Park Leaders Show : Park Ranger | National Park | State Park | Leadership

Park Rangers are great storytellers. Sean Smith, former National Park Ranger, used the storytelling gift to write a series of thrillers with a park ranger as the hero. In this episode of the Park Leaders Show, Sean talks about how his time as a ranger led to writing Unleashing Colter's Hell and Lost Cause. Sean tells us why he wrote these stories, and where the inspiration for the main character came from. Sean also explains how to transition from being a good story teller to being a good writer. I would be delighted if more rangers wrote. Whether it be books, or blogs, it would be good to see more rangers writing. I know there are some great ranger books out there, and a few ranger blogs. But we need more. Although no longer a ranger, Sean is a strong supporter of parks and recently gave a TEDx talk about why we should protect national parks. This Ted talk is how I discovered Sean. You can connect with Sean on his blog, Twitter, or Facebook Do you have a favorite park ranger book, or ranger blog? If so, reac

Phil Gaines, Director of South Carolina State Parks, returns to the Park Leaders Show to follow up on his first interview. In this second interview, Phil talks about the Ultimate Outside program. The Ultimate Outsider program turns visitors into insiders by getting them into all 47 State Parks in South Carolina. Phil Gaines knows once people get out to explore parks, they will make a connection. It is through connections that parks remain relevant in the lives of the citizens of the state. When a citizen has a connection to a park, they will protect it, promote it, and continue to visit. Phil also offers advice on how to keep your focus and remember why you work in parks, when times are tough or you work with a park manager you do not get along with. Just like connecting visitors to our parks, you need to reconnect with the reason why you work for parks. Get outside, do more of the parts of the job you love. As Phil says, "If you get paid in sunsets, and you are not taking in those sunsets, you are not gettin

When I began my career as a park ranger at Riverside State Park, Jack Hartt would often tell me how lucky he was to the park manager. He convinced me Riverside was the best park in Washington State. I believed him. I followed his lead and proclaimed there was not a better park in the state. Then, Jack became the manager of Deception Pass State Park. He began preaching that Deception Pass was the best park in the state. I almost felt insulted. Riverside was the best park, clearly. And Jack Hartt could no longer be trusted, I thought. Now, after talking to Phil Gaines, I understand what happened. Phil Gaines is the Director of South Carolina State Parks. Phil believes your park is the most important park. Phil explains how you become connected to your park by living and working, surrounded by the beauty. You become passionate about what is around you and believe your park is indeed the most important park. Phil may serve as a Director, but his heart is still in the field. He visits each State Park in South Caro

When you think of City Parks, what comes to mind? I imagine you don't think of 29,000 acres and 5,000 individual properties in a single City Park System. That is how much property New York city Parks is responsible for. In an environment that makes me think of skyscrapers and concrete, NYC Parks account for 14% of the city. Managing that much property surrounded by so many people is no easy task. Sarah Aucoin, Director of Urban Rangers with NYC Parks Sarah Aucoin is the Director of Urban Rangers for NYC Parks. She is responsible for the team of rangers who patrol and protect the 29,000 acres of parks throughout the city. In this episode of the Park Leaders Show, Sarah Aucoin discusses how she keeps her team unified with the challenge of having a big team spread out. Sarah also discusses how NYC Parks connects parks to citizens to foster an interest in nature. Urban parks and green space are important to generate interest in nature that will translate to care for bigger parks. Quite often, a connection to lo

December 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of John Muir. Muir passed away on December 24th, 1914. His last fight was to save the Hetch Hetchy valley. If you are not familiar with John Muir and the Hetch Hetchy Valley, I am going to spoil the story for you. The valley is under water. Flooded behind a dam to create a water reservoir for San Francisco. The Hetch Hetchy was reported to be as beautiful as Yosemite Valley. When speaking of Hetch Hetchy, John Muir said it was “a grand landscape garden. One of nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples.” Now, a century after the death of Jon Muir, the fight for Hetch Hetchy is going to come alive again. Robert Hanna is going to pick up the torch Muir carried to save the valley. Hanna reminds me of the water behind the dam. He is gentle, but can apply so much pressure he can move a mountain. Robert Hanna has shown once before what can happen when he applies pressure. California was going to solve budget problems by closing 70 state parks. Hanna ste

As a leader you have a responsibility to continue to get better. There is one area in particular though, where I think you need to improve and you may not have considered it. If you are a leader, you need to write great email. Email? Isn’t Park Leaders about parks? Yes, of course Park Leaders is about parks, but it is also about leadership. And if you are going to be a leader and have an impact, you need to get better at email. In fact, you need to write great email. Once you write great email, you are going to notice you are getting more done. You are going to notice you are getting better responses to the emails you send. And you are going to notice you do not need to spend as much time with email. It is easier than you think to write great email. You can write great email by focusing on three areas: Subject Line, Opening Sentence, and White Space. Subject Line: Consider the subject line as important as a headline for a newspaper. Inboxes get filled up quick. The first thing someone does when they open thei

