DISCOVERY 2000 SESSION REPORT

Session Code: L14r

Session Title: Leadership Beyond Park Boundaries

Session Leader(s): Brian O'Neill

Session Presenter(s): (none)

Session Recorder: Susan Garland

Session was characterized primarily by: dialogue

Summary of Dialogue or Presentations:

This conversation is not about the technical side of how we do work, but the leadership side that the National Park Service has or should and can have within communities and how the NPS can contribute and be an effective advocate for NPS values and ideas at the same time serving in the role of contributor and supporter of community goals and needs.

Major Points of Vision (in pursuit of Conference Goals):

If we accept that all individuals in the organization is a leader, and there is the need to provide leadership beyond traditional park boundaries then:

• Parks need to develop leadership roles or positions in communities and get to know the community and facilitate those goals as well as NPS goals where possible.
• Focus on “friendraising” not fundraising in an effort to create trust and confidence as well as relevance and meaning for park values within the community.
• Think about opportunities to create joint management efficiencies and collaboration and cooperate on issues where there is shared interest beyond park boundaries. This creates increased understanding, and strengthens the communication and understanding of all those involved.
• Working beyond park boundaries goes further than local communities in many cases.
• The need for NPS to provide leadership and connections in the community by spending time on “external issues” is not always understood in the broader NPS community. If it were, it would serve a dual purpose to encourage NPS staff to look at their own roles in the community as well as create an environment in the park that in order to accomplish “park” business, broader communities must be involved to be successful.
• Working with communities and contributing doesn’t always have to involved direct NPS dollars. There is a basic truth – every federal dollar spent is a lost opportunity for the community to invest in NPS ideas.
• Create a culture of thinking that leads to building friends in the greater community.
• Parks are about building communities.

Major Dissents or Cautions:

The National Park Service has one of the broadest sets of legislative authorities of any organization. There is very little that can’t be done that can be effectively anchored in an authority. What those authorities are and what expertise there is in the Service are not always well understood by field managers.

The NPS has been very cautious about its relations and working outside traditional boundaries.

Recommended Follow-Up Actions (to continue to develop the vision – not action steps to “implement” it):

Our own planning, internally, needs to be more inclusive of external groups to be more credible and expand the idea of NPS stewardship as a benefit and value to the community.

All NPS employees need to understand and see the work conducted with and by and for external communities is an integral part of their jobs.

In order to provide leadership beyond boundaries NPS should focus on – gaining trust, realizing common ground and searching for an alignment on common values.

Search for creative ways to participate and work with groups. Funding or providing money is not always the only thing, or the most important thing to bring to the table. Expertise, knowledge of other funding sources or assistance can be as important as direct funding.

Miscellaneous Notes:

Now may be a tremendous time and opportunity to develop an initiative that focuses on education – given the time and attention the subject is being given nationally.

Do not always need to create a new group. Identify existing groups and work with them because they are already interested in the issue and have created a forum.