Superintendents group at Glacier National Park Photo: NPS

The Power of the Group
Across the country, National Park Service superintendents share many similar challenges: very busy days, much responsibility, high community profiles, complicated, often contentious issues, and often a sense of isolation at the top.

Since the NPS Superintendents’ Leadership Roundtable program began in 2001, four groups of 12 superintendents, along with some deputy and assistant superintendents, have come together for a four day initial program and continue to meet once a year. Convened by CSI and begun as a pilot among three NPS regions—Northeast, Intermountain, and Pacific West—the Roundtable is now a national program that has drawn comments like these from participants:

“If I only have money for one development opportunity—this is it!”

“It is the best learning experience that I have had since becoming a superintendent.”

“This is a great opportunity to connect with peers, discuss difficult issues, and build lasting support networks.”

Why has the program struck such a chord among park leaders?

“For me it was very freeing to be able to say, ‘I’ve got the same issues as everybody else,’ and to be able to ask, ‘how did you handle it?’” said Gayle Hazelwood, superintendent at National Capital Parks East. “It’s open and refreshing to be able to talk with your colleagues, in a very safe environment, about what your concerns are, or your perceived limitations. We all have elements of self-doubt; we get second-guessed a lot, and in this forum we can say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on.’ We have opportunities to learn new best practices, as well.”

Solving Problems and Building Leadership
The NPS Roundtable is facilitated by Dennis Duncan, who has extensive experience in leadership professional development and who plays a parallel role in the U.S. Forest Service’s Leadership Program. Virginia Farley, CSI director of leadership programs, notes that Duncan “offers a leadership framework including information on current research. Dennis has the ability to create a learning environment that skillfully blends presentation of leadership concepts, encouragement of participant inquiry, offering of professional counsel, and facilitation of meaningful dialogue.”

Superintendents group at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP Photo: Barbara Slaiby

The content is helpful—yet participants say that what they value most are the open discussions, building of mutual trust, and continuing relationships that the roundtables develop, along with the chance simply to reflect on their work.

“It gave me time to back away from being in the midst of the action, and to really think about what’s going on, where we’re going as a park, and how I might be able to effect change in a positive way. It’s hard to think and plan, because you are so busy doing,” said Sarah Craighead, superintendent of Saguaro National Park in Arizona.

Craighead took on the leadership post at Saguaro shortly after her group’s initial, multi-day roundtable session. She quickly found herself using some of the leadership development techniques she had learned from the program.

“Dennis suggested conducting a transition session with the park’s leadership staff,” she said. “We held a one-day session, and it was very productive. We got to know each other a little bit better, and talked about the individual goals of the members of the team and what motivated them.”

Within NPS, said Bill Laitner, superintendent of Olympic National Park, the roundtable program is unique: a professional development opportunity at the superintendent’s level that focuses both on building skills and on developing and supporting leadership.

He reflected, “Building this network is an important way of creating relationships with peers whom you can call and who will just listen to you, where you can be open and honest in your conversations.

“I think it’s really important that this continue over time,” Laitner said of the roundtable program and its ongoing groups. “It may be next year when the huge challenge occurs that will make or break your park area—and you’ll need this help. Twelve people working together with a trained facilitator can solve difficult problems; there’s a synergy that comes together that’s almost magic.

“I think you get much, much closer to the root causes of leadership challenges,” he added. “And we do that with a trained facilitator, who can dig or probe or push gently when needed. It’s all in the power of the group.”

(Above text by Doug Wilhelm)