Help employees move to the top of your organization - Research Update

Parks & Recreation, August, 2002 by Julie Knapp, Daniel McLean

Many park and recreation organizations and professionals are looking for answers to a simple question: How do recreation professionals develop the skills that move them to the top of their organizations? After all, while it's well known that training and job challenge are crucial to developing park and recreation professionals, our knowledge of what experiences matter, why they matter and what people get out of them is scant.

Job-related experiences have long been a powerful source of learning for leaders in the field of parks and recreation. Approximately 70 percent of all development occurs through on-the-job experience, whereas training provides less than 10 percent of a manager's development (McCauley & Brutus, 1998). On-the-job experiences are a primary link to managerial learning, growth and change (Kolb, 1984). McCauley and Brutus (1998) suggest that managerial learning is an active process that is highly dependent on a manager's initiative, interpretation of situations, powers of observation and ability to reflect. Unfortunately, there are few times when leaders and professionals in our field are asked to revisit, reflect on and share significant work experiences.

What We Know About Career Development in Parks and Recreation

McCall, Lombardo and Morrison (1988) asked corporate professionals to identify three key events or experiences that affected their careers. Key events and experiences identified by the managers covered three categories: assignments, other people and hardships. In addition, the researchers identified types of developmental assignments that were essential to the managers' careers. These included first supervisory jobs, early work experiences, a change from a line job to a staff job, ability to handle projects and starting a task or project from scratch.

Knapp (2000) conducted a similar study among park and recreation leaders. She identified five categories of developmental career experiences: exposure to challenges, networking opportunities and involvement in professional organizations, building a sense of community, job assignments and interaction with mentors and bosses.

Exposure to Challenges

Challenge in the workplace means that there's a gap between what an individual can and needs to do to succeed in work situations (Wick, 1988). Lombardo and Eichinger (1989) suggest that various challenge components can be added to nearly all jobs. With the flattening of organizations and the increase in downsizing, cross-training and job enrichment for developmental purposes are likely to become necessities. Park and recreation leaders have indicated that work-related challenges take many forms (Knapp, 2000). Challenges may arise from interacting and working with new people, both from within and outside of the organization.

Influencing people and groups is also a challenging work-related task for park and recreation leaders. Similarly, building a team or task force, starting something from the ground up, or fixing or turning around a program (or team) that's in trouble can provide important developmental opportunities. Finally, relationships with exceptionally good or bad bosses were cited as relevant learning experiences. Most of these challenges occur naturally within the workplace, but they can also be experienced by adding specific assignments and duties to employees interested in furthering their careers.

Networking Opportunities and Involvement

Individuals are surrounded in an interpersonal network, and social psychologists have placed great importance on these relationships for learning and development (Storr, 1963). Networking is often referred to as developing and maintaining a system of professional contacts. The goal of a professional network is to build connections aimed at enriching one's career. Networking experiences may be the result of experiences related to events occurring within the professional's community, those occurring at state, regional or national professional conferences, or actions taken by others on behalf of the individual. Through networking, professionals have gained valuable input and advice from peers and mentors, and have built and maintained new professional relationships.

Within the field of parks and recreation, many networks are forged through involvement in professional organizations. These organizations represent the profession, serve as advocates for its services and improve the standards of those who practice and identify with the profession.

Building a Sense of Community

Owing to the nature of the public parks and recreation profession, leaders often partner and collaborate with other public service and community organizations. Professionals in the field identified intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction that came from giving back to the community or fulfilling personal values (Knapp, 2000). Parks and recreation professionals who are involved in their communities are usually required to build relationships with other organizations and agencies. Examples include joining community service groups, working with city officials and the school system, and seeking input and advice from citizens. Several of the park and recreation professionals interviewed for the authors' study identified their desire to give back to their communities, passion for the profession, positive feedback and a sense of accomplishment that helped build their attachment to their community (Knapp, 2000).