Parks & Restoration

In this episode, I chat with Michael Leytem, leadership consultant, speaker, and author of the book, "Catching Leadership" which draws parallels between fishing and leadership. What's not to love about that? We discuss the often-overlooked importance of mindfulness and self-reflection for leaders. Michael discusses the value of embracing paradoxes in leadership, the wisdom from the Tao Te Ching, a...

Today the podcast goes international. Sean Stewart, currently based in Berlin, leverages the power of history and applies it to leadership development. He helps uncover the invaluable insights that have accompanied our shared human journey of triumphs and trials over the millennia. The insights he shares are both inspiring and entertaining. Since many parks departments have historic sites and hist...

Jessica DeAngelo helps corporate leaders and entrepreneurs develop clear and actionable business strategies using a powerful tool: the hiking trail. A self-proclaimed "hiking business strategist," Jessica uses time on the trail in her consulting business to help corporate clients gain clarity, improve insight, and connect with other team members. In this episode, we talk about how, and more import...

This is the final of five leadership-focused mini-episodes where I discuss the elements of my framework: The 5-P's of thriving organizations. This one is all about being proactive in the implementation of your Processes, and being willing to try things not fully knowing if they'll work. Being a leader is not something you are by title. Real leadership is something you DO. Unceasingly. Listen to th...

This is the fourth of five mini-episodes I will post focused on leadership and organizational culture. Through these episodes, I discuss my framework, the 5-P's of a Thriving Culture, that I present through my leadership speaking and consulting work. This one is all about process - the systems we need to put in place to put theory into action. If you're interested in learning more or digging deepe...

*There was a glitch in the original upload that cut the audio off at about 18 minutes. That's fixed now so you can now hear the whole episode. In Iowa's county conservation system, the name Dan Cohen is synonymous with leadership. During his 38 years in Buchanan County, he has served on many committees, including the one that put Iowa's Water and Land Legacy (IWiLL) amendment on the ballot in 2008...

This is the third of five mini-episodes I will post focused on leadership and organizational culture. Through these episodes, I discuss my framework, the 5-P's of a Thriving Culture, that I present through my leadership speaking and consulting work. This one is all about perspective and how we as leaders need to see the big picture (landscape view) and the small details (microclimate view) simulta...

As Iowa's leader of the Conservation Corps of Iowa & Minnesota, DeWitt Boyd leads an organization that employs young people in low-paying, term-based positions. Yet I have seen first hand how hard Conservation Corps employees work and the skills they bring to their various worksites. I wanted to find out how he did it, so I got him on the show to talk about it. If you need a temporary work cre...

What if more parks and conservation people ran for office? I've long thought that more outdoor-minded people need to be in office. But how do you even run for such a position? Turns out, I happen to know one of the members of my local city council would probably be willing to have a chat on the show to walk us through how to run and what it's like serving on a local council. This is that wide-rang...

This is the second of five (or more) mini-episodes I will post focused on leadership and organizational culture. Through these episodes, I will discuss my framework, the 5-P's of a Thriving Culture, that I present through my leadership speaking and consulting work. This one is all about Purpose and how connecting your people and organization to something bigger can be intrinsically motivating. If...

If you think technology won't influence the parks and conservation world, this episode will make you think otherwise. And if you think today's young people aren't planning to change to world, you haven't talked to this guy... Samuel Malkasian, a young tech entrepreneur in Des Moines, is developing AI systems that can make climbing walls safer and that can "see" in places without cameras. And he's...

This is the first of five (or more) mini-episodes I will post focused on leadership and organizational culture. Through these episodes, I will discuss my framework, the 5-P's of a Thriving Culture, that I present through my leadership speaking and consulting work. This one is all about People, and how for workplaces to thrive, people must be at the center. If you're interested in learning more or...

With the holiday season upon us, it's a perfect time to assess whether we are really getting JOY out of our lives. It's real easy to bogged down in the daily grind, the hustle of life, and the chasing of the things that society tells us to chase. But Lisa Even brings a perspective that I like, and it's this: we should pursue JOY like it's our job. What if we put the same priority on enjoying life...

For the last four weeks, I've had the benefit of having a 7-person Americorps NCCC team serving with my team at Des Moines County Conservation. Today, after the last-day lunch I treated them to, I sat down with a couple of the team members to discuss their experience with the program, best practices for managing a team, and the opportunities that national service programs such as Americorps offers...

In Harrison County, Iowa, less than an hour northeast of Omaha is the brand new Willow Lake Nature Center, now the headquarters of Harrison County Conservation and the showpiece for Willow Lake Recreation Area. In this episode, I talk with Conservation Director Scott Nelson about how such a big project came to be (it was 10 years in the making), and how he cultivated the relationships necessary to...

Emily Naylor has been deeply involved with County Conservation for the better part of a decade. Now that she's with Bolton & Menk, her job is specifically to help us as parks and conservation leaders serve our communities and achieve the dreams we have for our parks and landscapes. In this sponsored episode, I talk with Emily about what Bolton & Menk can do for us in the world of parks and...

Many of us in the parks and conservation world either have written, or will write grants at some point. I've been on both sides of the grant process - I've written many grants (some successfully, even!) and have served on grant scoring committees. Having just concluded a scoring process and with several grant deadlines coming up in the not-too-distant future, I took some time in this episode to sh...

Jody Maberry started the first podcast focused on developing park leaders way back in 2014. Now, nine years and almost 300 episodes of The Park Leaders Show later, he chats with me about how it all began and what he's learned from talking with so many great leaders from around the country. We discuss some of his favorite episodes and guests and how we as park and conservation leaders can adapt to...

At my department, a 33-year veteran employee just retired. Not only does it suck to lose a long-tenured employee, it really sucks because he played a big role in the culture of our department. As the leader of the organization, I find myself in the position of navigating this change with my team and thought I’d share with you one strategy I just used to get feedback from the crew and to take a pro...

This brand new nonprofit wild turkey conservation organization is investing heavily in research, collaboration, and ways of getting turkey science out to the hunting public. Turkeys for Tomorrow (TFT) officially began in February of 2021 with the goal of reversing declining wild turkey populations using research as the foundation of decision making. The organization is currently working with sever...

Michelle Wilson wants to change the way REAP Assemblies are held, but she needs our help doing it. Iowa's Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program has been around for over three decades and for as long as most of us can remember, the biannual REAP Assemblies have been done the same way. That's going to change this year. Hear what's changing, what's staying the same, and what the future h...

We've all seen the impact our parks and public lands have on the people in our communities. But how many people do those parks bring to the community from somewhere else? How many new residents chose to move to your community because those places existed? We also know how much our parks make in direct revenue. But what's the real economic impact to our community? To the state? In this episode, I t...

How do you take big ideas and turn them into community-impacting reality? These guys know. Confluence is the consulting firm that worked with the City of Burlington on a master planning process and then the ultra-inclusive destination playground project at the city's Dankwardt Park which was the topic of Episode 32. Confluence is a professional creative firm dedicated to bringing people, ideas, an...

The Outdoor Executive Dad podcast is now called Parks and Restoration. The content is largely going to stay the same, but I wanted to rebrand the show to make it more reflective of the content, and less about me as the host. I will also still personally maintain the Outdoor Executive Dad moniker and the OutdoorExecutiveDad.com website where you'll continue to find show notes and links from the var...

The term "inclusive" gets thrown around a lot in the outdoor recreation industry but what does "inclusive" play really mean? In the city of Burlington, Iowa, park leaders are showing us exactly what it means as they construct a $1.5 million destination playground that will be the most inclusive playground in the region. This playground goes well beyond just "accessible." It will give kids of varyi...