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by Jeffrey Leiken, M.A., and Joseph Riggio
There are CAMPS that DO the most simple things in the most extraordinary
ways — CAMPS that totally commit themselves to fulfilling their “MISSION.”
These camps take incredibly precise steps to ensure each aspect of their
camp is aligned with this mission and is indeed serving it — from the
songs they sing, to the ways they acknowledge kitchen staff, to the way
they handle conflicts. It is an incredible experience to be in these camps’
cultures.
At the same time, there are camps who have one stated mission but who
fail to live up to it. Of course, there are variations on the continuum
in between the two, yet some are much more exaggerated than others. Think
of a teacher who describes her process when she goes to work at a new
school. “The first day I listen to the principal spell out the ideals
for how the school operates. Then I go to the teachers’ lounge to find
out the truth!” There are indeed parallels to be drawn with what can go
on within the culture of a camp, as well.Culture is evident in the manifestation
of the underlying attitude and ways to which the people within it subscribe.
Where the people subscribe to being serious — the culture will be. Where
the people subscribe to being playful — the culture will be. Likewise,
where people subscribe to being sarcastic or critical — the culture will
be. When the patterns have established themselves enough through time,
the culture begins to take on a life of its own.
While it is true that the culture of a camp is much greater than any
one person or element in it, it is also true that changing one person
or element of a camp can change the whole culture. This change can either
be accidental or by design, but by exploring the ways to make the change
deliberately, by design, you can generate the culture you most want.
What does it take then as a leader to create, within your camp, the culture
you most want? How have others who have done it gotten there?
Defining Your Mission or Vision
The process begins with defining your mission and/or clarifying your
vision. What is it that you most want your camp to achieve? Pop culture
is filled with ample self-help books describing the value of this. These
books are beneficial but often underestimate the enormity of this task.
The actual process of doing it demands much more than simply saying “We
want to impact kids’ lives in a positive way.” It requires actually defining
what it would look like and sound like if indeed you were doing it. For
example, you’d walk around camp and see kids doing what and hearing people
saying what? You’d go to watch a competitive game being played, and your
campers would be behaving how, and your counselors would be modeling what?
The more precise and comprehensive you are, the more evident it will be
as to where to put your attention next. Often, clarifying and defining
your camp’s mission creates such clarity, such focus of attention, that
everything around it seems to become effortless — natural.
This precision and comprehensiveness also serves to dispel ambiguity
and miscommunication in camp. Instead of “I want to see good sportsmanship,”
your message might be “I want to hear kids cheering each other on. I want
to see everyone involved in cleaning up the equipment before leaving the
field. I want to hear counselors giving praise and affirmation to campers
who help each other out. I want to hear counselors coming to me to tell
me of the successes of their campers.”
The Components of Culture
Within a camp, there are several primary categories of components, which
make up culture. Each of these has influence and impact, and changing
any one of them impacts the whole. They are signs and symbols, ritual
and tradition, stories and metaphors, communication and behavior, and
finally, you as a participant in it (the culture you are creating). What
follows are some examples of the way these components create the culture,
and the kinds of questions to ask to assess how they impact your camp’s
culture. These examples are by no means comprehensive and are intended
solely to begin to provoke thinking and awareness!
Signs and symbols
This is everything from the things that hang on the wall in your dining
hall to the logo on your letterhead. Included in this is the dress code
and camp clothes — Do you dress differently for visiting day, and what
message does this send? Do your camp uniforms bring about pride in camp?
What about your tag lines, slogans, and signs offering directions, instructions,
or rules; signs bearing nicknames you have for buildings; and all other
signs you have in camp? Are they consistent with the values you want to
be teaching?
Ritual and tradition
All your rituals and traditions should reflect your culture — from color
war to inspection; Olympics to special trips (What value is emphasized
or taught by where you choose to take special trips?); special meals for
special occasions to early morning swims; and from chapel or special services
to awards (Do you award equally? Do you award the things that most serve
your mission?). Are there rituals that are outdated and no longer relevant
to your population? Do the traditions you uphold congruently serve the
mission you want to serve? Think of the new people who come to camp with
new ways of doing things that were much more efficient and of how old
timers argue to do it the old way just because “that’s the way we’ve always
done it!” Sometimes the tradition of traditions is a part of camp culture
that limits us, and we don’t even realize it!
Stories and metaphor
The obvious stories are the ones told around the campfire or the ones
that introduce special activities — the legends of camps. The less obvious
stories are the ones that are told behind the scenes — the stories of
campers who drove everyone crazy or of the counselors who were fired for
their antics. Many of these stories get grossly distorted or exaggerated,
and yet their very presence impacts the culture. Are stories told of people
who make mistakes and then become a subject to laugh at behind their backs?
Are stories told of people who overcame great odds to find success at
your camp? Which ones does your culture most encourage?
Communication and behavior
What kind and standard of communication dominates your culture? Are people
direct and upfront, or is there much gossip? Is sarcasm encouraged or
discouraged (it’s impact can often be divisive and at worst devastating)?
Do leaders consistently treat counselors with the same respect and positive
regard as they do campers? Are compliments and praise consistently abundant
for all? When people are struggling, do others reach out or do they secretly
laugh behind their back (think of a new counselor who does something very
foolish but doesn’t realize it)? Are there double standards, e.g., one
set of stated rules yet unstated exceptions for certain people? How do
these double standards impact your camp culture? Do they contribute to
or take away from creating trust and respect?
Ourselves
Of all the components, arguably none is more important than this one.
Some examples and considerations — Do we as leaders model the behaviors,
attitudes, and manners we expect from others? Do we take criticism and
feedback seriously? Are we truly approachable and open? Or do we tend
to let personal biases cloud our judgment? What area of our professional
development needs the most attention, and are we attending to it? Often
times the area of professional development that needs the most attention
is intricately linked to an area of personal development.
One camp director knew he needed to work on being patient and controlling
his temper when things went wrong. He knew that even the few explosive
outbursts he’d had were extremely detrimental to his camp and to the morale
of his staff. A year later after putting considerable attention on this
part of his life, his staff described being at camp as, “It is like being
in a whole new camp.” Changing his approach to conflict created an environment
where others felt safer to take chances and to speak up. This led to others
feeling more valued and getting more of their needs met. This change manifested
itself tangibly into a camp where the return rate of staff went up five
times over in one year. The following year the camp put more attention
on communication and behaviors, as well as on updating some of the rituals
and traditions to align them with their clearly and thoroughly defined
mission statement. The experience of their camp culture now, as opposed
to four years ago, is almost indescribable.
Assessing These Components in Your Camp
Often these components may indeed be aligned with the camp’s stated mission,
while one or two may not. Only through careful assessment and analysis
will it become evident where the shortcomings are. How to do this assessment
is another matter, and one well worth considering. An off-season retreat
of key staff is an excellent time to perform this kind of self-analysis.
There is one huge consideration to make and that is this — Being inside
the culture is the most difficult place to be able to see it for what
it is — the “truths” are so close as to be invisible. This is where visiting
other camps or working with others who do have objectivity in their perspective
proves invaluable. Others can see things in a way that is extremely difficult
to do on our own, because we are so close and so personally attached to
what we do. Visiting other camps can be a wonderful way to realize how
many different ways there are to go about doing the same things — some
of which may prove substantially better than the ones you’ve been doing.
It also provides the perspective to help you be more objective, both about
what has kept you from having the culture you most want and about what
will make it possible for you to create exactly what you do want . . .
your ideal camp culture.
Originally published in the 2002 July/August
issue of Camping Magazine. |
