The 7 Things...

John Vandervelde - Program Director

Yesterday I mentioned that I attended a seminar with Bob Kraning and Chuck Gieser.  Combined these men have over 55 years of leadership in camp ministry.  They shared with us the 7 things they would do differently if they were entering camp ministry leadership today.  In the comment section of our blog Doug Wall asked "What were the 7 things they shared?"  I liked the question, so here's what they said:

1)  Work on your board.  Be close with your board members.  Trust them, and work so that they have a strong trust relationship with you.

2)  Work on your family.  Don't work too much.  Support your kids and be involved in their lives.

3)  Hire slow and fire fast.  Take a long time to make sure you bring on the right people.  If you have someone that is a bad fit, don't let it go on forever; have the hard conversations and move the person on.

4)  Empower your leadership staff.  Don't micro-manage and don't feel like you have to do everything.

5)  Always have a person you are mentoring.  Mentor someone to fill your role as leader of the ministry.

6)  Listen to your staff.  The best ideas come from the staff on the front lines.  Listen to them and consider their ideas.

7)  Surround yourself with honest staff.  Let them say the hard things you need to hear and make sure they can hear hard things from you.

I believe these are not just 7 lessons for camp leaders, but for anyone working to lead others. 

Thanks for the question, Doug!