Photo Courtesy of Camp Lebanon

“It is estimated that 83% of organizations understand the importance of investing in leadership development at entry-level leadership roles. Yet, only 5% of organizations have done it.” Billy Dunn of centerconsulting.org.

You may have seen graphics or read blog posts on how working at camp helps develop leadership skills. That sounds idealistic especially given the previous statistic, but how would working at camp actually help you grow as a leader? Here are 4 ways that I was supported as a leader while working at camp.

1. Responsibility
   When working at camp, I was given big responsibilities and the leaders ahead of me empowered me by believing in me and showing me that I could handle those responsibilities. Whether it was the responsibility of caring for a cabin of young campers, speaking in front of the entire camp, or leading a staff devotional, I had new experiences while also having a group of people supporting me.
2. Feedback
   How can we improve and grow if we don’t know what we need to work on? At the end of each week of camp, our team had time during staff meetings to individually share with teammates things that they could work on so that we could be improving throughout the summer.
3. Encouragement
   Along with providing constructive feedback during team meetings, we also got a chance to give encouragement and share with our teammates the things that they were doing really well. Sometimes other people see leadership qualities in you that you might not see in yourself. Hearing that you did a wonderful job speaking in front of the camp, showing patience to campers or that your selflessness is noticed by others is encouraging as a young leader. When we become aware of our unique giftings, we can seek out more opportunities to use those abilities.
4. Inspiration
   Throughout the summers I spent at camp, there have been dozens of people I’ve looked up to. I’ve looked up to people for their patience, confidence, humility, ability to address and resolve conflict and for their steadfastness. As a young leader, I was inspired by the staff around me and I took note of the leadership qualities they possessed that I also wanted to have.If you want to grow as a leader this summer, find a camp job here.