Perfect Storm: Turning Hardships into Exciting Challenges

Leadership Quote of the Week

“The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action — an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development roadmap, a controversial marketing campaign — even as the rest of the world wonders why you’re not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special.                                  

Bill Taylor, from article “Do You Pass the Leadership Test?”

Responding to Challenges

When faced with challenges that seem overwhelming, Lolly Daskai, President of Lead From Within, reminds us that "what happens within us is at least as important as what happens to us." She offers five helpful strategies we can use when the challenges we encounter threaten  to become too much to handle.

1. Focus on the route, rather than the destination.

2. Focus on what you have, not what you lack.

3. Focus on what you can do, and not what you can't.

4. Focus on containing the challenge and not drowning in drama.

5. Focus on trusting yourself and not wavering within.

Leadership Quote of the Week

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”      W.B. Yeats

SlideShare

Occasionally I'm asked what web sites, blogs, etc. do I recommend as tools to help camp leaders grow both personally and professionally. One source I recommend is SlideShare. It is a web platform were people from a wide range of backgrounds upload presentations. While you always have to critically assess the quality of the content, I've found quite a few presentations that contain very helpful content.

The range of topics for presentations is very diverse. For instance here is the top content on SlideShare this week:

How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?
5 Ways to Work Smarter in Your Home Office
12 Awesome Content Marketing Ideas
The LinkedIn Guide to the Perfect #Workselfie
Infographics: The Good and Bad

While none of these relate specifically to my work as a camp leader, in each I've found interesting ideas. Some I'll adapt and use. Others just stimulate my thinking.

SlideShade does organize the presentations by topic (including leadership) and offers a search feature. You can also opt to receive e-mails from SlideShare with updates on content.

Great Starts & Great Endings

Research indicates that how we start and how we end training sessions is critical. The opening and closing of a training session impacts how well staff learn material, whether they will be able to recall it and if they will be able to apply it on the job.

An effective opening to a training session consists of three elements; an attention step,  a motivation and an overview. In the attention step we seek to engage the learner. A story, visual element, statistic, quote or activity could all be potential attention getters.

In the motivation we give staff a reason to listen. We answer the question "why is this important?" We help them understand why they will need this information to be successful at camp.

In the overview we outline what we'll be covering. As we take in information our brain is constantly trying to make connections and create structure. Giving students a road map of where the training is going helps learners mentally organize information.

At the conclusion of the training we reverse the process used in the opening. We start the closing with a summary of what we've covered. Remind staff members of what they've learned and how it fits together. After the summary offer a "remotivation." Reinforce for them the importance and applicability of what's been covered. Finish with something significant that wraps up the session.

Ten Leadership Theories in Five Minutes

The Myth of Multitasking

Many of us as leaders believe we're effective at "multitasking." The reality, however, is that our brains are just not physically wired to multitask. In reality what happens when we attempt to multitask is that our brain quickly shifts from task to task. This switching from task to task can lead to brain fatigue. It also reduces accuracy and productivity.

According to the Center for Brain Health attempting to multitask also causes the build up of the stress hormone cortisol. Over time the increase in cortisol can lead to:

- Decline in memory
- Increased brain cell death
- Decreased neuron activity
- Weakened immune system
- Poor cognitive functioning
- Greater brain atrophy

Leadership Quote of the Week

Tell me and I forget. 

Teach me and I remember. 

Involve me and I learn. 

Benjamin Franklin

Skill Practice... A Better Approach to Role Playing

Role playing has been a frequently used technique in summer camp staff training. Unfortunately, too often traditional role playing devolves into silliness and distraction that detracts from rather than facilitate learning. Fortunately there are ways to take traditional role playing and make it more effective.

In the world of corporate training role playing is known as skills practice. Just the change in the name implies something different. Instead of acting out parts in a imaginary situation, skill practice is just what the name implies, practice to learn a skill.

In skill practice participants are put in groups of three. One person will practice the skill, another will be the person being practiced on and the third will be the observer. The skill practice uses a predetermined scenario which helps keep participants focused on the topic.

Here's how the skill practice works:

1. Divide participants into groups.

2. Groups get and read aloud their scenario.

3. One participant practices the skill on another participant while the third observes.

4. The session is debriefed in the following order:
    - The participant practicing the skill evaluates their performance.
    - The person who was the subject of the practice gives feedback.
    - The observer gives feedback.

