Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, MIDDLESEX WATER CO
Lessons in Leadership: Gregory Sorensen and Dr. Dionne Ledford
In this edition of Lessons in Leadership, Steve Adubato talks with Gregory Sorensen, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, ...How is that impacting or is it impacting the work that you are doing at Middlesex Water? Greg Sorensen: I think it is starting to ...
About Gregory Sorensen
Gregory Sorensen, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Middlesex Water, appeared on the "Lessons in Leadership" program hosted by Steve Adubato. Sorensen described his role as overseeing water production and distribution infrastructure to provide safe, clean, reliable water, as well as planning for future infrastructure rehabilitation and meeting regulatory challenges. He stated that safety and security of premises and systems are also part of his responsibilities, and that he helps guide the organization strategically as part of the leadership team. In the interview, Sorensen discussed leadership qualities, saying the company looks for initiative, ownership, and inquisitiveness in leaders. He noted that giving and receiving feedback is difficult but depends on trust, and that when leaders stop learning they stop improving. Sorensen also said artificial intelligence is starting to impact Middlesex Water's work, such as analyzing historical water pressure data to optimize equipment placement. Separately, in October 2024, Sorensen was referenced in a WREX report about Congressman Eric Sorensen's effort to secure funding for clean drinking water infrastructure in Freeport, Illinois.
Transcript (21 segments)
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Steve Adubato0:03
Hi everyone. Steve Adubato. My colleague, Mary Gamba. This is Lessons in Leadership. Mary, who are we kicking off the show with today?
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Mary Gamba0:09
We are kicking off with Greg Sorensen, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Middlesex Water Company, but they're located in my hometown, home community in Middlesex County. I grew up in Fords, as you know, so this is near and dear to my heart. So it actually solidifies the fact that Fords does exist.
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Steve Adubato0:29
You are attempting to claim credit for Middlesex Water Company because of Fords?
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Mary Gamba0:35
I am. I used to walk to that water tower. When I lived in Fords, I would walk up toward that water tower, so it's just great. And in all seriousness, Greg is joining us to talk about what operational excellence looks like. What it means to lead an organization, especially in these challenging times where safety, customer service all need to be at the forefront. And how do you do that while being passionate, motivating those around you, and building up your team all at the same time.
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Steve Adubato1:02
And a whole bunch of stuff about water and water distribution and safety that people may not understand, but Greg has to live it every day as the Chief Operating Officer and Vice President at Middlesex Water Company. Check out that interview with Greg right now. Tell us exactly what Middlesex Water is as we put the website up.
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Gregory Sorensen1:24
Sure. Middlesex Water is a publicly traded water utility. We operate both in New Jersey as well as Delaware. We treat water. We produce the water, we distribute it to our customers throughout New Jersey and as well as in Delaware.
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Steve Adubato1:48
Question, because we recently met with Nadine Leslie, the CEO, yourself, and some other members of the team talking about leadership. We had an offline conversation. Let me ask you this: the role of a chief operating officer, describe what that is so people understand it. Because there are, we've interviewed some many COOs and then they see their role differently. How do you see yours as a leader?
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Gregory Sorensen2:09
Sure. You know, it's probably a couple different facets to my role. So, one, clearly I have the responsibility for Middlesex Water of ensuring that we have the right systems. So all that water production and distribution infrastructure that is in place, need to make sure from an engineering standpoint and an operating standpoint that that is there and in place for our customers to provide safe, clean, reliable water 24/7 365. So that is kind of today's job. Also, it's the planning for the future. Where do we need to be? What do we need to be rehabilitating from an infrastructure standpoint? What do we need to be anticipating? What's going on in the environment from a regulation standpoint, and how do we make sure that we rise to the occasion to meet new challenges? We also, as part of my responsibility, is around safety and security. So making sure that our premises, our systems, our facilities all meet all rules and regulations, but it's also designed to make sure that people who get in are supposed to get in and those people who are not supposed to don't. And then the other facet of the job really is also around not only just the core operations, engineering, security, but also as the overall leadership team, right? So helping guide, along with my fellow leaders on the leadership team, helping guide the organization. Whether that be from a customer service standpoint, whether that be from a financial standpoint, whether that be from an external relations standpoint, we all help each other out and we all help to do the strategic planning for the organization to help us move us into the future.
