Leadership and conservation effectiveness: finding a better way to lead

Conservation practitioners and academics have highlighted leadership as an important component for conservation programs, but the attributes of effective leaders are not yet clearly defined. We identify a leadership approach that enables a conservation organization to be more effective in achieving positive results. An analysis of successful and unsuccessful species conservation programs consistently reveals contrasting leadership approaches. Successful approaches resonate strongly with both the characteristics of species conservation and established leadership theory in mainstream management literature. We describe the practices identified in successful species conservation programs to provide the basis for a new understanding of conservation leadership using established management theory. The traits of a successful conservation leader include: an ability to share a clear, long-term vision; orientation toward “hands-on” management; an ability to switch thinking between the big picture and the detail; and a willingness to encourage learning, improvement, and receptiveness to alternative solutions. Activities in the conservation sector are typically influenced by factors beyond the control of managers. Conversely, a leadership approach is under managers’ direct control and has an impact on attainment of results. Effective leadership is one factor that should not be left to chance but should be considered seriously for its impact on achievement in biodiversity conservation

Use of a Business Excellence Model to Improve Conservation Programs

The current shortfall in effectiveness within conservation biology is illustrated by increasing interest in “evidence-based conservation,” whose proponents have identified the need to benchmark conservation initiatives against actions that lead to proven positive effects. The effectiveness of conservation policies, approaches, and evaluation is under increasing scrutiny, and in these areasmodels of excellence used in business could prove valuable. Typically, conservation programs require years of effort and involve rigorous long-term implementation processes. Successful balance of long-term efforts alongside the achievement of short-term goals is often compromised by management or budgetary constraints, a situation also common in commercial businesses. “Business excellence” is an approach many companies have used over the past 20 years to ensure continued success. Various business excellence evaluations have been promoted that include concepts that could be adapted and applied in conservation programs. We describe a conservation excellence model that shows how scientific processes and results can be aligned with financial and organizational measures of success. We applied the model to two well-documented species conservation programs. In the first, the Po’ouli program, several aspects of improvement were identified, such as more authority for decision making in the field and better integration of habitat management and population recovery processes. The second example, the black-footed ferret program, could have benefited from leadership effort to reduce bureaucracy and to encourage use of best-practice species recovery approaches. The conservation excellence model enables greater clarity in goal setting, more-effective identification of job roles within programs, better links between technical approaches and measures of biological success, and more-effective use of resources. The model could improve evaluation of a conservation program’s effectiveness and may be used to compare different programs, for example during reviews of project performance by sponsoring organizations