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by Kathleen Trotter
I have been reflecting on the changes I have seen as a part of the
American Camp Association’s (ACA) National Standards Commission
(or Board as it was at one time) for nearly twelve years and also during
the four years on the ACA National Board of Directors during which time
the current governance structure and end statements were developed.
What a privilege — to be a part of this national organization — the
American Camp Association — intent on maintaining relevance and
delivering excellence
in a time of radical change in our society, our
economy, our organizational structures,
and our whole world.
Along with wonderful progress
has been struggle — not always talked about forthrightly,
but present, and either propelling or impeding
our cumulative efforts. We have put in place a
bold and focused vision, a detailed plan for achieving the vision, and
a commitment to outcomes that hold us accountable to the BHAG ("Big
Hairy Audacious Goal") — that
by 2020, the American Camp Association will be
able to tally the involvement of 20 million campers in a camp experience,
and will touch 20,000 participants in some way in this
organization. WOW!! How exciting is that!
I observed
within the National Standards Commission that our
momentum for being a part of the change picked
up with the addition of a "silent participant." One night, as our conversation
danced around a very sensitive issue, our staff person threw a stuffed
critter into our midst and yelled, "The MOOSE IS ON THE TABLE!"
Indeed,
a small stuffed moose stared at us, silently laying
bare the truths that we wanted to avoid, forcing us to name the conflicts,
to acknowledge the difficult choices, to deal with the reality of the
situation. It was a breakthrough. As we spoke honestly about all of
the ramifications of the issue — personal,
professional, economic, political — we were able to make a decision
that reflected a balanced understanding and a fair application of our
principles.
Randall Tobias, chairman emeritus of Eli Lilly and Company,
describes the keys to making change successfully
in his popular book called Put the Moose on the Table — Lessons
in Leadership From a CEO’s Journey Through Business Life.
He suggests . . . .
"Like a moose in the living room, some problems
are just plain hard to ignore. Try as we might
to keep them out of sight, they have a way of hanging
around, demanding to be addressed. The best thing
to do is confront them and look for a solution.
Those who fail to do so usually come to regret
that they didn't put the moose on the table."
In
his chapters, he elaborates on the following characteristics
and qualities in an organization, and especially
its leaders, that make it possible to deal squarely with difficult issues,
and therefore make change possible and positive:
- Leading by example
- Vision
- Successful
communication
- Mentoring
- Depth vs. breadth
- Openness
vs. secrecy
- Values and the bonds of reciprocity
- Deciding what business you're in
- Risk taking and risk
aversion
- Planning for succession
We have been led by, and asked
to embrace and practice, similar qualities.
And, I believe that this leadership is reflected
in just one part of the 20/20 puzzle — the accreditation and education
initiative. First of all, the initiative itself
is based on the following three things:
- The firm belief that a
high-quality accreditation program provides to
the camp community — both those who deliver and those who participate — the
edge in achieving the goal of "enriching lives,
changing the world."
- The observation that the format of our current
standards program has reached its limit in terms
of being able to respond to a complex world.
- The commitment that
the ACA-accreditation programs will always be
educational in nature, and therefore must include
education as a parallel function.
In response to these considerations,
ACA’s national board established the Accreditation and Education
Task Force with a charge to explore and propose
recommendations for the preferred future of accreditation and professional
development, with these desired outcomes:
- Increase the number of
camps participating in accreditation
programs.
- Increase the positive impact for campers and
their families.
- Increase
the value and
benefit of the professional
development process.
- Increase the program’s credibility
with external audiences.
- Develop an integrated,
comprehensive accreditation program including
standards, professional development, and promising
practices.
Two
years into the initiative, "the moose is on the
table" in terms of being honest that, while the
current standards have and do contribute to the
effectiveness and quality of the camp experience — and need to
remain in place as one aspect of an accreditation
program — they
fall short in many ways in light of the challenges
of the 20/20 Vision. These are the challenges that
must be met if accreditation
programs are to be a primary resource that gives
ACA camps the edge in the future . . . .
- The
current program is designed around prerequisites
and definitions that can and do exclude potential
camps and programs. If we hope to increase the
number of programs that benefit from accreditation,
we must increase our access to this opportunity.
- The current format works reasonably
well for health and safety standards but does
not fully accommodate standards related to quality
or process. Some of the most exciting and valuable
work accomplished by ACA in this decade is helping
camps develop and achieve outcomes. This entire
body of knowledge will not be reflected in the
current accreditation program unless it is designed
anew.
- The volume of standards in the current
program has reached a point of being unwieldy,
and certainly cannot be expanded. Yet, there
are new activities, new laws, new social issues
to be addressed all the time.
- For all of the
effort in standardizing the delivery process,
field reports reveal variation in the manner
in which standards are applied. This is difficult
in the first place with twenty-four local offices
and a national office responsible for operating
the same program. It is exacerbated by the need
to make changes on a regular basis to remain
current with societal issues and needs.
- The
development of standards is increasingly complex.
The accreditation process continues to adapt
to keep pace with changes in the camp industry,
expectations of the public, and the challenges
of operating a business in today’s highly regulated
society. ACA must reach out to the authoritative sources, provide
research-based reasoning, and be transparent as
it moves forward. It will take more than a group
of dedicated camp professionals and a full-time staff member to develop
a body of standards that truly gives this industry the edge.
- Our current
peer review/visit system is vulnerable to pressure
based on relationships.
- A system implemented
with books and paper score sheets is costly in
materials and time
and unnecessary in an age of
electronic communication.
- Even though the rhetoric
for nearly half century has been that accreditation
reflects "best practice,"
we hear often that local or organizational requirements
exceed the ACA standards. The current standards
are good and sound practices, but in many cases
reflect only minimal requirements. We confuse
standards, guidelines, and recommendations — using
these words to mean the same thing.
- We must
provide educational programs that keep camps
growing in every way, professionally as well
as in the delivery of services.
There!!
The moose is on the table!! But we need to actually
name the moose — the
name of this moose is "outgrown." The above list is not a criticism
of the current program or of those who have designed and implemented
it. I can attest to the diligent work that is continually done to achieve
the goal of excellence. We have, in fact, been
successful and we have outgrown ourselves.
The Accreditation and Education
Task Force is helping us grow into our new future.
Based on the initial exploration
of issues, the task force has asked the National
Standards Commission to work with the existing
program to streamline it as much as possible, maintaining
a focus on health and safety standards. In the
meantime, the task force will shift its focus to
the development of educational programs that combine
opportunities for continued professional growth
with the delivery of a quality camp experience,
likely resulting in new kinds of accreditation
opportunities as well. The challenging part of
this focus will be creating a plan or plans that
can be packaged, measured, and delivered in a cost
effective way (both for camp professionals and
for ACA).
The work of both of these bodies is designed
to provide camps the edge in achieving the 20/20
Vision, so that your camp will be a recipient of
an increasing number of the 20 million campers,
and you will invite your staff, your parents, your
neighboring camps to become part of the 20,000
participants served by ACA, because it provides unparalleled value to
all.
Originally published in the 2009 November/December
issue of Camping Magazine.
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