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Susan Story of American Water: A Job Description Is Just the Start

“I’ve never gone into a job and looked at the job description and just said, ‘This is what I need to do.’ It’s about doing the job but also looking around for what’s not getting done that would bring value.”Credit...Earl Wilson/The New York Times

This interview with Susan Story, chief executive of American Water, the utility company, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.

Q. What are some early lessons you learned from your parents?

A. I grew up in rural Alabama. We didn’t have a lot of money. When I was really young, my mom and dad both worked in a cotton mill. Then my dad was a wastewater plant operator for nine years, and then he became a pipe fitter.

I learned from them that every person deserves respect, regardless of who they are or what they do. And no matter how bad things get, it’s about working hard and taking personal responsibility, because nobody owes you anything.

Those two things have had a huge impact on my life — no whining, no griping, pull yourself up by your bootstraps. And it’s not what happens to you; it’s how you react to it.

Were you in leadership roles early on?

I always wanted to be in the middle of everything. I was the senior class president in high school, and even though I had to work my way through college, I was still very involved in extracurricular activities and was president of different groups. I always loved being around people and getting stuff done.

What about early work experience after college? Lessons from those days?

When I graduated in 1981, I was a female engineer. I had really good grades, so I ended up with 17 job offers from all over the country. One thing I’ve done from the start is that I’ve never gone into a job and looked at the job description and just said, “This is what I need to do.” It’s about doing the job but also looking around for what’s not getting done that would bring value. When I would raise my hand, it was appreciated.

Another big lesson I learned early on is the importance of communication skills. Engineers aren’t universally known for having strong communication skills, but I loved English. I found that it’s one thing to know things and have ideas, and it’s another thing to be able to communicate them.

This was reinforced by a former C.E.O. of the Southern Company, Allen Franklin, who said, “The smartest people make things simple.” If you really want to win people’s hearts in complex organizations, you have to know how to communicate it in a way that people understand.

What else?

When I was younger, the people I worked with were often hesitant about giving women feedback. Maybe they figured we would break down and cry. I once walked into the office of an executive I worked for and said: “You owe it to me to tell me what I can get better at. I know I’m not great at everything. I need you to give me feedback.” I found that once I did that, it opened the floodgates, and they were willing to talk with me about what I should work on.

And now, as C.E.O., it’s especially important that I have people around me who can give me feedback — the kind of people who will come to me, close the door, and say, “You’re wrong, and you’re messing up.”

You became C.E.O. earlier this year. What steps have you taken in terms of setting the tone you want for the company’s culture?

I’ve been on the road and meeting with as many of our 6,600 employees as I can. I talk about the importance of safety and then it’s all Q. & A. At first, nobody says anything. Then I stand there and I say, “I’m not going to sit down until I get at least three questions.” Once one person raises their hand and asks a question, we end up talking for an hour, and there are a lot more than three questions. That approach also gets a laugh, and it helps people open up.

Listening on the front lines is one of the most important things I can do, and there is a story behind that. I remember when I was 12 years old, and my dad was a pipe fitter. He was working on a big project, and he came home shaking his head because he had an idea that could save his employer a huge amount of money, but his supervisor wouldn’t listen to him. And I remember thinking, “What a dumb supervisor.” That stayed with me. If you really want to know what’s going on, you get out there and you listen to folks on the front lines.

If you could ask only three questions before deciding whether to hire someone, what would they be?

The first would be, “Tell me why you want to work here.” Then, “What two to three things do you think you can accomplish in the first year?” And third, “If you were in charge of a project with about 15 people, none of whom report to you, how would you go about doing that?” You can get a lot from those three questions.

Any pet peeves?

Anyone in a position of power who embarrasses those in less powerful positions. I remember when my brother was in first grade and I was in second grade. My brother was small for his age and I was kind of big for my age. This third grader started bullying him, and I said, “Leave my brother alone.” The guy kept bullying him, and I punched him. Sometimes you can see bullying at the corporate level. That has to be stopped.

What advice do you give to students graduating from college?

Focus on doing the best job you can where you are. One thing I’ve done in my career is to never look at what the next job is going to be. I go in thinking this could be my last job, and I’m going to be the best I can at it. I’ve done that throughout my career.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section BU, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: The Job Description Is Just the Start. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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