Welcome to the Summer Camp Leadership blog. For those of us who lead summer camps, making a positive difference in the lives of young people is our passion. Turning that passion into a reality, however, takes more than the ability to lead songs, teach archery or plan craft projects. Creating camp experiences that truly transform lives takes leadership. Leadership that creates a vision for the future, leadership that inspires and engages others, leadership that remains focused and stays the course. My hope is through this blog you'll find ideas, inspiration and tools to help you be a great summer camp leader.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Encouraging Creativity

To provide kids with the fun and enriching experiences that camp should be about, it's crucial that we create camp environments that encourages creativity. But what do you do when a staff member proposes a ill-conceived creative idea? How do you tell them it won't work without discouraging them from continuing to think creatively?

A simple technique to use in these situations is called P-P-C which stands for positives, possibilities and concerns.

Start with the positives of the person's efforts: I like your effort to improve..., I'm excited you're looking for creative ways to... I really appreciate your sharing your creative ideas for...

Follow the positives by highlighting some of the possibilities the idea presents: If we did that it would...We could even...We could use this to...

Share your concerns: I'm not sure how...How could we make sure that...Have you thought about...

By stressing the positive effort made by the staff member and sharing the possibilities that their idea might have, you encourage them and show that you value creativity even though this idea might not work.