The impact that leaders have on others can determine the leadership output of their followers. How many times will you hear an influential person say, “it was because of [blank] that I am here right now,” or “I accomplished [XYZ] because of [this person/these people].”

I have always said that anyone can be a leader. It doesn’t matter if you are four or 94 — you can be a leader. It is not always about the correct choices a person makes that determines if they are a great leader, nor the amount of people who follow them. Not the money raised nor the money earned, but by the value given to others. It comes from the way that you make people feel that makes you a good leader.

Take a minute to think about the leaders who have impacted you. How did they make you feel about yourself? Did they make you more efficient, productive, assertive, or demanding? Was that the goal or the projected outcome? Hard work is important, but if you aren’t building into the people you work with or who work for you, you’ll constantly be looking for more people. Those people might not be the quality, hardworking, efficient people you need. Then what? It’s a vicious loop that is hard to get out of unless you are willing to be vulnerable, transparent, and start caring about the people.

Great leaders make people feel things:

• Seen and heard.
• Valued and appreciated.
• Respected and trusted.
• Confident and, above all, loved.

The best leaders in my life and career made me feel this way. When I felt these emotions, I felt unstoppable, more capable, and worthy. As an employee, or just a human, I was able to lead so much better when I felt this way. Using my own gifts and talents, having the ability to pour into someone else to make them feel the way I did; that is the magic. When people are appreciated and feel like they matter, they will always give more than they think is possible or expected.

Building Camp Leaders

Before we really dive into the trenches of summer, allow me to elaborate on some things I would do to get those great camp leaders all charged up for camp! If you have the opportunity with your leadership team now, work toward these three things: delegation, mentorship, and vexing persistence.

Delegation

Utilizing your returning (or incoming) leadership staff and delegating things can be a huge help to you and the team as a whole. This seems so obvious, but as leaders, we rarely ask for help when we need it. It could be a big project like drafting weekly communication templates, coming up with design concepts for camp swag, or finalizing camp training topics/facilitation. Delegating tasks or projects to your leadership gives them some responsibility and an increased level of buy-in. (Not to mention taking off your overflowing plate.)

You need staff buy-in at all levels of camp, but when true buy-in is shown by upper leadership, it trickles down to the rest of the camp staff as well. As a camp director you have ownership over your camp and all that it includes. If you can get upper leadership to understand and feel that level of responsibility, then you are no longer alone in your endless quest of staff buy-in.

Mentorship

While you are working so closely with your current and incoming leadership and non-leadership staff this spring, it is a great time to consider some opportunities for mentorship as well. Not just things like daily or weekly check-ins, but engaging in some deeper connection. If you aren’t already asking these questions in your interview or rehire process, getting this feedback out in the open before summer begins is key to building a mentor relationship.

Questions like, “How do you feel you were supported in your role and with your job expectations last summer?” “If you were director for one day, what are three things you could magically make appear or disappear?” “How did you provide support to your staff last summer when problems arose?” Then give them a timeline to answer the questions and make some time to review their answers together. The key word in that sentence is make, as in, leaders make time to mentor their staff to be successful.

Vexing Persistence

Lastly, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “why vexing persistence?” Well, sometimes that is the only way to break through! Whether that is hiring/recruiting, task completion, or getting approval for that one new thing to make camp awesome, being persistent and constant follow-up might just be the nudge that it needs. It could mean visiting random places like the gym or coffee shop to recruit prospective staff, or setting reminders every couple of days to check in on leadership staff to see how an assigned task is coming along. Being persistent could be the difference between complete success and utter failure.

This may all seem like a lot! Some camp directors have great systems in place to make operations go smoothly, and I also know that there are others out there that don’t. The weight and responsibility is heavy, and you don’t ever have to carry it alone. As cliche as that sounds, all of the above can help to bridge the gaps in your leadership pipeline (from camper to director) and put the foundation in place for future leader building.

Leaders build leaders.

This blog was written on behalf of ACA's Project Real Job, whose goal is to support camps in their efforts to recruit, hire, and retain staff.

Aaron Hack is a dedicated impact maker with aspirations of helping others reach their leadership potential as well as his own. He spent over 12 years in the Youth Development and Camping field with most of his time spent in the YMCA in Wisconsin. He attended and spoke at the Mid American Camping Conference. Aaron has a passion for leadership and teambuilding as well as providing insightful creativity and inspiration for all. He can be contacted at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.

Photo courtesy of Sherwood Forest Camp in St. Louis, Missouri.