During RTA Connect, Government Fleet spoke with key RTA leaders and consultants about what it takes to build resilient and forward-thinking fleet operations. The four-day event, held in Las Vegas, brought together fleet professionals to provide a forum to exchange strategies and explore solutions shaping modern fleet management. 

Much of the discussion focused on finding the right balance between people and technology in building stronger fleets. Drawing on years of experience across public and private fleets, each leader highlighted the need to stay adaptable and use collaboration to connect technology with daily operations.

How Evolving Leadership Strengthens Fleet Performance

When it comes to leadership, many experienced fleet professionals find that their approach evolves over time. For Marc Canton, head of product and consulting at RTA, that evolution has meant shifting focus from what people do to who they are.

Over the past decade, Canton said he’s learned that solving problems effectively starts with understanding people, not just processes. Earlier in his career, he focused on giving clients what they asked for. Now, he first looks at the team’s values, mindset, and culture before deciding what needs to be done. In his view, building the right culture—the “who” before the “what”—is what allows a fleet to truly succeed.

Canton explained that a fleet’s culture ultimately determines how well it performs. Without a foundation of shared values and accountability, motivation and consistency quickly break down. He recalled one instance when a skilled employee’s poor reliability disrupted team progress. Keeping that individual on the roster out of concern for short staffing, he admitted, “hurt me in the long run.”

After making the difficult decision to let the employee go, the overall performance of the team improved.

“Maybe I didn’t have another worker who did as much work as he did,” Canton said, adding that, as a team, they were stronger. 

That experience, he added, reshaped his understanding of leadership and reinforced his belief that success starts with people. And if he had to start a fleet tomorrow? Canton said he'd start by making sure he had the right individuals — those with the right values and mindset — before worrying about the rest.

Similarly, Scott Rood, who worked as the fleet manager for Washington State's Clark County Public Works before joining RTA as a consultant, also credited personal growth for shaping his leadership style. After leaving the military, he had to learn how to communicate more effectively with civilian teams. 

“When I first came out of the military, I was kind of rigid,” Rood said. However, over time, he learned to be “more understanding, and instead of barking orders, be more empathetic, and...communicate down at their level and speak in the language that they can understand.”

Chuck Cramer, another RTA consultant, emphasized focus and discipline as the foundation of strong leadership. Cramer, who was a fleet manager in the U.S. Air Force and Lynchburg, Virginia's director of fleet services, said fleet managers often try to take on too much at once rather than focusing on what matters most. 

“You have to stick to your plan,” he said. “Know your fleet, know your people, know your funding...Pick a few KPIs, stick to them, focus on them, get them right...focus on what’s in front of you while steadily planning.”

Technology, Data, and the Push Toward Better Decision-Making

As technology reshapes fleet operations, public sector leaders face a challenge that goes beyond adopting new tools; they must find the resources to use them effectively.

Canton said funding remains the most persistent obstacle. “Public sector fleets will continue to face, frankly, the same challenge that they have been facing,” he said. “Ultimately, it’ll be about replacement funding, just as it’s always been. Most public sector fleets simply don’t have the resources they need to fund many of the initiatives that they need.”

He added that this gap affects every aspect of operations. When assets aren’t replaced on time, it creates a negative ripple effect throughout the organization. 

Electric vehicles, Canton said, “only compound that issue” because they require even greater investment. “While I could pick out a couple of different issues, they all kind of roll up into a lack of resources that government will have, or the struggle to attain resources,” he said.

Cramer said the most effective way to navigate limited funding is through reliable data. Fleet leaders need to understand their costs and where they originate. 

“You have to know what you have,” he said. “You have to know your costs...pick a few metrics, the important ones, availability, PM, compliance. Everything we do comes with data, and you have to be able to make that available.”

Rood added that the growing use of telematics is helping agencies strengthen operations. Many fleets are setting up GPS and fleet information systems to improve visibility and performance tracking. 

“Telematics is playing a big part,” he said. “Fleet information systems are always key to running a good fleet operation.”

