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As camp people, we sometimes find ourselves looking around thinking "Universe, what else could you possible throw at me?" and sometimes that all happens before 9 AM. Some summers are just like that and often it is due to circumstances totally out of your control. This episode will talk about how to heal and recover from the "perfect storm" summer and how to lead your team when it feels like very little went right. Best Practice for Leadership Training Build a relationship with a local mediation organization. Face it, in camping, we are in the relationship business and sometimes an objective ear and voice can be the key to working through conflicts. Often these organizations may be able to provide training for your year-round and seasonal staff as well.      

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It's crunch time for preparing staff training for the summer and there are some common pitfalls that every director falls into when designing and implementing orientation for the summer. Beth, Gab, and Ruby share some of their biggest lessons learned over the years and hope that you will work smarter, not harder this summer. Best Practices For Leadership Training Have rest hour every day during staff training. This gives your staff a time to recoup, reflect, and recharge each day. It sets up a great routine for the summer as well as helps staff practice using their down time wisely.

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"Coming back for your second, or third, or 85th season at camp can be a glorious thing. You understand the weird rituals and chanting that seem to spontaneously erupt throughout the day and when somebody whispers Color War, you understand exactly what is about to happen. But man, training is such a drag because it is all the same stuff all over again. Why do I have to attend training when I've seen it all before?" If your return staff seem to take this attitude, then this podcast is a definite must listen for you. Best Practice for Leadership Training Hold a Program Area Fair during staff training. Activity Leaders staff a booth about their activity. This gives Program Staff an opportunity to share some of the ideas about what they will be doing in the activity for that summer. Play a game, display a craft, or decorate your booth in the best way possible to represent your game. The rest of the staff can mosey from booth to booth carnival style and learn more about the various program areas around camp. This helps staff to understand what will happen at that activity all summer and also allows Activity Leaders to take ownership and show off their talents and specialty area for the summer.       

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Ah...the birds and the bees and the smell of horomones at camp in the summertime. Whether in a single gender or co-ed environment, the reality of it is people fall in love at camp. And some people think they fall in love at camp. And it makes sense as folks are living and working closely together and acting genuinely and passionately day in and day out. Many of your staff likely have common values in life and when they find each other at camp, it can be a beautiful thing. Or it can be disruptive and fueled by drama. Today's podcast focuses on how to train your staff on what it means to have a relationship at camp and some best practices that Beth, Gab, and Ruby have found can lead to a drama-free summer. Best Practice for Leadership Training Never underestimate the power of a handwritten note to provide praise and establish that you acknowledge the impactful work another person is doing. Whether it is an employee, a supervisor, a conference presenter, or a random person you encounter in life, everyone can appreciate a small token of acknowledgement from another person.      

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By talking about what it looks like to get fired from camp, you may find that your staff make better decisions, which, in turn, actually reduces the likelihood of you having to fire staff as often. Gab, Beth, and Ruby discuss how they train their staff about the termination process, what worked and what didn't, and some best practices for letting someone go at camp be as drama free and mission-focused as possible. Best Practice for Leadership Training Gather your male and female staff members separately and discuss with each of them how they want to treat the other gender. Bring the groups back together and have the groups share with one another their commitment to how people should be treated at camp.       

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Your summer staff are trained on your mission and are bought in to the why of camp. Who better than your staff to help you market camp than those who really know it inside and out? Tune in to today's podcast to learn how to teach your staff some basic sales strategies that will impact your bottom line. Best Practice For Leadership Training: Track which of your cabin staff from the previous summer have the most campers returning this summer. Give public praise to these staff members (whether they are returning or not) during staff orientation this summer and challenge your summer staff to be one of those counselors that managed to provide such an incredible experience for their campers, that they all HAD to come back to camp. Additionally, tell your staff the retention rate from the previous summer and challenge them to go above and beyond that number.      

Let's face it. As the camp director, sometimes you have to tell your staff things they don't want to hear. Often these are the tidbits and pieces of life advice that it will take time for the staff to really appreciate. Go on! Speak up! Tell your thoughts because your staff need to hear it to make camp be the best it can be. Beth, Gab, and Ruby share their "must-tells" during this episode of Camp Code. Best Practice for Leadership Training Remember to thank your year-round team throughout the year. Include some staff appreciation dollars in your budget to show appreciation for your full time staff as the rad camp professionals that they are! Consider gifting them a subscription to Go Camp Pro, the year-round camp conference.

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When hiring seasonal staff, directors look for applicants that are trainable. However, you inherit your boss/board/Executive Director/CEO when you accept a position. Ever wish you could conduct staff training specifically for your higher ups so they will do things the way you want to do them? In this episode, learn what it takes to get those above on you on the organizational chart on board with your ideas. Big shout out to Rosanne Badowski for the term Managing Up. You can check out her book on Amazon right now. Best Practice for Leadership Training Today's best practice comes from our friends Scott Arizala and Dr. Chris Thurber and their unofficially titled "Stump the Hunks" EPIC session at ACA National in New Orleans in 2015. When asked how to get the boss to do what you need them to do, they suggested this tactic. Have your boss happen to accompany you to witness whatever challenge/inefficiency/problem that you are hoping to address. Ask "Have you noticed how when it rains, our staff get particularly grumpy while waiting in the rain with the kids to go into lunch? Do you have any ideas for how we could make this better?" or for the bold ones of you out there, instead state the following as a follow up to your Have You Noticed question, "I've noticed this as well and I wonder if we gave each cabin a large umbrella to decorate to use on rainy days if they would be more excited about rainy days?" By simply asking "Have you noticed...", you bring the boss into the discussion and make them a part of the problem solving, even if they don't do any of the problem solving.