I met Robert Bennett through my five years of work on behalf of environmental regulatory and operations industries for the natural gas sector at the American Gas Association. Robert credits his trade association membership years as a primary driver of his professional development. His trade association work was also a critical resource for him to engage in peer-to-peer learning, allowing for the advancement of environmental permitting, environmental compliance and audit best practices among a large cohort of professionals who were all implementing new environmental laws together for the first time, for electric power plant and natural gas distribution pipeline operations nationwide. Robert is a proud Texan, a mentor, a granddad, and an incredible chopper of vegetables (I have had the good fortune to cook with him).
Who is Robert?
Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, Texas Christian University 1977
Masters of Science degree in Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma in 1981.
38 years in a variety of environmental energy related positions at natural gas and power plants, retiring from Atmos Energy.
What is his Experience?
Robert Bennett personally oversaw environmental compliance beginning in a time when there were few such folk in this profession. His career saw the environmental field grow exponentially. He started his career in an electric utility as a Hydrologist in water rights and water resources. After 3 years he worked for a different subsidiary of the same company doing general environmental work in both electric generation and surface lignite mining. The last 15 years of his career were spent managing the environmental concerns of the natural gas transmission and distribution segment of Atmos Energy.
Career Skill Toolkit
-Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
-Ability to manage and mentor people, and promote them into higher ranking positions inside a team and into adjacent teams
-Knowledge of current local, state and federal environmental regulations for air, water, species, well
-Technical understanding of the business (for example natural gas transmission and distribution facilities)
-Ability to communicate regulatory requirements into language that can be understood by all personnel - translatability and transferability across multiple audiences with multiple backgrounds including legislators, regulators, technical, finance, executive stakeholders.
-Ability to build dozens of training programs required to maintain necessary environmental compliance and enforce change management and continued education and refresh of compliance frameworks.
-Abilities to prioritize company objectives for compliance in national-level conversations, including with advocacy organizations and standards-setting bodies that can translate new learnings into industry-wide best practices
Things Rob Talks About in this Episode:
The Great Adjudication of water rights in Texas (see here.)
The Clean Air Act: new territory and some trial-and-error for the power plant industry and regulators at the same time.
Working with mechanial engineers to run power and gas plants, but knowing things they do not: environmental science techniques and industrial hygiene, like working with hydric soils, wetlands, and civil engineering.
Regulatory engagement, people management and training, in-field work.
How he made me feel welcome as a peer and a mentee simultaneously when I became his go-to federal environmental regulatory liaison at age 25.
His time mentoring and growing people in his team and why asking questions of his generation is so important and valuable.
The skills you should have to do the kind of work Rob did.
Sound Bites:
Regulators and Regulated Parties Learning at the Same Time
Picking up the Phone
Getting Knee-to-Knee to Talk About the Best Way to Get Something Done
Being a Stellar Manager Means: Wanting Zero Credit for Anything Your Department Does
It is Difficult to Lose People who are Great, but Promoting them Out into Other Jobs is a Supreme Accomplishment because it means You gave Them Confidence to Grow
Gaps in Employment that Match the Booms and Busts in Energy Create Gaps in Mentors and Advisors for Newer Entrants into the Workforce.
Hybrid Mentoring & Peer Relationships: the Mentor Needs to be Willing to see a Young Professional as also a Peer and the Young Professional Needs to Feel Confident in Being a Peer.
A Young Professional can Thrive when Older Generations in the Workplace Actively Eliminate Imposter Syndrome, Inform and Affirm.
Episode 1: Robert Bennett, Environmental Manager at Texas Gas & Power Plants. Career Span,1978 - 2019.