Excerpt
I began my career with the Forest Service in 1959. For 30 of my 31 years, I served in a leadership role. Fortunately, I enjoyed a number of successes, but I also had some failures. I acquired what leadership skills I have from several sources. Some came through the “school of hard knocks,” others came naturally, and still others I learned through formal management leadership training courses and from experts on the subject.
Not any one theory, philosophy, style, or concept of leadership fit me completely. Over the years, I realized that there is no magic “recipe” that allows one to become an effective leader. So over those years, I had to more or less “cut and fit” the complex leadership puzzle to see what would or would not work for me.
In recent years, I started jotting down some of the elements that I think are important components of successful leadership, not knowing exactly what I would ever do with such information. I wound up with quite a hodgepodge of leadership elements, some of which I had observed and/or heard from peers, supervisors, subordinates, and other leaders. A speaking request then forced …
Footnotes
George Roby, retired forest supervisor on the Angeles National Forest, is owner and manager of the Arrowhead International Wildlife Management Consulting firm, 2351 Bonnie Brae, Claremont, California 91711.
- Copyright 1991 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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