5. The roles are rotated and the process repeats itself.

Staff Training Goals

Note: As summer rapidly approaches many of us find ourselves preparing for staff training. Over the next two weeks we'll focus on staff training related topics on the Summer Camp Leadership blog.

Planning for staff training often that begins by pulling out last year's schedule, evaluating what worked and didn't work last summer and integrating in new ideas you've picked up at conferences, on the internet and from other sources.

Before you get too far along with planning staff training, it's important to spend some time thinking about the goals of your training. From my perspective staff training is about:

1. Teaching skills and how to use them in real camp situations. - This is the obvious how-to part of staff training. It's important to focus not just on the skill but on how the staff member transfers the skill from training into actual use at camp.

2. Helping staff learn and embrace the camp's staff culture. - You want to help staff to develop the attitudes and values that support who you are as a camp. If staff members don't believe in what you're doing all the skills in the world won't make a difference.

3. Acclimating staff to the camp environment. - Help staff adjust to the schedule, the environment (heat, rain, etc.) and the physical demands (walking, playing physical games, etc.) they'll face during camp.

4. Building staff community. - By the time staff training ends staff members should feel accepted, cared for, valued and have a sense of belonging. Not only is this important to their effectiveness as a staff member, it models what you expect them to do with campers.

5. Evaluating staff members. - Despite your best efforts, there occasionally are folks who end up at staff training that are not a good fit with your camp. They may decide camp isn't for them or you might decide they're not right for the position. It's better that this happen during training rather than when they're with campers.

When you plan staff training try to intentionally integrate all five of these goals into the training. When you teach a skill, focus on applying that skill in actual situations. Teach not just the how-to, but also teach why the skills are important and how they support the camp's culture. Make your training schedule resemble what staff will experience during camp. Do it outdoors, in all weather and physically move from place to place. Provide planned opportunities throughout staff training for staff to interact. Small group discussions, skill practices and other training activities help staff get to know one another. As staff training unfolds, have your leadership team continually assess how staff are doing and whether they can be effective once kids arrive.

Coaching in the Workplace

Inspiring Behavior Change

Karin Hurt in her Let's Grow Leaders blog recently shared an simple but effective process for inspiring behavior change. She recommends what she calls the INSPIRE method.

I - Initiate: Start the discussion in a respectful tone.

N - Notice: Be clear about what you observed.

S - Support: Give supporting evidence regarding your concern.

P - Provide: Offer suggestions to help the staff member improve.

I - Inquire: Ask questions to check for understanding.

R - Review: Have the staff member review what they have committed to doing.

E - Enforce: Follow through with reward or reprimand as appropriate.

Leadership Quote of the Week

“In the face of adversity, be grateful,  for such opportunities do not come by often.”              Buddha

Great Leadership Books

I love to read and the books I read the most are about leadership. I'm always looking for what's new and exciting in leadership thinking. Wally Bock from Three Star Leadership recently reminded me and his other readers that while there are many great new books on leadership, there are some classics that are as relevant today as when they were written. He suggest five timeless classics that while published 20+ years ago still offer great advice to today's leaders. They include:

The Fifth Disciple by Peter Senge

High Output Management by Andy Grove

Corporate Cultures by Terrance Deal and Allan Kennedy

Creativity in Business by Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers

The Abilene Paradox by Jerry Harvey

Performance Improvement Plans

Despite our best efforts in recruiting, training and supervising, all of us who serve in leadership roles will eventually have to deal with an employee that is performing poorly. One of the most effective ways of dealing with poor performance is to use a performance improvement plan. Often based on a 90 day time frame, these plans help the employee understand what changes need to be made and provide support in their effort to improve. Should improvement not occur, the plan provides a sound basis for termination or other disciplinary action.

Beth Armknecht Miller, CEO or Executive Velocity, suggests a six step approach to developing a performance improvement plan.

1. Don't ignore the facts. Be clear about what behavior is unacceptable.

2. Don't Act on Rumors. Get the facts before acting.

3. Develop an Objective Performance Plan. Set clear, measurable performance oriented objectives.

4. Set Clear Consequences. Make sure the staff member is clear on what happens if performance doesn't improve.

5. Follow Up Regularly. Check progress, offer help and provide correction regularly.

6. Coach with Consistency.  Be consistent in your standards and in confronting the staff member when they don't meet those standards.

Everyday Leadership