Meetings and More...

•  I was reading a management letter in one of my food/service industry emails, and it struck me that it was good for Girl Scouts too!  I'll share a couple of their key points, and see what resonates....
• Add variety to the routine of the meeting. Mix it up, because a livelier meeting will likely produce new ideas or strategies to boost enthusiasm. Do you always start off a weekly or monthly meeting with a review of the previous week or month, followed by what's coming up in the future? Reverse the order. Start with the exciting things to look forward to, and then move into the immediate business of the troop.  Maybe even have a different girl run each meeting.  Or each quarter's meetings?
   
• Start saying thank you more. Here's a New Year's resolution to keep: Make an effort to be better at complimenting each girl and adult on something he or she does particularly well. It's a tried and true -- not to mention free -- method of improving morale. And that, in turn, can improve troop meetings, because the girls are more motivated. The compliments don't have to be about the same thing, either. Remind them about what they do well, build on it, and make their week.
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• Change the look of what you're doing. This is another way to mix up the old routine. No matter how relevant or important the information is, the girls are probably getting too used to it if it's been presented in the same way for too long. Ask the girls for suggestions on how to mix it up. Maybe have a small team/patrol of girls create a new way to show the info.
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• Shake it up!  As we talk about in training, don't have your Cadette meetings in the same place/elementary school room that they've been in for 2+ years!  Find someplace new and fresh.  Move the meetings around?  One Cadette leader talked about how once a quarter there's an overnight at her house.  The Friday afternoon meeting turns into a 5-6pm dinner followed by a couple hours of troop business/meeting. Then from 8pm Friday to 8am on Saturday, it's whatever the girls do/don't want to do.  
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• One leader talked about how it was a great time use some of the Amaze topics for discussion.  Everyone was warm and toasty by the fire, snuggled in their sleeping bags, and it was an easy and comfy discussion of some of the tough issues regarding bullying, cliques, frenemies and more.  She said she was really pleased the girls were comfortable enough to do it. Safe space.