Welcome to Defining Moments of Leadership, a podcast hosted by Marsha Acker. We’re joined today by guest Carrie Robinson to explore what it looks like to be vulnerable and brave in your leadership as you make space for open collaboration rather than following a scripted plan. Carrie is Director of The Office of Habitat Conservation at The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She is a lover of leadership development programs, a participant in NOAA’s Leadership Development Competencies Program and the National Conservation Leadership Institute Program.

The work of the Office of Habitat Conservation at NOAA focuses on natural resource management, habitat restoration and protection. The collaborative and on-the-ground nature of the work is what ultimately drew Carrie to the profession. She believes that leadership development is a lifelong journey of growth and learning, and recognizes that one’s real growth comes from challenging moments.

As is the case for many leaders, Carrie has found herself caught in the trap of believing she had to have all of the answers and solutions. The shift happened when she stepped into the Director position, and began to realize that how she showed up impacted the way her team showed up, too. She began showing up more vulnerable, open and less scripted, which led to more open conversations all around her. She maintains a thoughtful and purposeful approach to high stakes discussions. Since her shift, she has noticed her team having open, in person conversations together rather than separately.

Reflecting on her growth, Carrie is most proud that she now understands the importance of how she shows up to an interaction, rather than putting the blame on anybody else. She believes there is a time and a place for a closed system of leadership, but it doesn’t need to be everywhere all the time. To other leaders, Carrie recommends they carve out their own spaces for open systems. If you go about it in a thoughtful way, it will likely be a success. Despite her own growth as a leader, Carrie stresses that she still has so much more to learn. As the conversation wraps up, she shares a bit of feedback she recently received that impacted her perception. There is power in the sheer act of asking genuine questions. If a leader isn’t creating space for more dialogue and less monologue, we are capping our team’s potential.

Carrie’s Bio

Carrie Selberg Robinson works in natural resource management as the Director of the Office of Habitat Conservation at NOAA. She is a lover of leadership development programs participating in NOAA’s Leadership Development Competencies Program and the National Conservation Leadership Institute Program. She has a degree in Environmental Studies from Connecticut College and a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University.