Do You Really Want to Be a Director? The Good, Bad, Ugly and the Real Tea

Wednesday, September 30 from 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM EST

Room 113AB

Session Type: 1-Hour Education Session

Topic(s):
Career Development, Communication, Hiring, Leadership and Personnel Management, Revenue Development

Description:
Stepping into a director’s role is more than a promotion — it’s a leap into a world of high expectations, political navigation, cultural awareness and great impact as you pour yourself into serving in your community. This session brings together three powerful leadership perspectives to answer a critical industry question: Do you really want to be a director, and are you ready for what comes with it? Together with three directors/superintendents, Nathan Fort, Jennifer Letourneau and Sheryl Ely, let’s examine the good (impact, influence, legacy), the bad (political pressure, financial constraints, personnel issues), and the ugly (burnout, public scrutiny, identity challenges and navigating leadership as someone with an otherized identity in challenging environments). Through their combined experiences, attendees will gain insight into how to lead with courage, compassion and competence, especially when the environment doesn’t always welcome change or difference. Through storytelling, interactive discussions, leadership style exercises and real-world scenarios, this session will help professionals evaluate their readiness for director-level leadership, develop their personal leadership identity and understand how to support their peers who hold or will hold the director’s seat.

Learning Objectives:

1. Attendees will explore and learn about the rewards, realities and challenges of leadership park and recreation directors and superintendents face and how these relate to various government sectors across varied areas.

2. Attendees will discuss political dynamics in the director’s seat related to various climates, populations, groups and other dynamics that can affect the position.

3. Attendees will gain tools and leadership approaches for success based on real-life perspectives and scenarios tied to various park and recreation positions.

Speaker(s):
Nathan Fort
Jennifer Letourneau
Sheryl Ely
Aaron Browning