightly and to serve on the Georgia Conservancy’s Board of Trustees, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, the Midtown Alliance’s Board of Directors, the Georgia Cities Foundation’s Board of Directors, The Carter Center’s Board of Councilors, the Wellesley Business Leadership Council, and the Institute of Public Utilities (Michigan State University, faculty).
Asked to reflect on her own background, Paula is quick to give credit to other leaders who have influenced and inspired her. One was Dr. Carolyn Shaw Bell, her professor of economics at Wellesley and her thesis advisor. Wellesley is Paula’s alma mater and where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and graduated with high honors. Dr. Bell inspired Rosput because she was one of the first women in her field and was full of determination. She counseled her to find a niche, a place where she could rise. "This is part of the reason," said Paula, "of why I chose heavy industry – because there were no women and I’d be unique."
Another leader who helped Rosput define her own style was Paul Anderson, her last boss before coming to Atlanta. He is now CEO of BHP in Melbourne, Australia, one of that country’s largest employers. He told Paula he only puts "thoroughbreds" in his stable and that included selecting her for his organization. "Paul taught me everything I know about managing to the bottom-line," she said, " and about shareholder value." They also shared discussions about competing concerns in business, i.e., employees, customers, and shareholders. She believes you think about them in that order and the results will follow. Paul Anderson also taught her to define the discipline around accomplishing results. "All of this," Rosput says, "is part of the ‘restlessness of being a leader" – the work is never done and the balance must always be reevaluated."
Sharing other insights she has learned about leadership, Paula believes that a leader’s skills are always diminishing, or what she refers to as "the half life of a leader." Among other skills, leaders need an emotional quality that links people in the organization. They also must keep the vision fresh and bring vitality to the team. One strength of an organization, as she sees it, is its ability to make its’ dissenters its leaders. That’s why the best leaders embrace out-of-the-box thinkers and diversity of thought. But when a 100 ideas are given, leaders must also learn to sift through them because launching all ideas at once will be self-defeating. She likes to leave as much room as possible for others to create and contribute their ideas. "An important lesson in leadership, therefore, is to learn to subordinate yourself in certain ways."
One of Rosputs’s greatest concerns is seeing talent leave the company. She’s proud that there’s been only one resignation at a high level since she arrived and she actually encouraged him to go because the opportunity was just too good to turn down. When one executive let a good person leave without trying to retain her, Paula sent the employee an email about her plans to leave. Her boss was so stubborn that he said, "Just let her go if that’s the way she feels." She left, but later, contacted Paula asking to return. "Now," said Rosput, "the former boss is praising her, despite the fact that he let her leave in the first place." Rosput says that each manager or executive must take each employee’s tenure seriously. For her, each person staying or going is a personal matter because the company is composed of talented people they need for the future.
Does Paula Rosput have a personal view about women leaders and women in the workplace? Indeed she does. She believes women have strong multi-tasking abilities, perhaps more defined than men. Women also have a breadth of understanding and the ability to leverage – to touch every point. And if a woman uses an inclusive style, then it will add richness to her interactions. As for making it to the top, Rosput says that when that happens, it’s a struggle to then learn the new game among peers and learn what the signals are. "Typically caution sets in," she explains, "and where there have been risks to get there, now you don’t want to fail, but is the same level of risk-taking going to be rewarded? The skills that helped get you to this level may or may not begin to change. You can’t be too different from your peers, yet one doesn’t want to become a clone either."
In a clear example of mentoring – although not giving credit to herself for it, Ms. Rosput said she once spoke to the Association of Blacks in Energy. A young man asked her about the importance of playing golf to fit in even though he didn’t particularly like golf. Paula’s response: " Playing golf or not shouldn’t be an issue in career advancement. Work should be about business and not about making everyone have the same interests in order to be successful."
This ideology – and indeed every aspect of Paula Rosput’s leadership - seems very appropriate for the times. Inclusion, diversity, emotional investment, and restlessness – not your everyday leadership characteristics, but they certainly define this leader who happens to be a woman.