Smart Business Magazine, April 2017
46 Smart Business Cleveland April 2017 Dan Creekmur rose rapidly through the ranks of Columbia Gas of Ohio a natural gas subsidiary of NiSource Inc to become president at 35 and his youth is something he hears about again and again When Creekmur spoke at a January Columbus Chamber of Commerce event the topic came up immediately Its been an honor and a privilege It really has Ive had a number of different challenges and opportunities at Columbia Gas that have prepared me for it he says I dont feel that its anything other than normal but everyone else views it as very interesting For instance when at a friends house not long ago someone asked Creekmur what he does for a living His typical response is I work for Columbia Gas But when pressed he admitted that hes the president The response he got Of the whole thing which is common certainly keeps him humble Columbia Gas has about 1100 employees and 14 million customers Two sides of the same coin for Columbia Gas Dan Creekmur Leadership and serviceacross the companys 61 county service territory Heres what Creekmur had to say about leadership service and more Leading people Creekmurs management style has shifted from being heavily results focused which is more of his innate personality to focus on people and culture He doesnt like to be micromanaged and wants authority autonomy and a challenge so thats how he treats others I think treating people like that builds culture where employees take initiative Creekmur says They are proud of the work they do They are proud to represent the organization and I think theyll go deeper for you and I think theyll show up differently if you give them that ability if you give them that freedom Freedom also means giving employees permission to keep their work and life balanced I tell my team all the time I dont care where youre at on a Monday morning at 8 a m I just dont care I dont think about it I dont ask the question I dont look for you Creekmur says If you need to be somewhere then thats where you need to be But freedom goes both ways Employees who are looking for more responsibility need to follow through he says If I ask you to do something do it the first time Creekmur says An ability to guide and inspire is also critical Emotional intelligence and self awareness are more important than technical expertise Columbia Gas recently held a workshop where executives discussed important leadership traits Creekmur says 65 or 70 percent of those traits centered on emotional intelligence In addition he believes in candor and transparency I think our organization knows sometimes to a fault Im very transparent and if you ask a question you will get an answer DAN CREEKMUR PRESIDENT COLUMBIA GAS OF OHIO FEATURE COLUMBIA GAS OF OHIO BY JAYNE GEST JGEST@ SBNONLINE COM SOCIAL MEDIA To find out more about Columbia Gas of Ohio like its Facebook page www facebook com ColumbiaGasOhio and follow on Twitter @ ColumbiaGasOhio
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