Not everyone is an all-star camp staff at the beginning. We need to help them get there!
As camp leaders, we’ve all been there.
We've all hired staff that are great on paper, but who just didn’t perform the way we thought they would.
However, just because they may not be starting out the way you hoped, doesn’t mean they cannot become the great camp leader you were hoping they would be.
To help them, and your whole team succeed, start by frontloading information to your staff. Use this time to ensure your expectations are clear right from the beginning. If your staff are not aware of what is expected of them, it’s on the Directors, not the staff!
By building trust in your staff, in particular, some of the challenging staff; you are able to connect with them so you can be truthful and address what needs to be addressed. As well, keep an eye on self-esteem levels. If you can identify when self-esteem is low, you can seize these moments to promote camp leadership and shape weaker staff to be leaders! When developing trust, there are 4 key concepts that can be used to help develop your staff:
Explain things clearly
Ask questions
Involve staff in decisions and discussions
Appreciate them for the work they do!
For more tips and tricks, have a listen!
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Leadership Training Best Practice
From Ruby:
Ruby's plea to Camp Directors of the world. Format your staff training schedule to how it looks during the summer. Do your best to make the timing match up as closely as you can so they start to understand what the camp day looks like. You can add as many details as you want, or keep detailed information in other places around camp, but do your staff this small service and it will make a huge difference!
Your Hosts:
Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tv
Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors