team building and leadership expert michael cardus

Me tying knots back in my days at Summer Camp.

Here are a couple of tips to help guide staff in and out of the profession of camp directing:
  1. Honest assessment of skill set – proper feedback and coaching for our camp staff is of ultimate importance for their continued development no matter their career path.
  2. Have difficult conversations – the only thing worse than being told you are not right to be a camp director is being told you are not right to be a camp director after you have been a camp director for 15 years.
  3. Ideas on continued involvement – some staff have trouble letting go of camp, but we can steer them towards long-term involvement as a volunteer or a board member. I have a more difficult time finding good board members than I do camp staff.
  4. Real talk about the job – being the director of a camp is a lot more than buddy checks, side hugs, cheers, songs and campfires. Camp is a business, with budgets, board of advisors, strategic plans and staff teams.