Number 2 in the Series
“Change agent” tells you almost nothing about whether someone can do the actual job.
Note: This is the second article in a four-part series from TransPro’s executive search practice on what transit Boards should complete before launching an executive search—the work that can determine whether a new leader simply fills a vacancy or changes an agency’s trajectory.
By TransPro Principal, John Lewis
In the last issue we made the case that a Board’s real work starts before the search with a shared definition of success. This time, a specific and more useful way to get there.
The status-quo-versus-change-agent and insider-versus-outsider framings are seductive because they’re easy to debate in a boardroom. But they’re proxies for a question Boards should ask directly: what specifically needs to be true about this agency in two years that isn’t true today, and what kind of leadership gets us there?
That reframe changes everything downstream. An agency facing a structural deficit needs different capabilities than one mid-construction on a capital project, which needs different capabilities than one rebuilding public trust after a hard year. “Change agent” or “insider” tells you almost nothing about whether a candidate can do any of those specific jobs.
Boards that anchor the search to the actual operating context, not to abstract leadership archetypes, end up with a much sharper, shorter list of what actually matters, and a far clearer read on the candidates in front of them. The debate stops being philosophical and starts being concrete, which is exactly where a Board wants to be before it makes a multi-year bet.
Labels like “change agent” are easy because they’re vague. The 24-month question is harder because it forces you and your Board to be specific. That’s exactly why it works better.
Try this question on your own board: what has to be true in two years that isn’t true today? If the answers don’t line up, that’s worth knowing before a search begins—not after.
TransPro’s Board Workshop helps transit Boards build alignment on agency direction and what real success looks like. It’s essential preparation for a CEO search, but it’s just as valuable for a board that simply wants to lead more cohesively through today’s challenges.
The best CEO searches start before the job description. When your Board is ready to do that work, contact John Lewis at john.lewis@transproconsulting.com to get started.
Media Contact: Natalie Cochran at natalie.cochran@transproconsulting.com
