Sections of Chapter 6: Leadership in a Landscape of Change
- Leadership Excellence
- Conservation Leadership
- Developing Others
- Managing People
- Expanding the Leadership Horizon
The spectacular terrain, sparkling waters and diverse habitats that make up the National Wildlife Refuge System and support the nation’s treasured wildlife are borne of a rich and proud history. Bold and daring visionaries struck out to challenge the establishment of the time to create something better and greater than them. Teddy Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act to protect lands for conservation; Rachel Carson raised the collective awareness of a nation; and Aldo Leopold and his constantly evolving ideas gave birth to a land ethic that has become the cornerstone of our conservation ideals.
These leaders and others often took action that was not always accepted or supported, but they were people of great vision and conviction. Their actions and words have become central to the conservation legacy of North America. As the Service embraces a renewed vision for National Wildlife Refuge System, this legacy must be remembered and built upon to empower the actors of change in the conservation community to think beyond their current bounds.
At the heart of this vision is ensuring that national wildlife refuges remain a cornerstone of America’s conservation estate. Partners strategically addressing priority resource objectives can maintain functional landscapes that support robust fish and wildlife populations. As a leader in this endeavor, the Service must cultivate an organizational culture in which conservation professionals covet careers in the Refuge System because of its vision, excellence, and leadership.
The national treasure of the Refuge System faces an uncertain future. Society and landscapes are changing; threats to natural resources are escalating faster than the reaction time of restoration; federal budgets are declining; and pressures on employees are mounting. The challenges are so vast that it will take more than one iconic leader to overcome them; more than one Teddy Roosevelt, more than one Rachel Carson, more than one Aldo Leopold. Everyone must be a leader.
Every employee must embrace the courage and character of those iconic leaders of the past. Together as part of the Service and with partners, a new conservation legacy will be charted for the next generation. Individuals and organizations must remain visionary, dynamic, and accountable in order to meet the challenges ahead. In doing so, remember that change is the only constant.
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Managing people and developing leadership should include an investment in public speaking skills and negotiation training. In the words of Warren Buffet, the most important investment a person can make in thier own development as a leader is learning persuasive public speaking skills. Public speaking and use of the tools taught in Toastmasters International and other speaking clubs have never to my knowledge been offered at NCTC. This would be a very good course to include in refuge academy and advanced refuge management academy.
Leadership section: The single most important thing we can do is to recruit superior talent. Give leadership training to mediocre people and you get trained mediocrity. Train and mentor superior employees and you have remarkable leaders. I applaud and support leadership training, but such training is best viewed as a way to make effective leaders even more effective. The harder and more important part is hiring great people in the first place. We also need to be disciplined enough to not put the wrong people through leadership development training merely because they seek it.