While Mia Silver was attending the Operations Academy Senior Management Program at the University of Maryland in 2013, her agency, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) was in the midst of a reorganization with a strong focus on elevating operations processes. 

“It was a hugely helpful experience. The Operations Academy helped give things a framework, and just stepping back and going through the process of using that framework helped me in almost everything I did at MDOT after I completed the courses,” she said. 

Learning the applications of a Capability Maturity Model framework in the context of her own agency’s reorganization helped Mia take part in a CMM assessment of operations at the statewide level and at a more local level within MDOT’s traffic operations center. They were able to do an independent CMM, including a self-evaluation that helped them see their areas of strength, as well as raise attention to gap areas. 

Those sessions turned out to be transformational for Mia as she moved forward, supporting her agency’s reorganization process equipped with new knowledge to enable people to come together and make the needed improvements to operations. 

“That information was really relevant and helpful for everything I did for the next six years, on statewide teams and in local groups,” she said. 

The perspective she gained at the Operations Academy covered the importance of a CMM. In a DOT, most of the emphasis is on design and construction cycles and capital projects, but what she learned in the Academy taught her how she could help elevate the operations side of the agency.

“Operations is under-recognized, and my personal estimation of the importance of operations got much higher looking at it through the lens of the Operations Academy,” she said. “A lot of MDOT employees took the courses after me, they pitched the idea of sending state police partners and other colleagues as we were working through changes in the reorg. There was a lot of restructuring for operations.”

Now, as she leads a traffic operations group at her new position as City Traffic Engineer of Santa Monica, she remembered an Operations Academy lecture on leadership in which the instructor had a framework that leaders could use as a guide to bring people around to discussing a topic, asking specific questions and allowing people to offer their contributions and insights. 

While still at MDOT, Mia used that tactic many times to address challenges such as improving reliability and mobility on freeways, reducing bottlenecks, etc. This method of problem solving was transformational, allowing people to understand all sides of the problem, and how to find solutions. And although it was just a one-hour session, Mia has continued to apply the tactic ever since. 

Having the tools to enable conversations is important, because much of what happens in the operations space is about finding ways to come together and accelerate the reach across the center line. 

“Even after 11 years, it’s all still pertinent, relevant and useful,” she said. “Every segment of the Operations Academy was enriching. Nothing should have been left out. I wish I could go back.”