Last week (June 22-26) marks the beginning of my Leadership in Action here in Toronto with the Community Music Schools of Toronto. My LiA this summer is to work closely with the faculty to help develop a leadership development course for the camp counsellors, who are 18-20 years old, to help prepare them for their position. CMST has two sites (Jane/Finch + Regent Park), with the core faculty including the camp coordinator, camp administrator and two counsellors along with the program manager.
What went well?
I met with the camp coordinator and administrator at both sites where they ran me through their training plans for the two day camp counsellor training that is happening this week (June 29-31). We also had a brainstorm session where I offered a few thinking questions to help guide the first leadership workshop. Here are my reflections, thoughts and notes from the thinking sessions!
This week, I'll be hosting my first leadership workshop with the two counsellors at each site! I'll focus a lot on the "mindset" piece of being a leader since their training workshops already focus heavily on the "skills." Looking forward to hosting the session and collecting feedback.
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Question
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Jane Finch
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Regent Park
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Similarities / Thoughts
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How do you define leadership? What examples of student success are shown / celebrated?
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Leadership looks like modelling good behaviour (eg. participating in the workshops led by the faculty, listening attentively, being kind and remain calm even if you are annoyed). “Kids can sense your presence and mood” so watch how you communicate (language + tone). |
Explaining through initiative, being a lead, being more proactive, not being too afraid to do things first Faculty feedback: have the counsellors take on a more proactive role during workshops (very similar to Jane Finch)
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Both camp sites articulated that leadership looks like: camp counsellors taking a proactive lead by participating in workshops rather than passive observers RP articulates the "courage" aspect in leadership, focusing on not being afraid to be the first to lead. JF articulates how emotional regulation and accomadation is important because kids mirror and watch your behaviour.
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What values do you hope camp counselors represent at the end of this training?
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Both camp sites state how process over product is a value they want to focus on.
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What goals are discussed? If goals are discussed, what questions are asked to monitor progress toward achieving the goals?
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Goal Setting Sheet:
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Both camps state that goal-setting is a very personal activity for the camp counsellors and is not held very accountable throughout the camp process by the camp admin. All admin talk about how a mid-camp goal setting check-in would be helpful rather than just one check-in at the very end.
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What are checkpoints for reflection and debrief? How well do they connect to goal-setting?
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Both camps state that goal-setting again is not connected to the debriefs. JF states that there could be more time for the counsellors to brainstorm about the questions. RP says that debrief time can get cut short with cleaning up.
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What could have been done differently?
One of the biggest issues was the transit to Jane/Finch which was a lot further than I anticipated. As I’m figuring out the commute to Jane/Finch, I need to plan ahead a lot more time to get to the site without difficulties.
What did I learn about myself when working with others?
As I was preparing to meet the camp admin, I tried to enter into the mentality to treat them like my “friends” even though I’ve never met them. Even though it was scary, I asked them what their plans were after work, how they were adjusting to school / work, and other personal details that allowed me to get to know their personality and personal lives outside of the volunteer setting that we were in together. I ended up having a lot of fun getting to know them and this made our work dynamics more honest and less awkward!
What did I learn about leadership?
Throughout the process, I am trying to be as transparent and timely as possible with my contributions and my intentions. This includes sending updates to the program managers after every meeting and a weekly update. This also includes setting many follow-up meetings to get more feedback about the changes and ideas I have the workshop. Finally, what I’ve learned about settling into a leadership role is the importance of time. Since I’m working with a completely new group of people, it takes time for me to get to know everyone, familiarize myself with the working dynamics and feel like I have a place to share my ideas.