Andy Byford, TTC CEO, joins U of T Engineering students on campus for National Engineering Month (Photo courtesy Fang Su).
Although he doesn’t have an engineering degree and admits to being hopeless at constructing IKEA furniture, Andy Byford, head of Canada’s largest transit system, knows that engineers with savvy leadership skills are a force to be reckoned with.
“Engineering as a discipline is amazing,” say Byford, TTC CEO, who joined over 80 University of Toronto students on campus last week, “because [they] have to have an ability to think under pressure… think logically… see the bigger picture and be able to grapple with complex equations.”
Students with an engineering degree can aspire to the top career positions, Byford told students, but only if they “can combine the fantastic skillset engineers have with the softer skills.” He focused heavily on people management and customer service abilities.
Hosted by U of T’s Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (ILead) as part of National Engineering Month, Byford brought some of the TTC’s biggest challenges with him. In small groups, students debated solutions to popular transit topics, like: ‘Subways, streetcars or buses?’ to ‘How do you best allocate the TTC’s limited funding?’
They also engaged Byford through an informal question period, where they could ask questions about his leadership and experiences at the helm of the TTC. They also explored his rise through the ranks of transit authorities in the United Kingdom and Australia.
“I think where the [London] Tube, and definitely the TTC, went wrong in the past was there was an absolute focus on engineering and on the disciplines of engineering – so actually just looking at the way the machines worked, and not paying enough attention to the softer side.”
Working closely with Byford, the goal was to have students see beyond the technical specifics of running the TTC, and critically understand the many aspects of leadership in large, complex organizations.
“It wasn’t what I expected. He was really down to earth,“ said Master of Engineering student David King (CivE), who had a chance to share his recent research with Byford. King is using pedestrian microsimulation to examine how slight changes in pedestrian behaviour – like moving people to the back of a bus – can have greatly limit transit delays.
”You expect CEOs to have a stiff upper lip, but that’s not what you get with [Byford],” he said. “It’s a refreshing take, and I think it bodes well for a future vision for the TTC and our city.”
-RJ Taylor