Regarding Sen. Benton’s suitability to be county environmental director, The Columbian and many others are focused on a flawed assumption about the primary importance of certain technical skills needed for this position.
I’ve had a different experience in my 18 years of business, consulting on projects that were to drive significant organizational change. I observed that leadership skill and trust relationships (with leaders who hired the executive) are often more important and harder to find than technical skills.
One who is not a credentialed expert in a particular field just needs the aptitude to quickly assimilate the small amount of salient detail and filter out the rest — then lead and reach enterprise objectives.
Mark Engleman
VANCOUVER
