PERSONALIZED COACHING

 

As I transition out of full-time vocational camping ministry after 40 years, I find that my heart and desire is to come alongside camp leaders who do what I love.  I want to be an encouragement to directors in the trenches and that means providing a listening ear. I want to share my experiences where they might be helpful and make available tangible resources where they might best fit. I’m not interested in handing out boiler plate solutions but in providing personal support that produces desired results.   -Tom

 

Side by Side is about my desire to meet the specific and unique needs of a camp director. My aim is to provide an outside perspective; share my experiences where they may be of help; listen, give guidance and make suggestions towards an improved future.  This may involve helping with questions like:

 

  • How do I do a better job creating and managing my operational budget?

  • How do I figure out how to work together with my board?

  • How do I put together a good communication plan with those I need to connect?

  • How do I be a better boss and get more from my staff?

  • How do I tackle deferred maintenance in an aging facility?

  • How do I communicate our mission and vision in a way that gets people excited about our camp ministry?

  • How do I best use my time as the director when there are so many things that I must do?

  • How do I balance my personal life (home and family) with that of my job?

  • What do I do when it seems like I am all alone at the top and everything depends upon me?

 

Personal Note:  Executive Director, CEO, President… whatever title is yours, the fact is that you are responsible. You are responsible for your organization and, most likely, you are responsible to a Board of Directors. That means you shoulder the weight of carrying out your mission; caring for your staff and caring for the health and well being of every one who comes on your grounds or participates in one of your programs. The fact that I have been in that role for a good number of years doesn’t necessarily mean that I am an expert with all the answers - but it does mean I understand what you carry around with you each hour of each day. It's from that perspective, I want to be of help.

 

FOUR PART STRATEGY 

 

OBSERVE

My first step is to learn about your camp by seeing its online presence and then physically visiting the camp to get a feel for its facilities, resources, people and programs. This is about observing and learning from you, the camps strengths; its market and its niche.

RELATE

This is about me hearing from you, the director personally. It’s listening to your story and passions and overall assessment of your camp's ministry. What is going well and what is not? It's about grasping the challenges. This time provides an opportunity for hearing both an objective as well as subjective analysis from you as leader.

 IDENTIFY

This is the narrowing down process. Discovering together where help is needed and where help can be given. This is the essence of the 'side by side' approach. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach. I will want to help bring about some very tangible outcomes for you as the director and ultimately for your camp?

 SUPPORT

This final step is the actual doing of the work. The review of documents; the rewriting of policies; the finding of resources; the re-structuring of systems; the development of plans; the sharing of ideas etc... This will most likely be done in a follow-up to a visit.

 

 AREAS WHERE HELP CAN BE GIVEN

  1. Budgeting and steps towards solvency

  2. Mission, purpose, vision crafting or implementing

  3. Communication tools and plans

  4. Board relationships

  5. Staffing (organization; leadership etc...)

  6. Donor relations

  7. Self-care

  8. Goal Setting

 

WRITING AND SYSTEMS SUPPORT

There are two areas of hands-on help that I can provide as needed. One is writing. This may mean brochure or website copy or even employee handbooks. The other is financial tracking systems that can provide helpful information in recording financial and camper day data for a period of time and showing it in the form of graphs.

 

PRICING PHILOSOPHY

What will this coaching cost us?

My intent is not to charge an hourly or even a daily amount and then try and figure out what constitutes a billable hour or a ‘full day’. Instead I will work out a reasonable and affordable fee based on the scope of work done or service offered. This is something that will be mutually agreed upon and will constitute the only charges beyond expenses.