Organizational excellence and leadership are inextricably linked. The latter begins with leaders who embrace change and new ideas, anticipate opportunities, remain transparent and take calculated risks in a way that efficiently achieves the mission while evolving towards new challenges and opportunities. The development of leaders is integral at all levels of the organization and is not limited by job series or grade level. All employees are entitled, and encouraged, to pursue such opportunities.

As the world’s premier scientifically based wildlife conservation agency, the Service has focused on technical credibility, and the agency will continue to be known in this way. The Service is a recognized leader in the use of habitat management techniques and tools, including the use of prescribed fire. Many talented employees emerge as leaders in biological planning, conservation design and modeling and monitoring. The Service must continue to support these scientific endeavors – they are the foundation to the agency’s adaptive conservation delivery activities.

Service leaders have always led from a foundation of integrity coupled with adherence to sound principles of land stewardship. The Service supports and encourages developmental opportunities such as details, shadow assignments and job swaps as methods to expand employees’ leadership horizons. Moreover, the Service recognizes that leadership development programs are integral to the organization, including for entry-level positions. Supervisors and managers should support individual development and create an environment that fosters self-motivation, high morale, continuous improvement and each employee’s contribution to the team.

Programs such as Stepping Up to Leadership (SUTL) and the Advanced Leadership Development Program (ALDP) have been excellent internal sources for leadership training, and they should continue to evolve as the demands and needs for leadership changes. Much the same can be said for the three-day Leadership Challenge Workshop offered at the National Conservation Training Center and at other Service locations around the country. Further, internal leadership training is not the sole source of development opportunities. A number of professional organizations, including, for example, The Wildlife Society’s Leadership Institute, offer courses and programs.

Recommendation: Encourage qualified employees to apply in greater numbers for leadership training and development programs. Also encourage employees to apply for the Department of the Interior’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.

Supervisors are encouraged to give all the support needed to ensure that the most qualified people do, indeed, apply for advancement and leadership training. The low number of applicants for such leadership training may well account for the small number of individuals with Refuge System field experience who hold the top leadership positions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior. While the Refuge System represents about 50 percent of the Service’s workforce and is the land base of the Service, it has far less representation on the leadership of the Service or the Department.

Recommendation: Develop executive leaders who can guide the work of a variety of specialists toward broad, landscape-level conservation goals.

The Service must also continue to embrace the need for leadership development as critical component of the organization’s philosophy. There are a number of identified pathways for employees to follow in their careers. However leaders must model the way and provide the necessary resources for leadership development, including encouraging employees to attend developmental programs, even when it is difficult for the organization or leader. Leaders must also become personally involved in employee development programs, serving as instructors, mentors and coaches.

In addition, the agency must foster an earnest culture through increased focus on leadership competencies. The Service has developed a model for identifying and developing a host of competencies in its employees and emerging leadership. Truly though, the conservation leader of the future is not the same as it was twenty years ago.

While some of the intangible values of leadership – honesty, integrity and trustworthiness – persist, there are other values leaders must unequivocally exhibit. Leaders must foster a positive work environment where calculated risks are encouraged, mistakes are used as developmental experiences, brainstorming and innovation are rewarded, learning is supported and employees are regularly recognized for their achievements. Leaders must put their employee’s concerns, work/life balance and developmental needs first. Thus, they recognize that mentoring and coaching is one of the best uses of their time. As being an effective leader can at times be difficult, leaders will need strength in conflict resolution, courage to risk potential failure and strong support from others as a result of their demonstrated performance. Tomorrow’s leaders will be more aware of their personal strengths and weaknesses, and they will model behaviors of continued self-discovery and improvement. In light of all this change, the Service should assure that the competencies developed in its employees and leaders reflect the needs of future conservation leaders.

Recommendation: Mandate the use of the Service’s Leadership Competency Development Model and the Leadership Pathways reports as part of all employee development planning and implementation.

Recommendation: Review the Service’s Leadership Competency Development Model and, if needed, supplement it to reflect additional priority competencies identified for future leaders of the Refuge System.

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