Training, Learning, and Continuous Improvement

Continuous learning remains essential for any fleet operation that wants to maintain performance and adapt to change. Training is not a single event but an ongoing process that helps teams stay capable and engaged as technology and expectations evolve.

Trainer Jesse Ostovich said the most effective training sessions rely on interaction rather than presentation.

“We like to keep everybody interactive in the class, so we always like to ask questions,” he said. Ostovich, who previously held the role of fleet manager for the city of Largo, Florida, encouraged fleets to use realistic scenarios during training to keep everyone engaged. 

He explained that using real-world examples encourages discussion, which in turn helps participants connect lessons to daily challenges and share ideas with their peers.

For Ostovich, measuring success requires more than post-session surveys. His team follows up with customers over time to see how training translates into daily performance, working closely with fleet success managers to track progress. Those follow-ups, he noted, give trainers a clearer picture of how well lessons are being applied and where additional guidance might be needed.

For public fleets, this approach highlights the importance of treating training as an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Just as Ostovich’s team tracks how lessons hold up in day-to-day work, fleet leaders can follow up with technicians, operators, and supervisors after training sessions to see what’s actually being applied in the field. 

That might mean reviewing work orders for improved efficiency, monitoring safety or maintenance KPIs, or checking in during shop meetings about what’s working and what’s not.

Customer Success Manager Nathan Schafer said balancing the needs of both new and experienced fleet professionals requires careful planning. 

“You've got the new people and the experienced ones,” he said. “So you really have to tailor the training roles to starting with the basics and repeating the basics, because even experienced people need to rely on the basics; then just continue building on those basics and getting more and more advanced.”

Schafer, who has more than 20 years of experience as a fleet manager, added that too many organizations treat training as a one-time task. When fleets don’t revisit or refresh instruction, employees start to lose touch with what their systems can do. “They'll train once when they get a new technology, and they never revisit training,” he said. “The technology changes. It gets better over the years, and they never revisit the training.”

Both Schafer and Ostovich emphasized that adapting to technology will define the next generation of fleet leaders. 

“The big one is adopting technology, or adapting to technology...learning about technology, whether it's about AI or learning how to use computers or learning how to use FMS, it's going to be very important,” Schafer said. “Technology is never going to go away.”

Balancing Collaboration and Training With Technology

What does it take for fleets to stay resilient as challenges grow more complex and resources remain tight? Rising costs and labor shortages continue to pressure operations, yet the ability to adapt remains a defining strength across the industry.

RTA CEO Josh Turley said the financial and logistical pressures tied to new technology have amplified long-standing challenges. Electrification, supply chain issues, and budget strain have left fleets struggling to stay current with vehicle replacement plans.

 “Now we're talking about increasing the investment because of how much more electric vehicles cost,” he said. “It stresses what's already a stressed system.”

He noted that the technician shortage adds another layer of strain, describing it as “a different supply chain” that will continue to test fleets. Despite these pressures, Turley expressed confidence in the industry’s ability to adapt. 

“I do worry about the fleet industry as a whole, but I know that we're super resilient,” he said. “Fleet managers just have a way. They figure things out, they find solutions, and I have a lot of belief that fleets are going to be able to get through that.”

He added that public sector fleets could benefit from adopting approaches long used in the private sector, particularly around innovation and training. 

“You see a lot of investment from private companies into tooling and training, and you don't necessarily see as much of that in the public sector,” he said. He encouraged agencies to push harder for access to modern tools and to make technology adoption a priority rather than a luxury.

Looking forward, Turley said technology providers and fleet managers will need to work more collaboratively to achieve lasting improvements. 

“One of the big things in order for technology providers and public fleet managers to really succeed going forward...is to shift the relationship from one where technology providers just give you a tech solution and turn it into a partnership for success,” he said.

Turley’s remarks capture the mindset many fleet leaders share: that real progress will depend on cooperation and a willingness to redefine success together. 

“We love throwing more technology at problems,” he said. “I think what we actually need is more thought leadership...and bringing in more of that expertise that helps you solve the real problem, instead of just throwing more technology and more tools at it.”