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Steve Adubato3:57
There's a lot there. Go ahead, Mary.
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Mary Gamba3:59
Greg, as you talk about the future, Steve and I often on Lessons in Leadership talk about that next generation, and so often we have that concern of are they going to be as passionate? Are they going to be as committed? What are you looking for when you're bringing in those new team members? How do you identify those with the most talent that are really gonna stick and buy into what you're doing? Talk a little bit about that.
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Gregory Sorensen4:22
Yeah, sure. And, you know, look, I happen to have a couple of kids, three kids, two of whom are in the workforce, that are part of that next generation of workforce. That next generation, hopefully, of future leaders. So I think that to categorize it as them not having the passion or the dedication I think is probably a misnomer. They have a lot of passion. A lot of dedication I think within themselves. And so it's just tapping into that and finding out what motivates them. What is key. I know when I think about what I look for in a leader, and whether that be someone who's, you know, 22, 28, 38, 48, 58, doesn't matter. What we look for are things like do they have initiative?
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Steve Adubato5:11
Greg, initiative to do what?
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Gregory Sorensen5:13
To do what? It can be various things. So initiative to move something forward. Initiative to take ownership and responsibility of a task, of a project on themselves. And to help move that forward, right? To do the things necessary to get a task accomplished, a project accomplished, et cetera. So I think that is that self intrinsic motivation that you look for, right? You don't have to be telling them what to do. They either know or they're asking. That probably is the second piece is inquisitive. I want somebody who's inquisitive and asks questions. That is a clear sign to me that that person no matter what role they're in, they are thinking. They're thinking about what they're supposed to be doing. They're thinking about how that relates to other parts of the organization, right? So those critical questions, and, gee, Steve. This is something right up your alley. Like asking questions and being inquisitive. It's what you do. That's what we need our workers to do regardless of what their position is in the organization. Regardless of what their tenure is within the organization. We want them to be thinking about things.
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Steve Adubato6:23
Let me also jump in here. I'm sorry for interrupting, Greg. But this is the other thing with young people or anyone else, but let's stay with younger people. A lot of preconceived ideas, a lot of misconceptions. However, I will say from my experience doing a significant amount of leadership coaching, communication coaching, receiving constructive feedback that is something other than, "You're amazing. You're terrific. Here's a trophy" or whatever. Hearing tough feedback that needs to be shared to help someone improve is hard for everyone. Do you believe it's disproportionately harder for younger people who have not heard much of it?
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Gregory Sorensen7:07
I don't know if I can make a blanket statement that says all younger people.
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Steve Adubato7:11
Okay. Well why is giving, why is receiving feedback so hard for so many?
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Gregory Sorensen7:14
I think maybe it comes in the how we deliver feedback, right? So I think as we look at our history and maybe how I grew up and I grew up in a house that had a military presence in it, right? The kind of command and control and the approach of, you know, "I say you do" is not the way the world works today. And so in giving that feedback, in talking to, whether it be younger generation or even those that are age-wise, the same as me, I think there are things that are important before that feedback is given, right? One is developing a relationship. And if you can develop a relationship and particularly one based upon trust-
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Steve Adubato7:53
That's right.
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Gregory Sorensen7:54
And you're giving that feedback that they might not want to hear emotionally necessarily, they know that it's coming from the right place. They know that it is truly constructive. It's not trying to put them down, it's trying to make them better, and that we're aligned in wanting you to do better. I think that's a big piece of it.
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Steve Adubato8:12
Huge. Mary, got a couple minutes left.
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Mary Gamba8:14
Definitely. And Greg, talk a little bit about artificial intelligence. And it is a huge AI, AI, it's everywhere. How is that impacting or is it impacting the work that you are doing at Middlesex Water?