I have been blogging about being a Girl Scout Leader for the past 10 years. Here are some things that leadership has taught me.
Happy 10 year bloggiversary to me!
It seems a bit surreal that on a cold day in January in 2010, I decided to put my ideas and thoughts about Girl Scouts for other leaders to read. I was a Stay at Home Mom back then; I was only working on Sunday mornings teaching first graders at my synagogue’s Hebrew School. Now, 10 years later, I am the Education Director of the school.
When I was an elementary school teacher, all I had as references were my teacher idea books that I purchased with Scholastic Book points. These books would help me freshen up my lesson plans each year so I could be a better teacher, as I was not someone who did the the same thing year after year. On a fall evening in October 2008, I stepped up to lead six little Daisy Scouts, the first thing I did was look for materials on how to lead my troop.
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Other than the official Girl Scouts of the USA Daisy Guide, there was not much out there for leaders. Scouting Web was a website that had minimal information. Leaders submitted how they earned a Daisy petal with a few sentences, nothing in depth. As an educator, I knew how to take the idea and make it my own. But what would leaders who did not have my experience do?
At one of the first Service Unit meetings I attended, we were grouped according to levels and I sat with other Daisy leaders. My takeaway was that there were some great local free field trips in my town that I did not know about, and that these women were feeling overwhelmed at how to start and how to make it all come together successfully.
With their feelings in mind, I started my blog with this post. It was short, it had no picture (this was pre-Pinterest and very few blogs and online articles had pictures to break up the text). From that point, I wrote about my twice a month meetings and I also wrote about the concerns other leaders had that were posted online.
Over the years, other Girl Scout bloggers have come and gone, and many had some terrific ideas to inspire their fellow leaders. Despite the appearance of sitting in your jammies and writing, blogging is not easy to do. It is easy to not post anything for a few weeks, and then that turns into months. Writing and coming up with new ideas to post is hard. And the sad truth is that many troops disband after Juniors or first year Cadettes.
Presently, my troop of three are Girl Scout Ambassadors. Due to the nature of being Juniors in high school and the extracurricular activities in which they are involved, our meetings are rare. I am mentoring one of my girls on her Gold Award. My daughter has been on the fence about earning it, and whatever she decides, I am fine.
I am in my 12th year as a leader. What have I learned over the years?
Do What Works for You
One thing that did not exist when I started my journey as a leader were forums and Facebook groups for Girl Scout leaders. I discovered these well into my role as leader, and I am very glad I did. These sites have tons of files for you to use and if you have a question, there are dozens of active people willing to give their opinion.
That is where you need to stop and think.
Everyone runs her troop differently. Some focus on the outdoors, others focus on service, and others are badge focused. Whatever you decide to do, it is your decision as leader.
That means your co-leader and you get to decide when to meet. When my troop first started, we met on a Wednesday afternoon because that is what worked for me. Once the girls went into first grade, we met every other Friday in our elementary school Art Room. That worked for parents as they did not have drive somewhere else, and most importantly, it worked for me! I had a large room that was spacious and a supportive school staff who enjoyed our being there. I could still sub in the preschool and have plenty of time to get ready for my meeting.
When I stepped down to be the co-leader, we met once a month on Thursday night. When the girls got to high school, we met on Saturday or whenever there was a free day on the calendar. All of the leaders now work full-time and as I said before, the girls are active outside of scouts. Meeting when we can beats not meeting at all. It is much easier to accommodate three schedules than ten.
If the meeting time you decide upon does not work for some girls in your troop, they are welcome to join you on outings that fit their schedule, join another troop, have their mother start her own troop, or be a Girl Scout Juliette. Parents have no say in when you meet. It has to work around your life, not theirs.
Remember You Are a Volunteer
I have written about this several times over the past 10 years, and it bares repeating.
You are a volunteer.
You must set firm boundaries with your parents and with your Service Unit. If you do not want to do something, don’t do it and gripe about it later. Being a leader does have its stressors, but you should not make your own. If a parent wants something done, tell her, “Hey, that is a great idea! Thanks for planning it. What date were you thinking of coming in and doing it?”
That will end your problem or get you some much needed help.
You Are More Vested in the Troop Than the Other Parents
It goes without saying that you are more passionate and committed to scouting than most of your parents. The girls in your troop have other activities that come before scouts, while for you, scouts is at the top of the list.
This pertains to every aspect of scouting. Meeting attendance, cookie sales, getting badges sewn onto a vest…you care more. Accept that fact and move on.
Do Not Pay for Everything
I know that leaders are proud to be a self-sustaining troop, but I have learned that people do not value something that is free. Parents paying for things gives them skin in the game. Maybe losing twenty dollars is not a big deal to the family; for your troop, that represents a large amount of fundraising work. Multiply that by three no shows, and your troop funds are quickly drained.
First Year Daisy Leaders Need to Skip Two Things
Starting anything new brings on many challenges. Daisy leaders have a lot of drive and ambition, and if one thing is true from the Facebook posts that I read, many of them are overwhelmed (like most new leaders) and have been given little guidance where to start.
