Psychological Knowledge Relevant to Leadership in Wildlife Conservation - Open Journal of Leadership

OJL > Vol.8 No.3, September 2019

Psychological Knowledge Relevant to Leadership in Wildlife Conservation ()

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Download as PDF (Size: 1181KB) PP. 114-141

DOI: 10.4236/ojl.2019.83007 726 Downloads 2,362 Views Citations

Author(s)

Simon A. Black

Affiliation(s)

Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.

ABSTRACT

This study aims to identify whether a published leadership framework recommended for conservation professionals aligns with knowledge established in the wealth of literature relating to the New Psychology of Leadership. Wildlife conservation involves the protection and recovery of endangered species, landscape protection or ecosystem reconstruction and is a sector in which leaders face complex systems of resource constraints, socio-political resistance and technical challenges. The literature on conservation leadership has grown in recent years but is rarely linked to an understanding of psychology. Studies have shown difficulties arising when a traditional power-based leadership approach is applied to conservation. Current psychological literature addressing leadership offers suitable alternatives to the traditional approach. This review identifies practical psychological research relating to competences including budgeting, planning, experimentation, training, governance and performance measurement as well as more obvious personal competences of interpersonal skills, vision, empowerment, cultural sensitivity. The findings from this review demonstrate that the most comprehensive current framework for conservation leadership appears valid in the light of contemporary psychological knowledge and is a robust guide which matches the context, constraints and challenges faced by leaders of wildlife conservation.

KEYWORDS

Conservation, Psychology, Systems Theory, Competence, Followership

Share and Cite:

Black, S. (2019) Psychological Knowledge Relevant to Leadership in Wildlife Conservation. Open Journal of Leadership, 8, 114-141. doi: 10.4236/ojl.2019.83007.

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