WHEN TECHNICAL SKILLS AREN’T ENOUGH: TRAINING FOR THE SOFTER SIDE OF COMMUNITY ACTION LEADERSHIP

It is common for professionals in technical and science-related careers to interact with colleagues and the general public frequently in their daily work. However, most do not receive any education or practice developing interpersonal skills. Thus, these professionals may struggle to create positive interactions, especially while in leadership roles or interacting with stakeholders or clientele. We worked with the Wildlife Services National Training Academy to develop and deliver a half-day training on leadership competencies including emotional intelligence, power and influence, and conflict management. This application brief describes the training, including learning activities implemented, and reports evaluative feedback from participants and the workshop developers and facilitator. Recommendations for implementing similar leadership development programming for technical audiences is included.