By Doug Beard, Senior Advisor, Rooted Waters Consulting
As I look back on 35 years of professional employment, I’ve started to think about the things in my nature that led to whatever successes I had.
Embracing Change
My career path was never preordained (see previous blog post), more a willingness to explore opportunities that seemed interesting at the time (well, the big move to Washington, DC was also a chance to get closer to my future wife). I’ve never been afraid of change; I always thought it was the one constant in life. Perhaps change is best summed up by one of my favorite big hair bands of the 1970’s:
“So if you're tired of the same old story, oh, turn some pages. I will be here when you are ready to roll with the changes". – REO Speedwagon
Change is an opportunity to learn something new, try something different, or see something unique. As I get older, I worry that my willingness to change will fade (but not to fear I’ve been learning AI and using it these days), but I think embracing change served me well through my career.
Building a Network
Creating a large network of friends and colleagues that I would rely on for a multitude of things (expertise, knowledge, friendship, guidance, advice and ideas!) was another important aspect of my career growth. I actually wrote a paper on how to create professional networks , so I don’t want to reiterate those points here. But critically, you have to be actively involved in a professional organization. You can’t just attend conferences – you need to give papers, organize symposiums, conduct continuing education classes, serve in organization leadership, etc. If you do that, you get to know people and build friendships, trust, and relationships beyond what you may consider traditional.
For me, the American Fisheries Society (AFS) was the scientific community that allowed me to grow into the future I was destined for. My move to USGS came from a connection I made through AFS. Through relationships built at AFS meetings,I became the President of the World Council of Fisheries Society and led the organization of the ninth World Fisheries Congress. On a personal note, I met my wife and best-man at AFS meetings. I can point to numerous experiences above and beyond what I could have ever imagined (including tea with the future King of England, more on that in another blog), all from my engagement with AFS.
Taking Risks
Networks are important, but only if you are also willing to take risks. Perhaps it was a misguided sense of confidence in my abilities or not being afraid of failing that led me to take many chances throughout my career. Multiple times I left permanent jobs for temporary positions, knowing the potential consequences. For example, I left a permanent fisheries biologist job in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for a temporary fisheries biologist job with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Why? I thought the WI DNR job was more interesting and I figured if I did a good job, eventually I would get hired permanently (I did, hopefully because I did a good job). Then I did it again. I left a permanent job with the WI DNR, for a temporary job with the United State Geological Survey (USGS).
My final leap of faith occurred about 8 years into my tenure at USGS, when I was asked to lead a climate adaptation science program. What did I know about climate adaptation? Very little, but the opportunity to learn something new was irresistible. And the bonus was I got to start from scratch. This was a new program, with no rules or previous commitments – things that fell right into my wheelhouse. So I made the leap, knowing I could always go back to fisheries if this didn’t work out. I spent 15+ years running the Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC) for the Department of the Interior, watching it grow from a five permanent employees, $9 million annual program to a 60+ permanent employees, $66 million program. I would consider that a success. Could the CASCs have failed? Certainly. But if they did, I figured I would pick up the pieces, learn from the failure, and move forward.
Listen First
My final advice is to listen first when entering a new environment. Probably based on my respect for experience and worry about my own abilities (imposter syndrome, more on that later). Kind of strange, really – I mean, I leapt at opportunities to take on new challenges, but once there I was reticent in my ability to be successful or impactful. When I would enter a new environment, it would often take me a year or so to be confident enough to enter fully into conversations. Didn’t mean I would not share some thoughts, but those thoughts I did share were infrequent and based on what I thought was impervious information. I think in the end, it allowed me to really gauge the environment I was in and to learn from others. That learning made me more effective at piecing together information from multiple sources to have better knowledge of how to move forward.
Final Thoughts
There are probably other characteristics that helped me be successful, but in the end not being afraid of change, willing to take risks, building and using a network, and listening first were probably the most impactful. With all that said, whatever success I had was based on the wonderful people I worked with over the years. Hopefully these thoughts help you to also be successful in your career.
Doug Beard retired in May 2025 after 15 years as the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Adaptation Science Center (National CASC). He is now a Senior Advisor with Rooted Waters Consulting LLC. Doug also continues to contribute his extensive expertise in fisheries biology and climate change through roles with the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis Working Group on Guidelines on Core Data for Climate-Resilient Inland Fisheries (GO FISH).
