Can Leadership Be Learned?

Can Leadership be learned? Yes. All children can be a leader in their own right. Saying only that people are “natural born leaders” or leaders have a “gift” doesn’t give those leaders credit for all of the hard work they have done developing a great skill set that leaders have.

At camp, we help boys identify and practice the skills that we associate with the qualities good leaders demonstrate.

By identifying certain qualities that they admire in leaders they know, and the actions and words that demonstrate such qualities, our campers are developing their own set of tools. These boys are individually recognized for their actions and words, which in turn leads them to doing it more and more. They build confidence in themselves and a trust from others.

As our young campers become older campers, they grow through exploration, trying new things, experiencing both success and failure. Our teen campers have the opportunity to educate themselves on what it means to be a leader and developing skills to be one, and also be a leader of younger children. Many of our staff (nearly 40%) are former campers who have developed their skills through our Leadership, CIT and Junior Counselor programs. This dedicated group set the example for our other staff who, collectively, model the values and qualities of strong character on to our younger campers.

Much like at home, camp strives to promote the values that help the children we see each summer grow into the best they can be.