Stephen Bolt, P.E. (M) is the street superintendent for the City of Charlotte, NC, USA the 15th largest city in the United States.
I first met Stephen a few years ago at Southern District and LeadershipITE events. He is thoughtful, organized, passionate, and curious about our profession—skills that make for a great young leader. His interests and continuous learning in safety and how we can share information have helped him build a foundation for an advancing career trajectory. One of the ways he has used his passion and creativity to help people understand transportation engineering was by helping create a 20’x20’ graphic rollout floor mat (with signs!) to walk people through a roundabout. In just 10 years, he has advanced from an entry-level position at North Carolina Department of Transportation to leading a key department at the City of Charlotte, where he oversees 200 employees and a $25 million budget for 2,400 centerline miles of roadway.
Leadership comes naturally to Stephen, and he truly has found his place with the hard-working men and women of Street Maintenance. From being part of LeadershipITE, to participating in North Carolina Section’s executive committee as Secretary, ITE has been a resource in developing his leadership skills. Stephen has used his learning opportunities throughout his career and at ITE to be comfortable working in teams and earning respect, al built upon his knowledge of street resurfacing, sidewalk installation and repair, ADA requirements, and all other types of maintenance activities.
No job is too big or small for Stephen. He frequently jumps into action with his teams if they need an extra hand. Case in point, when crews were recently lamenting the fact that their equipment was not working properly after multiple trips to the shop, Stephen listened. He went to work repairing the cable of a dump truck. After a short time, he had the truck back in order and operational. Immediately following that repair, he dashed back into the office for a leadership team meeting.
A few of the leadership traits that Stephen exhibits daily include having unlimited energy and enthusiasm, a positive attitude, being forward-thinking, and self-aware of the delicate balance of being hands-on (leading by example) versus micro-managing. One must live them. I can personally attest that these are not always as easy as people assume. Having the awareness to sense when people feel that you will not just say no to them but hear their ideas before acting. It’s a commitment we make that allows people to follow comfortably with trust.
While the opportunity of having a chat with Stephen at the Joint ITE International and Southern District Annual Meeting and Exhibition in New Orleans, LA, USA will not happen this year, when we do gather in the future I am certain you will find him eager to share experiences and his passion for transportation with you. When you do get that opportunity, you might want to ask for some heavy equipment skills advice (as top finisher in the backhoe rodeo), or his interests in refurbishing old cars and the work-life balance of raising a family. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to have such discussions with Stephen and get to share the passion we both have for our profession. It’s an inherent belief that we can shape our communities through our bond in transportation.