Have you heard anyone suggest our country should bring back the Civilian Conservation Corps? I have. And I agree, it would be a good thing for our country. But the Conservation Corps never went away. It just looks different. Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President and CEO of The Corps Network, joins the Park Leaders Show to discuss the work of the Corps Programs. The Corps Network is the national voice and advocate for the Corps Programs across the country. In this episode, Mary Ellen explains the important work done by Corps Programs and the impact they have on youth. She also discusses the benefit of the projects done by the Corps. The Corps Network is the tie that holds the Corps Programs together from all the states together. The organization provides training, communication, and centralized leadership. They also offer an annual conference in Washington D.C. You can learn more about the conference here. If you are interested in the work of the original Civilian Conservation Corps, former Park Leaders Show guest, J

Park signs are an important piece of park management. Typically, a visitor interacts with signs more often than they do with park staff. The words on signs create an identity for the park. How many parks take the time to review signs to consider the identity they create through signs? For this episode, Mike Kim joins the Park Leaders Show to review park signs to talk about how to create great park signs. Mike Kim is a marketing consultant, professional copywriter, and brand strategist. He is also a Chief Marketing Officer for a multi-million dollar private company in the New York City area. In most parks, consideration is given to placement of signs and amount of signs, but how often do we consider the words we put on signs? Mike reviews three park signs and discuses, from a marketing perspective, the impact and perception of each signs. Along the way, he offers advice on how to create great signs. After reviewing park signs, we move to discuss other writing that can impact a park visitor. Mike also offers ti

This episode of the Park Leaders Show is a part two of sorts. My interview with Kelli English was so wonderful and long that I broke it into two parts. The first part of our conversation was about interpretation and storytelling. You can find it here. With the second half of our interview, Kelli talks about growing up in the south side of Chicago and how she ended up telling stories as an interpreter in Yellowstone National Park. She also discusses the different perspective she has being an African American interpreter. She is aware of the stories told in parks that can connect different communities to parks. Stories that are not mainstream can have a tremendous impact on the people who hear them. Communities of color are interested in hearing the same stories other visitors are interested in hearing, but they also want to hear stories about their history when it is present in the park. Kelli shares stories that may open your eyes to why parks have not always been open and welcoming to all people. Discriminat

Kelli English is the Chief of Interpretation for four National Park Units in the Bay Area of California, including John Muir National Historic Site. She has spent her career as a park ranger interpreting stories to park visitors. Now, she interprets to interpreters. She admits, even though her job leans towards administration, she still finds opportunities to tell a story to park visitors. Kelli grew up on the south side of Chicago and ended up telling stories in Yellowstone National Park. Her stellar interpretation earned accolades in 2005 when she was awarded the 2005 Outstanding New Interpreter award from the National Association of Interpretation. In this interview, Kelli discusses how to infuse your personality into the stories of your park and where to begin gathering stories if you are new to a park. Kelli also examines the differences in interpreting a wilderness park, like Yellowstone, compared to a historical park. It is through interpretation that we help visitors find a connection with the park. W

David Flores may not be who you would expect to pour his talent and research into outdoor recreation and conservation. Typically, someone who devotes their career to parks, recreation, or conservation grew up playing and exploring in the outdoors. David Flores did not recreation in parks and forests when he was a kid. Yet, he is now a research social scientist with the US Forest Service. How did that happen? As he graduated with a PHD, Flores was connected to the Forest Service through the Presidential Management Fellowship Program. Working for the Forest Service allowed David to continue to focus on research, and he found that appealing. Now, Flores realizes the power of spending time outdoors and the connection people have with the land. His research is focused on human dimension issues related to the land, such as urban planning, climate change, rural life, and ecological change. As part of his research, David meets people who make a living on the land and listens to their stories. In this interview, David

Bradley Fauteux is the Managing Director of Ontario Parks, and the first international guest of the Park Leaders Show. After a stint as a professional musician, Bradley began a career in Government and has become the ultimate generalist.  Fauteux had been working towards the job of Managing Director for ten years. He spent those years acquiring the skills he would need for the job and building a network of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to learn from. Fauteux is only the fourth person to serve as Managing Director of Ontario Parks. He is also the Chairman of the Canadian Parks Council. Fauteux discusses some of the programs Ontario Parks has had success with: Learn to Camp program helps first time campers learn the basics so they can enjoy the outdoors. Nine Thousand campers have  participated in the the program with 75% rate of return and 98% satisfaction rate. The Learn to Camp program won the Provincial Tourism Innovator of the Year Award. The Life Jacket Loaner program designed to prevent drowning

Recently, I was talking to a park manager who told me someone on his team was looking for mentoring opportunities. It got me thinking about mentors and how important a mentor was to my career, especially early when I was new to being a park ranger. I realize not everyone is fortunate enough to get a mentor early in their career, but listen, friend, you do not need to rely on a mentor. Not in the way you think you need a mentor. There are mentor opportunities all around. You don’t need to feel alone because you don’t have a mentor. There are five types of mentors available. Classic Mentors: A classic mentor is what you think of when you think of a mentor. It is a single person who invests in you and your development. I was lucky to have a classic mentor in Jack Hartt, who was the manager at the first park I worked at. Jack took the time to spend lunch breaks with me, go for walks in the park with me, and answer questions nearly whenever I had them. Academic Mentor: An academic mentor is someone who mentors you

