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 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?

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.

 

A SAMPLE SCHEDULE

  1. Communication ahead of time to determine what things we will talk about.
  2. Come to your camp by midday and get a tour of the grounds (any day of the week that works for you)
  3. Enjoy dinner together
  4. Talk together for a period of time after dinner
  5. [I will need a place to sleep for that evening]
  6. Breakfast
  7. Talk together for a time after breakfast - determine the scope of any further work I could do for you.
  8. Head home about noon or so (depending on transportation schedule)

 

A WORD ABOUT THE COST INVOLVED

My desire since being drawn to this kind of ministry is to take the burden of expense out of the equation as much as possible. God has now provided a level of support that allows me to do just that. I will charge a minimal fee for my time with you, that formalizes our arrangement and helps a little with expenses. This "engagement fee" will initially be set at just $250. If you desire more extensive work on my part, we can talk about the possibility of any further cost.