This is the presentation given in the morning of January 26, 2013 at the NACCHO Conference by Steve Maguire, M.Ed

2. aren’t
Lazy!
Steve Maguire, M.Ed
Go Turnstone!

8. Must read to learn more about work ethic
www.theagame.org

9. Werner and
Gertrude
Stuernagle

10. Thoughts on why work ethic
appears to have changed?
✦ Group responses please

11. What are the key traits we want staff
to have when they work for us and
WHY?
✦ Group responses please!

12. Kid’s work ethic has progressively gotten
worse...
However, we are all ultimately
looking for the some basic
characteristics that we must
teach our kids!

13. Reliability
Demonstrated as...
hown in the form of...
Staff shows up on
Attendance
time
Results...
Decreased lateness, higher staff morale, curb on “in
fighting”, less resentment from the 100%ers, people are

15. Professionalis
m Demonstrated as...
hown in the form of... Staff presents
Appearance consistent brand
image. (Staff shirts)
Results...
Increased appearance of team work, Easy identification of
camp leaders, feeling of safety to all on the property,

16. Professionalism?
•Line of cars around the corner
waiting to get to the drive
through
•As the line increases, two
employees (upper teens, low
twenties) come outside for a
smoke break

17. “I’m sposed to be on
like mega-psych meds,
but they make me feel
wicked retarded, so I
don’t take them.
F&@k that”

18. Positivity
Demonstrated as...
hown in the form of...
Enthusiasm and
Attitude
passion
Results...
Increased morale, sense of fun, contagious enthusiasm

19. Please watch this
video and find the
people that are
demonstrating
positivity...

20. QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

21. Initiative
Demonstrated as...
hown in the form of... Going beyond basic
Ambition expectations with
no prompt
Results...
More gets done, kids feel cared for and safe, less stressful
on leadership team

22. How do we see or want to see
initiative at camp?

23. Respect
Shown in the form
of... Demonstrated as...
Acceptance of the Staff following the
role of their job rules and
regulations
Results...
Decreased “involuntary” turnover (less people get fired!),
Trust is built to admin team, parents, communities

24. What does respect look like at
camp?

25. Integrity
Demonstrated as...
hown in the form of... Staff are
Accountability trustworthy
Results...
More gets done, kids feel cared for and safe, less stressful
on leadership team

26. Integrity
✦ It’s what
happens
when others
are not
looking that
counts
✦ Red light!

27. Gratitude
Demonstrated as...
Staff feel
Shown in the form of... appreciated and
Appreciation appreciate others.
Staff give authentic
service (care)
Results...
Happier kids, families, communities, teams and
administrators

28. The Millenials/Generation Y:
WHO are they? 1977-1994

29. Some basics...
✦ Age
*This Generation includes people
born between 1977 and 1994
*There are over 70 million people
belonging to Generation Y
*Generation Y is more than three
times the size of Generation X

30. Some basics...
Ethnicity
*Generation Y is the most ethnically diverse
generation to date
*One out of every three Generation Y members
is not Caucasian
*Nine out of ten children under 12 have friends
outside their own ethnicity

31. Some basics...
✦ Home
*One out of four lives in a
single parent household
* Three out of four have
working mothers
*The child is the center of
the household

32. Some basics...
✦ Money
*One out of nine high schoolers
have a credit card co-signed by a
parent
* Teens have an average of
$100/week disposable income
*40% of teens have a part-time
job

33. Some basics...
✦ Interaction
*They prefer directness over subtlety, action over
observation and coolness over all else
“No One Likes You!”
*They are heavily influenced by their peers and the
media
Although technically advanced and saturated, they
would prefer personal contact

34. ✦ Connectivity
Some basics...
*Generation Y seems to be less
cynical and more concerned with
social issues than
Generation X, although whether to
act on those feelings is always a
question
*75%-90% have a computer at
home

35. Some basics...
Status
*They feel crunched for time,
always in a hurry
*They have direction and
know what they want

36. What are their strengths?
What we like...
Adaptability: Generation Y is used to adapting and being comfortable in
various situations.
Technologically savvy: Growing up in the age of technology and taking
advantage of it.
Ability to grasp new concepts: This is a learning-oriented generation.

37. How arebythey and instant gratification.
difficult?
* “Activity rich and relationship bankrupt.”
*Impatient: Raised in world dominated technology
*Skeptical: In recent years there has been more scamming, cheating, lying and exploiting than
ever from the major figures in the media. This includes everyone from rock stars to the president.
*Blunt and expressive: Self expression is favored over self control. Making their point is most
important.
*They are image-driven: Making personal statements with their image is very important.
*They are still young: Although they have a “seen it all, done it all” air about them, lack of life
experience means that they don’t know everything yet. They are aware of this and are not afraid
to ask questions. For this generation, it is better and more time-saving to ask questions, than to
waste time trying to figure it out.

