Norman R Doll                                                                    
President Emeritus, Pieper Electric, Inc, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Topic: “Leading with Heart: Using a University Setting to Help Develop Level 5 Leaders”
Abstract: We are bombarded with daily news of yet another high level leader's incompetence and dishonesty all while accepting compensation that is unknown to the vast majority of us.  This phenomenon has to have an impact, not always positive, on our students, the future leaders of the engineering and construction industries.  In Jim Collins now famous research project and subsequent book, “Good to Great” his team unexpectedly found something they later termed Level 5 Leadership.  This definition includes traits that, because of their very nature are not easily recognized or publicized such as humility and a penchant to put the needs of their organizations ahead of their own.  This is a story about one public university's attempt to provide lasting positive impact to student's with a desire to lead.  While our research is incomplete we are finding some positive results and leads to an opportunity to rethinking leadership.  The presentation will focus on the following:  1. non-standard view of leadership, 2. a description of how and why Level 5 leaders lead the way they do, and 3. examples of formal education experiences that assist in developing Level 5 leaders.

Bio: Mr. Doll is a 1977 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, a registered Professional Engineer in Wisconsin, and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional.  Mr. Doll spent 26 years at Pieper Electric, Inc. an electrical and mechanical contractor in Wisconsin with 90 million dollars of annual sales.  He held positions of Construction Manager, Project Manager, Director, Vice President and President, a position he held for 12 years.  He lead a variety of significant projects and divisions including steel fabrication projects, underground electrical construction, industrial electrical projects, process instrumentation and control projects, underground and overhead line construction and a variety of overall general building and infrastructure construction.  His current position is President Emeritus after retiring from the business in February of 2009. In addition to consulting in the construction industry, he serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where he teaches and mentors students.  He also serves on the Civil and Environmental Engineering Visiting Committee as well as several charitable and community boards in Wisconsin.