Let's Talk Parks Podcast: Stories of Purpose-Driven Parks and Recreation Professionals

Marissa sat down with Corrine Daut, Recreation Coordinator at Raymore Parks and Recreation to discuss the challenges and advantages of hiring entry level staff...and sometimes their parents too.   

This episode came about when Marissa was reading through a thread on the Women in Parks and Recreation Facebook page. The discussion was about interviewing and hiring seasonal staff after their parents had involved themselves in the application process. Even as younger professionals ourselves, we can sometimes have biases against other generations and what comes with them when they apply as our support staff. Not all interactions with parents of our staff has to be negative. It can be to the benefit of the staff member as well as the district for parents to get involved in the hiring process. 

It's in our DNA to want more influence. Especially as Parks & Recreation professionals, we want our voice to be heard.  We want our share our ideas, relay insights from our patrons, and be respected as a leader in our agencies.  

Too often, we wait for a promotion or status to decide that we have *enough* power to influence.  But as Chris Dropinski points out in this week's episode, real power is something that is earned, not given. "Effective influencing is a skill and a very valuable one; power is not a skill, it is a result."  

This means that TODAY we each have an opportunity to influence others.  In fact, we influence all the time.  Everything we do can cause a chain reaction - just imagine the impact you've already made.

Knowing that you already have influence, the key now is to use it for good.  This week's episode is an in-depth conversation around how to influence without alienating others. Enjoy!  

Meet Chris Dropinski: Her current role as co-owner and Senior Principal at GreenPlay, spanning 20 years, builds on a strong foundation of 24 years of Parks and Recreation administration with nearly half of that as Director of the City of Boulder, Colorado, Parks and Recreation Department.  Armed with a teaching degree in addition to her P&R Administration degree, Chris has passionately helped move our profession forward, taking advantage of opportunities to serve in leadership and faculty positions ranging from non-profits and foundations, to the NRPA Rocky Mountain Revenue and Management School, and the National Association of Park Foundations.

As a Certified Parks and Recreation Executive, a fellow of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, and experienced consultant she continues to help organizations remain relevant in our ever-changing environment.  Living in Colorado with her husband Mike is extraordinary, and motherhood has been the joy of her life.

When you work in local government, you are bound to run into complaints and less-than-positive feedback. That's just part of the territory as a Parks and Recreation professional. But if you're someone who truly cares, It can be hard not to personalize their comments. In this episode, I go over 6 tips around how to overcome public complaints so that you can use them as motivation and learning experiences.

In this episode, Marissa and Becky discuss how we have found success in moving ideas forward in the field of Parks and Rec.  We talk about the barriers of red tape, the surprising pros and cons of it, and how to move past it.  We hope this episode is useful if you've been wanting to make progress on an idea or program, but haven't made traction.  Sometimes just changing your mindset can give you new energy and perspectives to keep going. 

It seems I've been getting more questions about being a consultant in the field, so in this episode I talk about why you might consider moving into a consultant role.  As a project consultant for GreenPlay LLC for the last five years, I feel very fortunate to work for a company that provides a great and supportive workplace culture. Although every role is different, I wanted to share my own personal experience so you can see if it might be a good fit for you. 

Today I want to talk about something that I think is really important, but I couldn't really find anyone talking about this at all. Its the idea that sometimes it's ok to be disengaged at work. As a supervisor, you never want your employees to disengage. But if you are a high achiever, intentionally disengaging can be a good thing. It can prevent you from burning out. It can prevent you from making irrational decisions.It can prevent you from resenting your job. 

Engagement has to do with how motivated you are at work. Apparently only 13% of employees are engaged.  When you are engaged, you are excited to come to work. You are full of ideas, of energy, of enthusiasm. You are moving your organization forward. You are making valuable contributions. You are aware of the big picture, and you are motivated every day to help get your organization to a better place.  

That means 87% of employees are disengaged. Many of our listeners are highly engaged employees. After all, they are listening to a podcast about the field. So knowing that you are usually really engaged, I want to recognize that we all have seasons of motivation, right? Some of us experience waves of energy and enthusiasm for our work on a weekly, monthly, or annual cycle. If you take time to notice your patterns, your moods, or your work output, you will find that it goes in cycles. You can't be ON all of the time. You are not a machine.  So knowing this, you can know that trying to be engaged ALL of the time is actually a recipe for burnout.

How many times over the last year have you gotten an urgent phone call or email that needed your attention right away?  Probably way more than you ever imagined.  We hope that as work relaxes into summer (or at least as things get a little more predictable), you have the chance to move out of the urgency that has been 2020.  Instead, in this episode, we talk about what it would look like to focus on what’s important rather than urgent.

Although *urgent* and *important* sound very similar, they reflect the difference between being reactive and being proactive.  Living in a constant state of reactivity causes more stress and can prevent you from reaching your important career and organizational goals.  Instead, by being proactive, you get to be more in control of your days.

We hope that this episode is a reset for those of you (AND US) that have been in a reactive mode the last year or so. Personally, I’m looking forward to returning to a state of clarity, where I can prioritize planning, professional development, goal setting, and making time for my family. - Becky

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