FAQs: LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

1. Why is Girl Scouts focusing on leadership?
   
2. How is leadership taught to girls?
   
3. What Is a "leadership journey" and how will it change program materials and awards? 
   
4. When will we get new program materials for these leadership journeys?
5. What about current program resources and awards?
6. What has been accomplished so far?
7. When will this new brand strategy be introduced?

1. How and why was the Core Business Strategy developed?
   
2. Who is the Core Business Strategy intended for?
   
3. Does the Core Business Strategy change the Girl Scout Promise or Law?
   
4. How will the organization change?
   
5. How can we change and still keep our tradition alive?
   
6. What is the timeline for implementation of the Core Business Strategy?
   
   

1. Why is Girl Scouts focusing on leadership?
   Girl Scouts has always been about leadership, so this is not a new focus but a more deliberate one. Even at the youngest ages of Girl Scouting, girls can gain leadership skills they will carry with them throughout their lives. The Girl Scout focus on leadership shows girls that they are leaders right now in their everyday lives, and they will continue to be leaders as they get older. We believe that when women are leaders in our world, positive results are achieved—and our world needs more positive results.
   
   

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2. How is leadership taught to girls?
   In the new Girl Scout Leadership experience, activities are organized around three Leadership Keys—discover, connect, and take action—which translate into knowing yourself, reaching out to others, and taking action to contribute to society in sustainable ways, making a difference in the world.  This means that in every Girl Scout program delivered to girls of each age group, there will be a Discover, Connect and Take Action component. These three Leadership Keys and the focus on leadership development will start to build a consistent experience for girls across the country.
   
   

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3. What Is a "leadership journey" and how will it change program materials and awards?
   Girl Scout Leadership journeys are coordinated, thematic series of activities grouped around one theme that is delivered over a set period of time with the intention of being a complete leadership experience module.  Each journey is tied to some of Girl Scouts' 15 national outcomes for girls, as defined in the Girl Scout Leadership Model. These outcomes are integral to the "Discover-Connect-Take Action" philosophy of leadership.
   For the launch of the leadership experience in fall 2008, GSUSA is creating one leadership journey for each level, accompanied by awards and facilitator guides. These initial journeys invite girls to explore a specific leadership theme for their level. Subsequent journeys will layer on more multi-disciplinary content, like science and technology, healthy living, and the outdoors, adding to the varietyt.
   
   

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4. When will we get new program materials for these leadership journeys?
   New program materials will be phased in gradually, and with lots of input. Each grade level will have one “launch” journey for fall 2008, and councils will have a preview of all materials by April 2008. This means you will know what the print piece for girls and the adult facilitator guide will look like at each age level. You will also know what the new awards are at each age level and what accessory products are available. Feedback from the Girl Scout community will inform the development of  subsequent journeys.
   
   

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5. What about current program resources and awards?
   Keep using them. It will take several years to create sufficient new program materials for each age level, and there are many great examples of our Discover, Connect, Take Action leadership philosophy at work in the existing materials. Refer to the Winter 2006 issue of Leader Magazine: (Setting the Pace for the Future: The Girl Scout Leadership Model  and Activity Tip Sheets) for tips on how to adapt existing materials to the new leadership philosophy. Existing materials will begin to be phased out around 2010.
   
   

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1. How and why was the Core Business Strategy developed?
   The Core Business Strategy was developed to help Girl Scouts continue to be the best personal leadership development program for girls ages 5-17. In June 2004, Girl Scout leadership enlisted the services of Willie Pietersen, a professor of the Practice of Management at Columbia Business School, to help us develop a strategy to ensure our future success and growth.
   
   We are now mobilizing the expertise from across Girl Scouts to build on our strengths, resolve our challenges, and develop actions to ensure that we continue to be a leading authority and the leading voice for girls.
   

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2. Who is the Core Business Strategy intended for?
   It is intended to address the present and future of the entire Girl Scout organization. GSUSA and our councils are interdependently entwined and the strengths and challenges of each affect the other.
   

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3. Does the Core Business Strategy change the Girl Scout Promise or the Girl Scout Law?
   The Core Business Strategy does not propose any changes to the Girl Scout Promise or the Girl Scout Law. Both are tied to the rich history of Girl Scouts and they will continue to be at the heart of the Girl Scout experience. In fact, we are exploring ways to integrate them more fully into the fabric of the program model.
   

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4. How will the organization change?
   We are working on the specifics of our transformation and evolution right now. At this point, we are focusing collectively on five strategic priorities. It is important to note that our evolution will be keeping all of the promise and purpose of Girl Scouting and adding elements that will bring our programs to girls for decades to come. Our strategic priorities are:
   
   
   • Brand: Transforming the Girl Scout image with a compelling, contemporary brand.
   • Program Model and Pathways: Building the best-integrated personal leadership development model that defines activities and outcomes, differentiated by age-level, for girls 5-17 and offers flexible pathways for participation.
   • Organizational Structure and Governance: Creating an efficient and effective organizational structure and democratic governance system.
   • Volunteerism : Developing a nimble, state-of-the-art model of volunteerism that mobilizes a diverse cadre of volunteers committed to the Girl Scout mission.
   • Funding: Substantially increasing contributed income to fund a vibrant Girl Scout organization.
     
     
   And, because the culture of Girl Scouts is so important to the successful implementation of the Core Business Strategy, there is also a gap team that is focused on:
   
   
   • Culture: Leading the transformation of our culture, which is a key component of the broader transformation of Girl Scouts.
     
     
   Although our program and delivery systems are evolving, girls are and will remain the focus of everything we do.
   

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5. How can we change and still keep our tradition alive?
   Girl Scouts has a wonderful 93-year history that is unsurpassed. Many of our traditions – our name, our personal leadership development model, and our support for girls to help them live the values conveyed in the Girls Scout Promise and Law – have withstood the test of time.
   
   In keeping with the vision and passion of Juliette Gordon Low, our Core Business Strategy will marry the best aspects of our tradition with new ways of doing things so that we can meet the challenges of girls of today and beyond.
   

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6. What is the timeline for implementation of the Core Business Strategy?
   Development of the Core Business Strategy began in June 2004, with the next phase of the Strategy development commencing in January 2005 with the appointment of the Gap Teams. Work of the Gap Teams is ongoing through 2005, with consultation from outside experts, feedback from Girl Scout members, and regular reporting. In 2006, the work of each Gap Team will be integrated into the ongoing work of GSUSA. Based on the recommended pathways identified by the Gap Teams and with continuing advice and guidance from Council representatives, GSUSA will phase in the recommendations at varying times depending upon the complexity of the action plans. We do not underestimate the time and logistics of implementing the Core Business Strategy, which can be more efficiently and effectively accomplished through the support and involvement of our members. We plan to have the Core Business Strategy fully operational by our 100th Anniversary in 2012.
   

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