#27 - Taking Action on Your Goals and How to be a Better Manager

01/09/23 • 32 min

We all need to make plans, but more importantly take action in implementing them!

This episode is not aimed to help you set goals, but instead it is focused on how to be a better manager. Whether you are a first line manager or a senior executive, we all need the tools to help us support ourselves and others.

If you're just starting out, you can download a copy of our Skills Wheel and Guidance Notes which will help you to make a start in recognising your areas of strength as well as those areas that could benefit from a little extra focus.

If you are new to 'managing' people then what support have you received to enable you to deliver the best results for your team, your company, and for you? Do you know what management style you need to use, when to use it, and why? Can you do so consistently? These are the questions that you need to ask yourself in how competent a manager you are and what action you may need to support you and others.

The Ecology Academy is developing a management training course for those new to, or soon to be, managing people. We recognise that management is not innate and needs to be developed over the entire duration of your time as an ecologist. This is not something you can learn after 1 day of training!

If you are interested in participating in our management training courses, then email us with an expression of interest to find out more at: [email protected].

The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms, just search for 'Ecology Academy'.

If you have any recommendations for a future podcast topic, or would like to appear on the show, please do get in touch at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

How to get in touch

You can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at [email protected]

Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy

Instagram: @ecology_academy

Twitter: @ecology_academy

We all need to make plans, but more importantly take action in implementing them!

If you are interested in participating in our management training courses, then email us with an expression of interest to find out more at: [email protected].

The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms, just search for 'Ecology Academy'.

If you have any recommendations for a future podcast topic, or would like to appear on the show, please do get in touch at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

How to get in touch

You can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at [email protected]

Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy

Instagram: @ecology_academy

Twitter: @ecology_academy

Previous Episode

#26 - What is Biodiversity Net Gain and the Biodiversity Metric? Interview with Dr Nick White, Natural England

During this episode, host Richard Dodd interviews Dr Nicholas White, Principal Adviser on Net Gain for Natural England, and discusses what skills we need as ecologists to help deliver Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). We get to hear Nick's insights into the Environment Act and the delivery of BNG, the newly updated biodiversity metric, standards, and guidance, as well as marine net gain!

Our Guest

Nick works across Government (at both a national and local level), and with developers, NGOs, and academia to advance policy, practice, and standards around net gain (including biodiversity, natural capital, and environmental net gain).

The current focus of Nick’s work is on biodiversity net gain legislation, the biodiversity metric, and biodiversity net gain standards and guidance, as well as working on the evolving approach to marine net gain.

As a non-ecologist, Nick is interested in how biodiversity and the natural environment can contribute towards wider social and economic benefits, and has a strong interest in green infrastructure, especially in relation to urban areas and its ability to enhance wider (grey) infrastructure resilience.
Nick enjoys engaging with different sectors and seeking opportunities to help secure the delivery of shared outcomes and has previously worked in the health, cultural, and charitable sectors.

This Episode

During the interview Richard and Nick discuss; how the biodiversity metric tool is not to be used as a decision-making tool, the need to bring ecologists on board at the earliest opportunity, the difference between a S106 Agreement and a Conservation Covenant, where to seek out training, and the advantages of on-site and off-site BNG delivery for developers.

We also talk about landowners offering land to help developers deliver BNG and the commercial incentives to doing so, the biodiversity off-set register, management plans, and monitoring.

This was a great discussion, and the Ecology Academy are very grateful to Nick for offering up his time to talk with us on the podcast.

The Ecology Academy will soon be launching our own Biodiversity Net Gain Fundamentals training course, so be sure to check that out if you would like to run through a case study on how to use the biodiversity metric.

The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms, just search for 'Ecology Academy'.

If you have any recommendations for a future podcast topic, or would like to appear on the show, please do get in touch at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you!

How to get in touch

You can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at [email protected]:

Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy

Instagram: @ecology_academy

Twitter: @ecology_academy

Next Episode

#28 - Exploitation of early career ecologists: Interview with Paul Whitby, Ecology Co-op

Career exploitation refers to situations in which an employer or work environment takes advantage of an employee for their own benefit, often at the expense of the employee's well-being and long-term career prospects. This can take many forms, such as paying employees less than they deserve, not providing adequate opportunities for growth and development, or assigning them work that is outside of their job description or skill set.

Furthermore, career exploitation can lead to feelings of burnout, job dissatisfaction, and a lack of motivation to continue working in a particular field. It can also limit an employee's future career opportunities by not providing the necessary skills and experience to advance to higher-level positions.

So how can early career ecologists, with maybe only a limited knowledge of the work of an ecological or environmental company identify the signs of exploitation, and if found what can they do about it?

Well, helping us to understand this topic is our guest today, Paul Whitby, Managing Director and Principal Ecologist at The Ecology Co-op.

How to avoid exploitation in ecological consultancy?

If you want to avoid exploitation in your career, and help create a better industry for other aspiring ecologists, here’s some suggestions for what you can do:

Understand what you value from your career. Why are you doing it? Depending on your reasons, are there any trade-offs you would be willing to make and to what threshold?
Do your research and due diligence. Do your online research, ask questions, or seek answers about the company or organisation you are looking to work for. Try talking to previous employees to make sure the role you’re considering will meet your expectations.
Create your own career opportunities. Don’t limit yourself to what you see advertised. Identify your goals and companies / organisations or people that could be a match, and reach out to them.
Report inaccurate advertising or mistreatment. If you’ve done your research and an experience doesn’t provide what was promised, this is exploitation. If a company, organisation, or individual is mistreating its employees, this is unacceptable and should be reported to the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM).

Our Guest:

Paul is a Chartered Ecologist with fourteen years’ experience working as an ecologist and environmental consultant. His career began in Cheshire working on a number of large projects including gas pipelines, waste recovery centres, Liquid Natural Gas installations, and other commercial developments. After a short spell working back in his hometown of Petworth, Paul set up Azure Ecology in 2009, a small independent ecological consultancy working with a network of sub-contractors across south east England.

Paul founded The Ecology Co-operation in March 2014 to replace Azure Ecology and accommodate the expanding team of ecologists. Paul has working experience with a wide variety of British terrestrial wildlife and has managed projects of all sizes including writing Ecological Impact Assessments (EcIA), working as an expert witness at planning enquiries, and completing 23 Farm Environment Plans as part of Higher Level Stewardship applications across seven different counties. He has survey licenses for bats, dormice, and great crested newts and has held a number of European Protected Species licenses.

Aside from ecology, Paul’s interests include rugby, vegetable gardening, free diving, and pretending to be good at DIY.

Team Leadership Training for Ecologists:

Also, why not join us on 16 March at 11:00am for a FREE 45-minute Discovery Webinar to find out more about 'Team Leadership Training for Ecologists' from our course partners.

Register your interest here: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/courses/discovery-webinar-team-leadership-training-for-ecologists

How to get in touch

You can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at [email protected]:

Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy

Instagram: @ecology_academy

Twitter: @ecology_academy