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“It is human nature — we need to influence like we need to breathe.” “You cannot both alienate and influence at the same time.” I wish I could take credit for these pearls of wisdom, but mentors I sought out along my career journey passed them on to me. They came when I was ready to hear them and after my share of missteps.

Now that I have retired, I realize how God blessed me with such a fulfilling career. As park and recreation professionals, we all know how “fun” and rewarding it is. But it is also full of challenges. We want to contribute, and we want our contributions to influence. We want our voice to be heard, and we want to effect outcomes. We want to share our ideas and be respected as leaders in our own agencies.

Putting our profession in context gives us an anchor. We are both a social service and a business. We cannot lose our sense of mission but need to add to that a sense of accountability, transparency and fiscal responsibility. Build your credibility. Maximize what you are capable of by recognizing and appreciating partners — in health, in transportation, in planning and in other fields — and work to influence collective efforts to best serve our communities.

You may think that you need to wait for a promotion or a certain level of status to have enough power to influence, but real power is something that is earned, not given. The ability to influence is a valuable skill. Power is not a skill; it is the result of effectively using influence. Every day, you have an opportunity to influence others and find your real power.

If you alienate others, you give up your ability to influence. If you insist on being “right” and do not listen to learn the perspective of others, they will be too busy formulating their defense, fleeing or freezing to listen to you.

Words of Advice

With great appreciation, I took this advice from many of my colleagues throughout my career. Now it is time for me to give back.

• Listen to learn something new — not just to hear and not to match what you already know from the past.
• Give yourself permission to try new things and “trade up” for new understandings of what will bring more value.
• Create room for others to influence and open yourself to the influence of others.
• We are not perfect. When you make mistakes, learn from them. Encourage some risk taking.

I needed to hear these pearls of wisdom early and often. I put them to use daily. I challenge our next generation of park and recreation leaders to carry on courageously, with determination and sincerity, to develop their influence and find their power.

Chris Dropinski is former Senior Manager of Parks, Recreation and Libraries Practice at BerryDunn.