What if “performance evaluations” weren’t a dreaded, once-a-year formality… but one of the best tools you have to build culture?

In this episode, Chris and Jeremy talk about a different way to look at performance evaluations—less as a grading system, and more as a structured, intentional check-in that helps you understand your people, clarify expectations, and keep the workplace ecosystem healthy.

They dig into why annual evals can create recency bias, and why real performance issues should be addressed in real time (not stored up for a “gotcha” conversation months later). They also talk about what makes a performance system work even when it’s informal: clarity on your “why,” a shared way to prioritize work, and regular check-ins that keep your finger on the pulse.

Chris shares the review questions he uses (and why), including:

• What energized you most this year—and what are you most looking forward to next?

• What could have been better, and how do we improve it?

• How would you describe our workplace culture? Has it changed?

• What exemplary work have you seen from coworkers that should be recognized?

• How did our work deliver on our mission?

• What do you want to do better going forward—and what resources do you need?

• How can I (as a leader) be a better resource to help you succeed?

• What challenges do you expect, and how can you preempt them?

A big theme here: culture isn’t built by policies and manuals. It’s built by creating the conditions where people can thrive—and then actually acting on the feedback you invite. Because if you ask for input and nothing changes, you don’t just waste time… you lose trust.

Chris also shares a simple leadership “ninja move” that works everywhere: secondhand compliments. When you pass along praise someone heard from someone else, it lands differently—and it reinforces the behavior you want to see repeated.

If you’re trying to build a high-performing team without building a fear-based workplace, this episode is for you.

Episodes referenced:

• Finding energy in the work you're wired for (discussion of Working Genius)
• The power of partnerships (eating elephants reference)
• Culture eats strategy (and elephants)
• SPF2 framework for effective recognition

About Parks and Restoration

Parks and Restoration is a podcast for park professionals, land stewards, and the people doing the often unseen work of caring for public lands and natural resources. We share stories, lessons, and practical ideas to help you lead well, build healthy workplace cultures, and create thriving systems—outdoors and at work.

Back in November, we invited the Parks and Restoration Next Level Leader Community to an exclusive meetup with Jessica DeAngelo, author of the new book The Wild Advantage: Why Your Brain on Nature is Your Boldest Business Move. With help from the community, the book hit bestseller status in multiple categories on Amazon.

Jessica doesn't have a parks or conservation background. She comes from the corporate world. Yet she discovered the undeniable value of time unplugged in nature and now has built an entire business around connecting business leaders with the very places that parks and conservation people like us strive to provide and protect everyday.

This meetup was both insightful and entertaining and we can't wait to see what's next for Jessica and her company, Hike to Become.

If you would like invites to future meetups with the community, simply sign up at www.ParksandRestoration.com.

Thanks for all you do and we'll chat again in 2026!

Are you trying to sell a plan… when what people really need is a vision?

In this episode, Chris and Jeremy dig into why vision—not strategy documents, timelines, or step-by-step plans—is what actually gets people to care, to say yes, and to get involved. Using examples from JFK’s moonshot and Teddy Roosevelt’s conservation legacy, they connect big, historic visions to very real, very local parks and conservation projects.

They share stories from Big Hollow and Hitchcock Nature Center to show how long-term visions survive leadership changes, funding gaps, and skeptics—and how those visions eventually attract donors, partners, and community champions who help turn ideas into reality.

Along the way, they unpack what makes a vision compelling in the first place. A strong vision pushes the edge of what feels possible, connects to who we want to be as a community, and is tangible enough that people can picture themselves in it. It doesn’t have to be perfectly planned, time-bound, or even fully realistic at the start—but it does have to be communicated relentlessly.

They also talk about the role of the leader as the storyteller, not the hero. “It’s not yours—it’s just your turn.” The real heroes are the landowners, donors, neighbors, and supporters who believe in the vision and help carry it forward. Celebrating small wins, resisting naysayers, and knowing when to launch the next vision are all part of keeping momentum alive.

If you’re leading a park, a conservation program, or any community-focused organization—and you’ve ever wondered why some projects seem to effortlessly attract support while others stall—this episode will change how you think about vision.

About Parks and Restoration:Parks and Restoration is a podcast for park, conservation, and outdoor recreation professionals who want to build stronger teams, healthier landscapes, and communities that care. Hosted by Chris Lee and Jeremy Yost, each episode shares real-world stories and practical leadership insights to help you become the next-level leader your organization, your community, and future generations need. Learn more at parksandrestoration.com.

Why do we cut cedars out of prairies? Why do we thin trees in forests and oak savannas? Why do we burn?

