12 - Organizational and Administrative Challenges and Innovations

Summary

The attributes and influencers that have allowed of the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) to exist and thrive for over five decades are described in this chapter. The chapter has two primary goals: (1) record lessons learned so other institutions wanting to establish or reinvigorate research organizations can glean ideas to help them avoid some of the pitfalls that will inevitably arise in their development, and (2) inform scientists, young and older, that when doing research using the systems ecology paradigm they do not work in organizational isolation. They stand on the shoulders of those who came before them and they depend on those around them to hold them up. Measures of success needed to be competitive, gain extramural funding support, and thrive are within organizational scientific leadership; teamwork; collaborative research; organizational pride; institutional and external influencer support; administrative functions sharing; and within-institution détente. A narrative by an organizational/industrial psychologist, who over a span of more than 25 years consulted with NREL staff on matters ranging from strategic planning and organizational management to interpersonal conflicts is presented. For developing organizations and existing organizations needing reinvigoration, ignoring his observations and insights about organizational behavior will be done at their own peril.