Week 3: Theories in Action

This week, I met with two natural resource technicians who worked for the VADCR, Ashlei and Dajawn. We were meeting to discuss wavyleaf basketgrass, an invasive species of grass that is plaguing Virginia and threatening to spread to other states. What was originally planned to be an hour-long meeting ended up being about three hours, because we started talking about how they got on their career paths and what their goals are for their positions. Both landed with the VADCR through Americorps, and have had several different positions before this one. What stuck out to me was how much they positively reflected on the connections they made and their goal of community outreach; it reminded me a lot about the behavioral theory of task and relational leadership. With each job they had, their boss obviously had them focus on some task, whether that be doing controlled burns, spraying herbicide on invasive plants, etc., but what left an impact on them and made them feel like their tasks lead to greater change was when they could make personal connections with those they worked with. Having a network helps later down the career path, but establishing bonds while doing these tasks helped them feel more supported and stimulated. Dajawn also mentioned how he was trying to establish community outreach programs, especially ones geared toward high school and college students- he didn’t just want people to get involved, but he really wanted to help people get introduced to environmental issues and spark some kind of passion.

We know that there are task-oriented leaders and relational leaders, and that the best leaders have aspects of both. I think that Dajawn and Ashlei were most impacted by their relational leaders, and it makes sense why- most people who work in the environmental field have a passion for the outdoors and conservation, and this passion is only amplified by the numerous looming threats of climate change. This sense of urgency acts as motivation for task completion, but also strengthens relations between leaders and followers because both realize how important environmental issues are. A task-oriented leader can get the job done, but a relational leader will inadvertently remind everyone why the work is so important.