Beth Shelton, CEO of Greater Iowa Girl Scouts, wears many hats, more than you would think one would wear while running a non-profit. But when it comes to managing 70 counties of local girl scouts and 50+ employees (make it double in the summertime), Beth is responsible for everything from property management, animal care, water sports, insurance coverage, and more.

Beth’s experience in higher education changed her perspective, but when she found the Girl Scouts, she couldn’t have prepared herself for the rollercoaster ride of fun and business management she was going to run into or how much she was going to learn about herself.

Of course, we say “fun”, because that’s what it is — cookies and craft beers, leadership skills and campfires. But the reality of running a non-profit organization as large as this one means she has to make a lot of difficult yet financially stable decisions that keep the mission running from behind the scenes.

That means hiring and creating a team that is dedicated to the servant leadership skills she values in herself. Beth takes leadership from the bottom-up approach and sees her role as one that supports the team above her. She expects the same from the leaders on her team and makes hiring decisions that fit in with the culture of her team as a whole.

Looking for servant leadership like this doesn’t come without snags. Beth discusses how her own mistakes in recruiting ultimately helped the Girl Scouts grow. When she realized that she was getting too hung up on trying to figure out people’s motives, she started looking for new ways - and new people - to approach the hiring process.

What she learned that letting go and allowing someone else to take over actually empowered the members of her team, she knew she was on to something. A good leader knows they can’t do it all, and one of the best ways to empower a new leader is to step out of their way and let them get the job done. Odds are they can do it better than you anyway, and Beth discusses ways to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses so you can build a well-rounded team that complements your own leadership style.

When you see yourself at the bottom of the stack, looking up at the team you work with, you’ll definitely garner a new workplace perspective. Servant leadership can present you with new opportunities you may have missed before by opening you up to the ideas and perspectives of others. For Beth, it makes work fun, which creates an excellent work environment for her team and the girl scouts in her troops.

Listen now for tips on incorporating servant leadership into your management style and ways to get involved with Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa.

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