Diversity has been a consistent topic on the Park Leaders Show. For this episode, three former guests of the show return to have a panel discussion about diversity. Teresa Baker (founder of African American National Parks Day), Jose Gonzalez (founder of Latino Outdoors) and John Griffith (crew supervisor with the California Conservation Corps) team up to form the first Park Leaders Panel. Together, they discuss why a gap exists between parks and communities of color, how one person can make a difference, and how we can connect urban youth to National Parks far away from their home. After listening to this panel discussion, if you have any questions for the panel members, please leave a comment here on the show notes page, and they will respond. John Griffith has become well known for his dancing videos on YouTube. Just for fun, below is  a video of John dancing: Dance Excerpt from the video "Wildlife: Our Low Maintenance Pets." (click to watch on YouTube)

Lee Cockerell returns to the Park Leaders Show to discuss customer service. Lee examines takes a deeper look at nine of the thirty-nine essential rules for delivering sensational service from his book The Customer Rules. In this episode, we discuss the following nine customer rules; Become an expert at creating experts. Treat customers the way you would treat your loved ones. Be a copycat. Fish where the fishermen ain't. Serve to WIN. Don't give the responsibility without the authority. Never, ever argue with a customer. Apologize like you really mean it. Don't try too hard.  

Two episodes of the Park Leaders Show have discussed the Conservation Corps.  Ray Bivens is a true Conservation Corps success story. Ray Bivens began his outdoor career with the Maryland Conservation Corps. That experience led him into a career in Parks and Recreation. At only 38 years old, Ray became the Director of Delaware State Parks. Ray has an entrepreneurial view of parks. He understands parks compete with other forms of recreation. In order to get visitors to a park, and entice them to return, you have to give them a reason. Make a park enjoyable, fun, and deliver a little WOW. He says Parks are in the "Forever Business" and believes if you can't get the business part of parks right, you can't get the stewardship part right either. Running parks properly allows you to fulfill your mission. Ray talks about the importance of making the most out of opportunities, his role of Director, balancing your career and family, and hiring new team members. As inspiration for up and coming leaders, Ray shares the S

Valerie Naylor is the recipient of the 2013 Stephen T. Mather Award for her steadfast leadership and persistent dedication to National Parks. Her persistent dedication has been put to the test against industrial pressure from the Bakken Oil Boom on the borders of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. For the past four years, managing this beautiful national park has been an exercise in relentless dedication to monitor the intrusion of industry towards the border of the park. Ranger Naylor has negotiated with oil companies to minimize intrusion on the border and view from within the park. After building a reputation for being relentless, respectful, and tenacious in protecting the park, Valerie is retiring from the National Park Service on October 31st. Ranger Naylor shares a story about the time Theodore Roosevelt spent in the Badlands of North Dakota, within what is now the National Park which holds his name. This story reminds us that every park is to someone what the Badlands were to Theodore Roosevelt. Each p

Personal accountability is the foundation of leadership. If you don't get personal accountability right, nothing else in leadership works as well as it should. This is why QBQ by John G. Miller is one of the most important leadership books I have read.  I read this book at lease once each year and have given more copies of this book away than any other book. QBQ stands for the Question Behind the Question. Asking the right questions will change your outlook and give you personal accountability for any situation. In this episode, John explains how asking the right questions can lead us to greater personal accountability and better leadership. Practicing QBQ principles will have a ripple effect in your leadership, productivity, and even your family life. If you have not read QBQ, consider doing so. You can buy it here. It will change your view on your job and the role you play. Jason Harrod provided the music for the Park Leaders Show.

Naomi Torres is included on Richard Rojas' short list of All Star Champions of change. When someone makes it onto a list like that, I know I want to talk to her. Naomi is the Superintendent of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. She began her career as in interpreter at Alcatraz and has spent her career with the National Park Service in the Bay Area of California. As the Superintendent of a trail which passes through property and jurisdictions outside of National Park Service property, Naomi has developed and maintained many healthy partnerships. Naomi also discusses the need for Parks to reach out to communities of color. If we don't reach out the communities, the faces seen working or recreating in our parks will not become more diverse.

As I talk to leaders and managers from parks, Disney came up more than once as a source parks could look to for best practices and new ideas on how to operate a park. I took the hint and brought Disney to the Park Leaders Show. Lee Cockerell is the former Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World. Lee was responsible for training 7,000 leaders at Walt Disney World. Imagine the challenge of training 7,000 leaders to carry the same mission and values out into the work force. Although retired, Lee still teaches at the Disney Institute and gives presentations all over the world. He is the author of Creating Magic and The Customer Rules. These books give a look at leadership and customer service from inside Disney. If you are serious about leadership and improving your culture, this is an important episode of the The Park Leaders Show. Lee discusses hiring, how the values of Disney are lived by thousands employees, and what it takes to be successful. If you are reading this in email click here t