For many of us, the answers to those questions are fairly straightforward. But some people think about land management on a deeper level. They see thinning operations as managing the flow of energy in a system. Or they seek to understand the microclimate impacts from prescribed fire.

Some people focus on the "why" before the "what" and the "how" when it comes to working in conservation. My guest for this episode, Chad Graeve, is definitely one of those people.

Note: This episode was recorded and originally posted back in 2023 and has been downloaded more than any other episode to date.

Chad has spent three decades honing his "why" and in this conversation, we dive deep into the evolution of his philosophies regarding land stewardship, hiring practices, team building, balancing outdoor recreation with natural area management, and much more.

I left this conversation with a new way of looking at the lands I manage and it's reignited my passion for understanding the "why" behind our decisions as an organization, a theme you hear often in our newer episodes.

We'll be back with a brand new episode on December 16.

Change isn’t just hard—it’s biologically, psychologically, and culturally designed to be hard. In this episode, Chris and Jeremy break down why teams resist change, especially in legacy organizations like parks, conservation agencies, and natural resource departments.

Whether you’re rolling out digital campground registration or shifting from a mow-everything mentality to a pollinator-friendly rewilding approach, resistance is guaranteed. But it’s also manageable—if you know what’s driving it.

Drawing from behavioral science, real-world field examples, organizational leadership concepts, and another elephant analogy, this episode gives you a practical framework anyone can use to guide their team through change without burnout, frustration, or unnecessary conflict.

This isn’t about forcing people to change. It’s about guiding them through it—using clarity, psychology, and purpose.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The three types of resistance you’ll encounter in organizational change

• Why “loss aversion” makes change feel threatening

• How to spot emotional, cognitive, and cultural pushback in your team

• What rewilding and campground QR codes can teach us about real-world change

• Why change fails without clear purpose and storytelling

• How to reduce friction so the new behavior becomes the easy behavior

• Why celebrating early wins creates cultural momentum

• Ten practical tools you can use to lead teams through change

• Why identity—not logic—is often the real barrier

Download the free Change Leader’s Field Guide

A PDF summary with the three types of resistance and ten concrete strategies to lead your team through change.

Key Takeaways:

• People don’t resist change—they resist loss

• Confusion is one of the biggest sources of resistance

• Culture shifts when identity shifts

• Pilots and small wins build psychological safety

• Leaders guide change by reducing fear, increasing clarity, and reinforcing identity

• Change sticks when the conditions for growth are right
  

About Parks and Restoration

Parks and Restoration is a story-driven podcast for aspiring leaders who care about the outdoors and the organizations that protect it. From leadership lessons and workplace culture to ecology, fieldcraft, and community impact, each episode helps parks and natural resource professionals thrive in the work they love.

Are you still leading with the habits that got you promoted—or the ones that will actually move your team forward?

This week Chris and Jeremy unpack “What got you here won’t get you there” through an ecological lens. Just like trees drop their leaves to grow stronger roots, next-level leaders let go of mindsets that once worked but now hold their teams back. They share 10 practical mindset shifts to help you move from output to impact, from control to clarity, and from extraction to regeneration. They cover a lot, so grab the free PDF summary here.

Key takeaways

• Hustle → Balance: Model boundaries and build sustainable energy, don’t extract it.

• Me → Team: Your success scales when theirs does.

• Competition → Cooperation: Mature systems (and great orgs) run on partnership and win-win.

• Work → Culture: When the culture is healthy, results follow without you being the bottleneck.

• Tradition → Flexibility: Policies guide; leaders adapt (like shifting burn seasons for better outcomes).

• Control → Clarity & Trust: State leader’s intent—what “done” looks like—then empower execution.

• Correcting → Coaching: Develop people with questions, reps, and feedback, not just directives.

• Answers → Better Questions: Context matters; ask “Why do you ask?” before solving.

• Perfection → Progress: Ecosystems—and organizations—are never “done.” Ship, learn, iterate.

• Habit → Intentionality: Step back, scan for drift, and prune what no longer serves.

If you’re moving from individual contributor to leader (or leveling up as a leader), these shifts are the difference between a tired team and a thriving one. Listen in to trade short-term output for long-term impact—and walk away with tools you can use immediately.

About Parks & Restoration

Parks & Restoration is the show for parks and natural resource professionals who want to be better leaders for their organizations, communities, and the lands and waters they steward. Every other Tuesday, Chris Lee and Jeremy Yost share practical strategies—grounded in ecology and culture-building—to help you become the leader your team needs.

Join the Next Level Leadership community at parksandrestoration.com for bi-weekly insights, free tools like the Team Energy Audit, and invites to exclusive meetups.

