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by Bob Ditter
Dear Bob,
I am writing out of both excitement
and fear. I have been promoted to head counselor
of a boys' division at the coed camp I
have been working at for the past two summers
as a counselor. This will be my third summer
at this camp. I was a counselor for the first
two. My excitement has to do with the awesome
opportunity I've been given. I feel like
it is a huge vote of confidence in my performance
over the past two years. My fear is, "OMG!
Can I really do this job?"
I know this
is a big question, but, do you have any advice
for a first-time unit director?
Excited and Terrified
in the Woods
Dear ET,
Your e-mail is a refreshingly
honest expression of what a lot of first-time
(and veteran!) supervisors experience at camp.
Let me take the opportunity to respond by talking
about what I think quality supervision accomplishes
overall and then address some key skills and
practices that might help you get a handle on
this critical role at camp.
First, your sentiments — being
both excited and terrified — are the same
feelings I hear from head counselors, program
directors, area specialists, unit directors,
and division leaders at camps around the country.
I suspect the reason for this is that the skills
that got you and most mid-level "admin" staff
promoted in the first place — namely, being
good with kids and program — are not the
skills you will need to supervise children and
staff. Furthermore, very few camps provide any
training or skill development for supervisory
staff. It is a kind of "trial-by-fire" approach:
you get thrown into the job based on skills that
have nothing to do with supervising your peers
or providing feedback to frontline staff, and
then are expected to be as good in this role
as you were in your previous one. I see your
anxiety as a healthy response to the situation
in which you find yourself!
Critical Supervisory
Tasks
To help bring this job down to a manageable
size, let's look at the three critical
tasks supervising frontline staff accomplishes.
First, it provides oversight of campers, staff,
and the program, which you might think of as
quality control. Are campers getting to the activities
they signed up for? Are proper safety protocols
being followed in cabins, groups, and at activities?
Are campers being treated fairly and appropriately
by staff and one another? Is anyone — camper
or staff member — falling through the cracks?
In other words, are counselors and campers where
they are supposed to be, when they are supposed
to be, doing what they are supposed to be doing?
This is the first critical task you as a supervisor
must execute.
Second, you provide support to
campers and staff. That support may come in many
different forms. For example, you might have
co-counselors who need help working together.
Or, counselors who are struggling to fit a camper
into a group and who need ideas from you. Maybe
you need to contact the parent of a homesick
or physically aggressive camper for ideas about
how better to approach his or her child. Perhaps
a counselor new to camp needs help knowing what
to do on days off, while another needs help getting
organized while yet another needs some ideas
about how to keep the activity area fresh. You
might end up offering that support directly to
the staff or you may decide to intervene with
a particularly challenging youth, but support
is the name of the game.
The third critical task
of a good supervisor is the professional development
of your staff. This requires knowing how to give
critical feedback, both about what you like that
you have observed and what you don't like
that you have observed. Giving critical feedback,
especially about the performance of people who
may be your peers or who may even be older than
you, can be tricky. Most people avoid giving
this kind of feedback because they don't
feel skilled at it, they don't want to
anger or upset people who may be friends, and
they don't know how to do it in a way that
actually creates better results. No wonder you
have some misgivings about this great new opportunity
that's been dropped in your lap!
Stay Sharp!
When you take a long look at these three critical
tasks, you will need to be sharp in two very
different performance areas. First, you must
be super organized. You have to keep track of
schedules, camper birthdays, who's in camp,
out of camp, in what tournament, out on a hike,
missing from swimming, going to the health center
too much, not getting their meds, allergic to
peanuts, and on and on. Super supervisors are
super-organized!
Second, you will need to develop
great people skills and great practices with
people. The following techniques can help you
through the awkwardness of supervising peers:
Point out their skill, expertise, or experience
as a counselor. Remind them of the contribution
they make. Point out that your promotion does
not detract from their abilities.
Use the "two
hats" concept: "When we are together
as friends, we wear the hat of friendship; when
we are on the job, however, I have to wear my
supervisor's hat."
Define the nature
of true friendship: "I know as a friend
you would a) never compromise me or our friendship
by asking for special favors or special treatment;
b) I know you know that I cannot participate
in anything that would jeopardize my job; and
c) I know you know I need to be fair in my dealings
with all staff."
Ask for their help: "I
know I won't always be right or know all
the answers, so please help me out!"
Pledge
that you will talk to one another: "Let's
agree that if either of us has a problem with
the other that we will come and talk about it,
even if we only end up agreeing to disagree about
some things."
When it comes to making decisions
that affect your peers or friends, like enforcing
curfew or some other camp rule, remember that
while one of them may initially be angry when
you take a stand that is fair but not in his
or her favor, ultimately he/she will not respect
you if you wimp out. It takes courage to take
a stand for what is right, especially if it is
unpopular. Your true friends will understand
this. Make your staff aware of your expectations
as soon as possible. People can't hit a
target if they don't know what it looks
like. Paint that target clearly! Also, camp is
short! When you see good performance, tell people
about it and do so in specific terms! One of
the most frequent mistakes supervisors make is
they are not clear enough and specific enough
in giving feedback. You must state what you have
actually seen someone do and say, otherwise your
comments will have no credibility!
Addressing
Inadequate Performance
Likewise, when you observe
behavior or performance that is not up to your
expectations, you must address it immediately.
Early identification of problems is crucial at
camp since you only have a short period of time
to get it right! Too many supervisors wait too
long before addressing poor performance.
When
you do address inadequate performance, first
validate people when you can. Tell them you appreciate
their honest efforts (only if they are making
an honest effort!). Tell them you appreciate
the challenging kids they may have or that they
may be new and are still learning or that they
may be well-intentioned even if something they
did had a negative outcome. Point out what things
they may be doing well that you want them to
continue doing well! Then express your concern.
Your job is to help people be successful, not
to make them feel bad! Again, talk about what
you have actually seen and heard people do and
say. See if they see what you see. Make a plan,
brainstorm together, get help from other folks
at camp, and then follow up! One of the other
mistakes supervisors make is not following up
on a plan or coming back a day later to see how
things are going. If you do not follow up, the
people you supervise will think you are not taking
them seriously.
There is much more, but this
will get you started. If you are planning a conversation
with a staff member that you think might be sensitive
or challenging, write it out first and run it
by a colleague for feedback and pointers. Also,
it is more effective to tell people what you
want, rather than what you don't want.
One other tip is to channel the behavior of your
staff — turn a vice into a virtue if you
can. The rambunctious counselor who's keeping
his kids up too late might be a good leader for
special evening events or for organizing a special
tournament or other special event. So, good luck
and remember everything you will learn supervising
the performance of others will be life skills
that you will take with you wherever you go!
Originally published
in the 2008 July/August issue of Camping Magazine.
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