As older leaders like myself have become more scarce over the years, I want to share this fact about Girl Scout Daisy history.
Girl Scout Daisies used to be a one year level that started in kindergarten. It was a gentle introduction to scouting. That year was only for earning petals and getting to know what Girl Scouts is all about. Daisies were not permitted to sell cookies, that was something Girl Scout Brownies and up could do.
Journeys did not exist until 2008. They are not necessary to do unless your troop is older and need to do one to earn the Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award. I read posts from first year leaders trying to do a Journey, when they need to just focus on the petals, which represent all that Girl Scouts strive to do.
I have learned that new leaders should be following the old Girl Scout ways. Treat your first year as a learning opportunity to get comfortable in your role as leader.
Get Everything in Writing From Everyone
When my relationship with my co-leader started to disintegrate during the Brownie years, I had no proof of the things she promised to do. We talked a lot and as a friend, I did not think to get “proof” of what she promised to do as the co-leader.
I should have.
When I brought it up to her, she would say she would get to it or think about it, but I did not have a time stamped dated email stating what she promised to do. I wish I had so I could have resent the email to her.
Emails are proof of conversations. They are needed in dealing with difficult parents, when booking field trips, and when getting any kind of confirmation is necessary. Private Facebook groups and other kinds of communication are fine, but posts can be deleted. Your private email is there forever in your files or inbox.
Don’t Go Crazy With Fun Patches
Patches and badges have gotten crazy expensive. A $3.00 badge for 12 girls in a troop is $36 dollars for one meeting, and that does not consider supplies that are needed to earn the badge!
I never knew about fun patches when my daughter was a Daisy Scout. The back of her Daisy vest is empty. I bought a few pertinent ones since then, but unlike other leaders, I did not go crazy and use my limited funds buying them. Every activity does not require a patch. The craziest one I saw online was, “A girl in my troop was sick and we made her ‘Get Well’ cards. Where can I find a fun patch for that?”
Cookie Sales Should Not Suck the Life Out of You
Cookie profits earn you the money to run your troop. Cookie sales should not be all consuming.I have written a lot about this over the years. Here is my Ultimate Guide for Selling Girl Scout Cookies that will help you run this important Girl Scout fundraiser and still maintain a life.
It Is Okay to Meet and Not Earn a Badge
For my troop, the first meeting at every scouting year was for planning and doing a fun activity and craft. No badge work involved. Throughout the year, we did this because life happens and sometimes I needed a break from all the work involved with planning a meeting.
I have learned that this is most important for older girls who do not meet as often as they did when they were younger. Girl Scouts has always been a soft place for my daughter to fall, especially during the turbulent middle school years. Hanging out with her sister scouts, some of whom went to the other middle school in town, gave her a break from the girls she saw every day. Watching a movie, going swimming in my pool (I am a certified First Aider), baking, or going on a trip are the things we have done and still do. My girls are not interested in badge work anymore, but still like to do things together, like go camping.
If You Do Not Enjoy It, Then Don’t Do It
This is a life lesson that I live by. Of course, we all have parts of our job that we may not be thrilled about doing, but we are paid for that. We are not paid to lead a Girl Scout troop. How I choose to spend my volunteer time is up to me.
If you do not like to camp, then don’t go camping. I never did as that was not the job I signed up for. My girls started camping in 7th grade, when the new leader and another mom got certified to take the girls. We go every year and the girls love it.
Image by Hannah Gold
Leading a troop takes a lot of personal time. Use that resource wisely so you enjoy the time being spent with your troop.
What have you learned over the years as a Girl Scout leader?
All of those things. You have stated them perfectly. I would add that supportive parents are invaluable. Even if you have parents that don’t want to be a leader, but still wish to be involved. Let them. Sometimes they would like to execute things differently than you. It’ll be ok. Unless you thing their idea or involvement will harm the girls or go completely against the GS Law., let them. You get a break. The girls get a break from you. The parents feel pride in contributing. The daughter feels pride in seeing their Parent support them. And YOU get a supportive and enthusiastic team. Along with that ASK for help. Most parents simply don’t know what action to take, but they DO want to be helpful.
Great points, Laura! From the beginning of my blog, I always stated that you need to ask for help. I was fortunate to always have great parental help from the first year to our last. I enjoyed the meetings where they came in to lead-it did give me a much needed break. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Oh, and find a good blogger that you can relate to. Don’t try to read EVERY blog. You’ll never finish. I didn’t find this blog until I was four years into my leadership role. Every meeting I was jumbled and not organized. This blog speaks my language and I can easily modify activities within each to suit our locations and resources. Sometimes the leader books from GS are just too wordy and give too many options. It was so hard to decide what to do.
I am so happy that you have been reading for so long! I appreciate you! I agree, the books are too wordy. They remind me of the Teacher Guides I used back in the 1980’s when I started teaching. After my second year, I didn’t need them as I found my own rhythm. Leaders are afraid to not do things as directed, where I believed that if you do the spirit of the badge, you are good. By that, I mean if one step is challenging (like those constant guest speakers), find a creative way to incorporate that.
I have other blogs for each level that I hope you will find helpful. Again, thanks for your readership!