Interpersonal competencies define effective conservation leadership

Abstract

Effective leadership is considered essential for conservation success, but there is currently not enough understanding of what conservation leaders are doing, and what they should be doing, in order to be effective. Other sectors, such as health, commerce, education, industry and the military have studied leadership for decades, and have a good knowledge of particular styles and suitable instruments for measuring leadership effectiveness. This study uses the perspectives of conservation professionals through interviews, a focus group and an online survey, to help develop a more comprehensive picture of the role of leaders, and leadership, within the discipline. The study concludes that competencies that relate to interpersonal leadership skills are key for effectiveness, particularly building trust amongst followers. However, leaders in conservation are not showing these to the same extent as they are showing more technical skills. Future conservation training schemes should incorporate these competencies to ensure leaders are effective. Greater understanding can help inform conservation professionals who wish to invest in leadership development schemes to improve effectiveness across conservation initiatives.

Psychological Knowledge Relevant to Leadership in Wildlife Conservation

“…Visioning is an acquired skill, yet training has limited effect (Frese, Beimel, & Schoenborn, 2003) and little impact on other leadership skills. Creating an inspirational vision was considered among the most important leadership competencies on two surveys of conservation professionals (Bruyere, 2015;Englefield et al, 2019). Straka et al (2018) emphasise the need to engage others including wider stakeholders in vision building in order to make this relevant.…”

“…Recently Englefield et al (2019) identified that many important leadership skills are still rarely encountered in the behaviour and actions of conservation leaders, including vision, building trust and enabling others. These studies illustrate the breadth of topics relevant to this review which still need to be better understood in the context of modern psychological knowledge of leadership.…”

Teachers’ Key Competencies for Innovative Teaching

“…Interpersonal competencies specifically include possessing the necessary human qualities, knowledge, abilities and skills related to processes and interpersonal relationships in teaching, possessing the ability to create trust and empathy towards colleagues and other individuals, creating positive interdependence and equal participation in work, ability to act by personal example with expressed propensity for individual and group responsibility (Englefield et al, 2019;Brundiers and Wiek, 2017;Gojkov, 2012). Certain authors (Jurčić, 2014;Vrkić-Dimić, 2013;Andevski and Arsenijević, 2012), see necessary for functioning in a system of digital education that is constantly changing and transforming.…”

A global register of competences for threatened species recovery practitioners: a comprehensive list of skills, knowledge and personal attributes required by practitioners working within threatened species recovery

“…Such an endeavour requires the identification and wide recognition of the competences required to deliver effective threatened species recovery (Englefield et al, 2019). Such recognition demonstrates that ensuring the future of the planet's biodiversity and life support systems is a complex, multi-skilled profession worthy of respect, recognition and support (Appleton, 2016).…”