38. “Bring the door to them.”
✦ “I have an open door policy.” “My door’s
always open.” “Let’s talk later.” Good
for you, they don’t care.
✦ A consistent check in by someone is
very important to these kids.
✦ Build a bridge, cross the bridge, and go
out and talk with them.
✦ These kids recognize your effort and
understand you are going out of your
way. It’s a great way to help win them
over.

39. Put them in charge and bring
them into the fold...
✦ These kids want
leadership/responsibility and they are
more capable than ever to have it. This
buy in will be a huge investment down
the road.
✦ To them “If there is no interest, their will
be no investment.”
✦ My classroom run’s itself... weather
report, class information, gather and
comeback and share. Gone are the
days of “teach at” a group of kids. They
don’t learn well that way.

40. Talk with them, not at them
✦ Common sense, but more so than ever with these kids.
✦ What asked what adults they respect the most, my kids
overwhelming response... “one’s that talk with us and
not at us.” “Give me respect, I’ll give you respect”
✦ “I’m the director/owner”... most don’t care!
✦ DNM - Standing on the chair, TONE!

41. Embrace their technology and
their day to day...
✦ 10,146 - facebook, myspace, linkedin, twitter, digg
✦ The cell phone phenomena. “Asking kids if they
have a facebook page or a cell phone is like asking
them if they are breathing.”
✦ What are you doing to embrace their technology?
Are you still trying to stomp it out?
✦ Internet time, Chris Thurber’s E-ssentials, cell
phone use space

42. Multitaskers and multicultural
✦ Can do many tasks and can do them
well...
✦ How does this show itself at camp?
Campfire director, head counselor, chapel
director, hours in the camp store...
✦ Can be observing many kids at once
while teaching a group of kids and keep
track of everyone...more so than ever
✦ Take advantage of this... they can/want to
do more and do it well!

43. Globalism...
✦ They have been connected to rest of the world
via the internet.
✦ Many have travelled as a result of school trips,
community opportunities, etc.
✦ The world has been brought to them and they
see where they fit into it
✦ This is an incredible asset as a staff member at
your camp. Global diversity and the ability to
show campers the rest of the world

44. Individualsitic
They will do their own thing and they are
“OK” with it... There are plenty of kids who
don’t mind being different. This can be
used as a huge advantage for you! The
kids LOVE this individualistic mentality.

45. Embrace and explain
their parents to them
✦ Parents and teachers micromanaged to them
their parents
their schedules, planning things out
for them, leaving very little
unstructured free time. They were
signed up for soccer camp, karate
club, and ballet lessons—and their
parents were called into service,
shuttling them from one activity to
the next. Some started carrying
Daytimers when they were in
elementary school.

46. More on parents...
✦ • Be smart—you are special. They’ve been catered to since they
were tiny. Think Nickolodeon, Baby Gap, and Sports Illustrated for
Kids.
• Leave no one behind. They were taught to be inclusive and
tolerant of other races, religions, and sexual orientations.
• Connect 24/7. They learned to be interdependent—on family,
friends, and teachers. More Millennials say they can live without the
television than the computer. Many prefer chatting on line to talking
on the phone.
• Achieve now! Some parents hired private agents to line up the
right college; others got started choosing the right pre-school while
the child was still in the womb.
• Serve your community. Fifty percent of high school students
reported volunteering in their communities, many of their high
schools requiring community service hours for graduation. On one
Roper Survey, when Millennials were asked for the major cause of
problems in the U.S., they answered selfishness.

47. “We need to teach our staff the
obvious!”
“We need to teach our staff the
✦ obvious!”
“They don’t get it!” Don’t expect them
to. Be clear with all expectations, lay
things out, let there be no gray area.
✦ “If campers are confused, it is the
counselor’s issue to fix. If staff are
confused it is the leadership team to fix.”

48. Aspire with their amazing
“lifestyles”
✦ They want to have an amazing “lifestyle”... an
amazing “life” is secondary
✦ How do we make their lifestyle amazing at
camp?What do they enjoy that you can
continue? Do you pull the plug on their life
style?

49. Meet them halfway...
✦ The “Negotiation Generation”
✦ Everyone gets a trophy... whether you
agree with this or not, it is what it is...
✦ Reward positive staff behavior and work
with the work ethic they have. They will buy
in if they feel like they are being met
halfway and that you are carrying some of
the load as well.

50. This is what’s important to them
in the workplace/camp
(retention)...
✦ 1. Good relationships with boss’s and co-
workers - Friendship - (Camp)
✦ 2. Income - “You’re going to make a lot of
money working at summer camp”
✦ 3. Opportunity for growth - prep the best!

51. This is what’s important to them
in the workplace/camp...
✦ 4. Opportunity to show off skills and receiving recognition
of a job well done (Camp)
✦ 5. Challenging daily work (Camp)
✦ 6. Flexible schedules for social and personal time (We need
to get better at this)
✦ 7. A casual dress environment (Camp)