{"id":186502,"date":"2019-02-01T13:05:38","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T21:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=186502"},"modified":"2023-08-28T14:41:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T21:41:33","slug":"the-geo-jargon-guide-to-gis-leadership","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/the-geo-jargon-guide-to-gis-leadership","title":{"rendered":"The Geo-Jargon Guide to GIS Leadership"},"author":1312,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10992],"tags":[280172,241,296052,11052],"arcnews_issues":[249682],"class_list":["post-186502","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-managing-gis","tag-geospatial","tag-gis","tag-managing","tag-urisa","arcnews_issues-winter-2013"],"acf":{"short_description":"What does it mean to be a leader in the GIS profession? It depends on who you ask.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

\"Managing GIS\"<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\nA column from members of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association<\/strong>\r\n\r\nBy Rachel Kornak, GISP, URISA's Vanguard Cabinet<\/strong>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":186512,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"What does it mean to be a leader in the GIS profession? It depends on who you ask. There are many ways to lead. One can lead in a tangible manner by overseeing a company, a project, or a team. Such leaders typically have positions with \"manager\" or \"director\" in their job title. To become this type of leader, you need to achieve a particular set of milestones related to education and experience.\r\n\r\nThought leadership is a harder concept to define. My favorite descriptions of thought leaders: \"individuals with the ability to aggregate followers around ideas to educate, influence, and inspire\" (Jeanine Moss) and \"the go-to person [who] journalists want to quote and companies want to hire\" (Social Strand Media).\r\n\r\nThought leadership has more to do with attitude than the number of years of experience, making it much more accessible for individuals at the beginning of their careers. You can be a thought leader if you are a student or intern, an entry-level employee, or a seasoned professional. There will always be people both ahead of and behind you. The key is to learn how to inspire others no matter where you are on the career ladder.\r\n\r\nMy own role models range from professionals with decades of experience to students taking their first GIS class. They may seem different on the surface, but they have quite a bit in common. They have a vision for the future and passionately pursue it. They generously commit their time, energy, and resources. They actively participate in knowledge exchanges. They go the extra mile to both identify and fill in gaps. Lastly, they both challenge others to think big and empower them to follow through."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":186522,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

How You Can Get Started<\/h3>\r\nThe pathway to becoming a GIS thought leader is cyclical. At the beginning, you may not consider yourself a member of the GIS community. For example, you may describe yourself as an environmental scientist instead of a GIS professional. Our field is complex in that many GIS professionals apply their technical knowledge in fields like energy production or health care. Once you identify yourself as a member of the GIS community, you need to recognize that you have an obligation to contribute to it. Next, you need to educate yourself about the existing \"infrastructure,\" like major players, best practices, professional organizations, and professional development resources. Then you can apply your own talent and skills to fill in gaps. You complete the cycle by inspiring others who don't currently participate to begin the cycle themselves.\r\n

The Geo-Jargon Guide<\/h3>\r\nHere are some tips to approaching geo-jargon:\r\n