The Answers Within: Meet Michael Mucha

Michael Mucha with PRESERVE manager Rania Bashar out in the field!

Michael, PRESERVE’s Chair, brings his skills as an educator and facilitator in governance, infrastructure, climate mitigation/adaptation and leadership. On being inspired to start a PRESERVE community, Michael shares that “I have found that some of the best learning occurs when you are tackling the same tough challenges with others. There’s a feeling of solidarity in having to tackle something together which creates reassurance and allows for more creativity. Good things come out of that.”  

Michael likens his work in various professional associations—American Society of Engineers, various sustainability committees—to this important concept of people with similar interests coming together and working through solutions. What sets PRESERVE apart from those experiences, however, is the many pressures utilities are currently facing. With an ever-shifting political landscape, public fear over pollutants like PFAS, and rising rates, creative solutions are required for utilities. Creative solutions require collaboration. “PRESERVE allows us to focus on effectiveness and how to do things that are practical, reasonable, and doable,” says Michael. “We can work together to make a difference in terms of reducing cost and improving environmental performance.” 

Michael finds inspiration in practicing adaptive leadership, a strategy based on deep listening and deep learning to get to the root of the problem (further cultivated by our own Moonshot method). He’s excited to enact this practice with PRESERVE members. “For the people in the room, the answers are within. They have the answers, and we have to help them bring the answers out,” says Michael. “It’s about cultivating really good questions.” 

To achieve that environment, Michael has the following advice for PRESERVE members upon joining the community:  

1. Come in with a beginner’s mind. Come in with an open mind, willing to learn. It’s through learning from others that you can manifest the things you have and bring them out.  

2. Be in the moment. What you are working on right now is everything you should be working on. We will create the environment for that to happen, but you have to be present in the moment. 

3. Don't be afraid to share your stories and successes.  Part of this is being loud and proud about what you are doing. If you build off successes, there’s a lot more energy. 

“My overall career philosophy that took me decades to figure out,” Michael says, “is this: You can tackle anything if you do it together.”