Subscribe, leave a review, and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube by searching “Parks and Restoration Podcast.”

In this episode, Chris and Jeremy take a lesson from nature — and from beavers, specifically — to explore what happens when we try to do work we weren’t built for. Using Patrick Lencioni’s Six Types of Working Genius framework, they show how leaders and teams can align their work with their natural sources of energy to avoid burnout, boost motivation, and build more resilient teams.

Chris shares how this understanding reshaped how he leads his team at Des Moines County Conservation, while Jeremy offers examples from his fieldwork in western Iowa that show how simple awareness of “what fills your cup” can transform the way we approach our work.

Along the way, they reveal why:

• Beavers can’t not build dams — and what that means for you
• Sometimes we feel like squirrels doing beavers’ jobs (and vice versa)
• “Energy mapping” your team can help you assign work that fuels rather than drains
• Language frameworks like Working Genius help identify what gives energy vs. what depletes it
• Leaders should encourage their people to find and follow their “thing,” even when that means letting them go

If you’ve ever wondered why some parts of your job feel effortless while others leave you exhausted, this episode will give you the tools and language to start changing that — for yourself and your team.

Want to figure out where your energy is going — and where it’s getting blocked?

Go to www.ParksandRestoration.com to download our free Workplace Energy Audit to help you and your team identify what gives and drains energy at work.

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About Parks and Restoration

Better leaders. Better parks.

Parks and Restoration is THE show for current and rising leaders in the parks, conservation, and natural resource professions. Every two weeks, you get new episodes that explore key leadership concepts and how they apply to you and your team.

Great parks and healthy lands and waters are the products of strong leadership. We aim to help you become that leader.

Join the movement (and get the free Energy Audit download) at ⁠⁠www.ParksandRestoration.com⁠⁠

Sometimes, productivity doesn’t come from adding more—it comes from taking things away. In this episode, Chris and Jeremy explore the law of subtraction through lessons from oak trees, prairies, and leadership. A fascinating Tennessee study showed that fertilizing oak trees had no effect on acorn production, but thinning the stand by 50% boosted production by 65%. The takeaway? Productivity often increases when we remove competition and clutter.

From managing cedars in prairies to reducing meetings and programs in the workplace, the guys connect ecological energy management to the way we lead our teams. They share practical ways to apply subtraction—cutting busywork, saying no to non-mission-critical projects, and empowering others to do the same—so you and your team can focus on what truly matters.

• Do less to accomplish more.A 50% reduction in oak density produced a 65% increase in acorns. The same principle applies to our work and leadership.

• Manage energy by what you remove.Just as ecologists remove cedars to let sunlight reach native prairie plants, leaders can remove bureaucracy, busywork, and distractions to free up their people’s energy.

• Clarity through subtraction.Jim Collins’s Stop Doing List and Greg McKeown’s Essentialism both remind us that great organizations get clear on what not to do, freeing focus for the work that truly drives their mission.

• Nature and leadership run on the same rules.Whether thinning forests or cutting unproductive projects, subtraction creates the conditions for new growth and stronger ecosystems—natural or organizational.

“We always think productivity comes from adding more initiatives, more committees, more goals. But often, the real productivity gains come when we thin the stand.” — Chris Lee

“In the prairie, the plants you want are already there. You just have to remove what’s stifling them. The same goes for people.” — Jeremy Yost

“When leaders focus on subtraction, they free people up to do the work they were hired and inspired to do.” — Chris Lee

How you can apply these lessons:

• Get clear on the "WHY" Work with your team to determine what's truly important.

• Do a “timber cruise” of your priorities.Identify projects, meetings, and reports that drain energy without creating value or contribute to mission.

• Create a Stop-Doing List.For every new “to-do,” remove something that doesn’t advance your mission.

• Audit meetings and processes.Eliminate or consolidate recurring meetings with no clear outcomes.

• Empower people to say no.Build a culture where questioning nonessential work is encouraged and rewarded, not punished.

• Experiment.Try subtracting something for a quarter. You can always add it back—but you’ll likely discover you don’t need to.

Resources:

• Brooke et al. (2019): Effects of fertilization and thinning on acorn production in upland oak stands.

• Leidy Klotz – Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less

• Jim Collins – Good to Great

• Greg McKeown – Essentialism

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About Parks and Restoration

Better leaders. Better parks.

Parks and Restoration is THE show for current and rising leaders in the parks, conservation, and natural resource professions. Every two weeks, you get new episodes that explore key leadership concepts and how they apply to you and your team.

Great parks and healthy lands and waters are the products of strong leadership. We aim to help you become that leader.

Join the movement (and the email list) at ⁠www.ParksandRestoration.com⁠