The National Conservation Leadership Institute (NCLI) recently announced that it is accepting applications for its 10th cohort of future conservation leaders, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. The program trains upper and middle level managers how to address adaptive challenges, lead through change, and other critical leadership skills that are essential for the efficient and effective management of today's fish and wildlife agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and related industries. With the completion of this incoming class, NCLI will have trained almost 350 conservation leaders. Applications are due by April 30.

NCLI began as the brain child of a group of forward thinking conservationists (Lowell Baier, John Baughman, Rick Lemon, Bob Model, Max Peterson and Steve Williams, among others) that realized the retirement of the current workforce of "baby boomers" would generate a deficit of seasoned leadership that might approach 50 percent of all conservation leader positions. With natural promotional opportunities that come with the retirement of those leaders, the next level of policy makers and administrators would be tasked with guiding the future success of the conservation profession. Those up-and-coming conservation leaders would need quality leadership training in an extremely short time frame.

Enter the NCLI ? a program modeled on the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (and co-taught by some of the same faculty) that is designed to provide intensive, real world leadership training over a yearlong program. The program consists of provocative, hard-hitting education provided by key leaders, not only from the conservation arena, but also experts in adaptive leadership, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution. During a 2-week residency, followed by months of small group work, and culminating in a 4-day capstone course, NCLI fellows are exposed to a world class faculty that understand the role of creating battle-ready leaders in a compressed time frame.

To be considered as future NCLI cohorts, applicants must be nominated by their organization's chief executive officer or director. In addition, potential cohorts and their CEO/Director will identify a potential issue or challenge that the cohort will focus on as their individual project. Applicants must include a resume, recommendations from three additional individuals, and an essay outlining their reasons for applying to NCLI. Detailed application instructions can be found on the NCLI website.

Ten years is a magical number. We now have a decade of new leaders within the conservation community that not only have the NCLI experience, but also carry on the tradition of passing their new-found skills to others. Here are some other pertinent numbers:

• 9 NCLI Fellows currently or previously were state fish and wildlife directors.
• 216 NCLI Fellows are in leadership positions with state agencies.
• 48 NCLI Fellows are in leadership positions with federal agencies.
• 44 NCLI Fellows are in leadership positions with conservation NGOs.
• Most NCLI Fellows hold key conservation leadership positions.


 

These numbers tell the story that the vision of a few conservationists a decade ago is coming to fruition. Our profession will not experience the brain-drain deficit seen by many others, primarily due to the opportunities afforded by the NCLI and other leadership programs that have sprung up.

Conservation leadership training comes at a cost, however. NCLI is able to offer world-class training at a fraction of the price offered elsewhere through generous donations from state, federal, and NGO partners. But the organization still experiences annual struggles to make the next cohort of fellows financially feasible. Those who have experience with NCLI, directly or indirectly, agree that it is THE best leadership program for conservation available. NCLI is actively seeking additional sponsors and donors to continue to produce high caliber leaders for conservation. Donations can be made on the NCLI website. (jwg)