Global Leadership Adventures

Program Training:

Vision, Values, History, Shared Mental Model, Program Execution

Purpose of Training

• The purpose of these trainings is NOT to review every detail of the program – rather, it is to create a “shared mental model” about how to think about the program.

• As often happens, plans may change the moment the program begins – the most important thing is that we are all thinking along the same lines and are ready to adapt as needed in order to make the program a success.

Our Mission

• To inspire the next generation to realize their potential to transform the world and their role in it

• This requires the focused effort of a team of talented, passionate people with shared values and vision.

Our Values• Our Integrity is unspoken. It is the unfailing framework from which we build every program, human

relationship, and bridge into a community.

• Respect is inherent in all of our interactions among students, staff, and all of the members whose communities we serve. Respect means accepting and celebrating differences. Respect means considering all points of view, always.

• Cooperation is key to our accomplishments. We are a traveling community, helping to serve other communities. We work together, learn from one another, and build valuable friendships in the process.

• Compassion is what drives our service, and that compassion extends to students, parents, and host communities. Our care for people extends to everything we do.

• We are invested in the Personal Growth and development of all of our students and staff. We foster an environment for students to safely explore, experience, and self-discover.

• Optimism is at our core. We believe that anything is possible, and that every person is capable of driving and adopting positive change in the world.

• Innovation is what makes us stand out in international education. Open to new ideas and always striving to work better and smarter to serve our communities, students, and parents.

Our Roots and Story

• Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) was co-founded by Fred Swaniker and Andrew Motiwalla

• Summer Academy at Cape Town, 2004

• African Leadership Academy

• Experience and Vision

• Currently 11 countries, 19 distinct programs

Introductions

• Introduction – everyone in cohort introduces themselves

• Name, current job, program country, role

• One thing I am most excited about for the summer…

Leadership Philosophy

• We believe that leaders are made and not born

• We also believe that individuals develop the foundation of their value-systems and their penchant for leadership during their formative adolescent years

• This is why we created an organization that nurtures and develops young people, knowing that these influential experiences will prepare them for a lifetime of principled, ethical leadership

Leadership Programming• Leadership is woven through the program in the following

ways: – Theory

• Leadership skills sessions– Case Studies

• Meeting living leaders and learning how they have created positive change

– Leadership through service• Practicing leadership skills while doing community

service• Reflection sessions to consider our words and actions to

develop greater awareness of our leadership potential

Our Approach

• GLA delivers a profound and unique multi-faceted international cultural adventure with a focus on instilling leadership values. The GLA Program Model offers an integrated dynamic experience that combines:– connections with the local community through

meaningful community service– social and cultural context through academic

workshops and speakers– adventure, discovery, and culture learning through

excursions– connections, discussion, and debate with students

and staff

Community Service• With GLA, students positively impact communities in need,

engage in cross-cultural exchange with local citizens, and positively change lives through meaningful volunteer work.

• Volunteer work is the vehicle to take students into impoverished communities and learn first hand – connecting their hearts with their heads.

Community Service

• Because we believe in the ability to positively change communities over time, we try to work with the same communities year after year and establish long-term relationships with their community leaders.

• Since specific community needs constantly change, we work together with our partners each year to identify volunteer projects that will have the greatest impact.

Learning• For each GLA program, students participate in courses and

seminars that are focused on the country’s history, culture and language. – Speakers– Articles– Discussions

• The GLA experience encourages students to share their thoughts, engage in discussions with peers from around the world, question experts, and learn about pervading issues that currently affect the country.

• Your role in learning and creating a service-learning experience…

Excursions

• Exploration is integral to the GLA experience. • Students embark on both exciting and cultural excursions in the

surrounding local areas. • Excursions range from hiking up Table Mountain in Cape Town

and white water rafting in Costa Rica to touring a local family farm.

• Excursions are carefully selected to maximize enjoyment, learning, and immersion into the local culture, and to challenge the students' worldview.

GLA Student Body• GLA attracts an international group of students whose goal looking to

expand their horizons with a meaningful travel experience, to make a difference through meaningful volunteer work, and to build relationships with people from around the world.

• International: 21 Countries Represented – 10% of enrollments

• Ages: 14 – 18 years old– Average age 16/17 years old

• Socio-economic Diversity– 16% of enrollments

GLA Trip Leaders

• What does a trip leader do?

• Overall, trip leaders accompany a group of students on a program that is run by a local, in-country person or organization. The Trip Leader takes a pre-arranged program and elevates it to a “GLA Experience” by adding an additional value layer.

• The additional value layer comes in the form of: providing additional student support, extracting learning about leadership and global issues from the experience and doing specific things that provide an additional layer of safety and comfort for students and their parents.

Staff Creativity

• It should be clear that the policies and procedures of this training are just the basic foundation of a GLA program

• They provide the skeleton and the Directors, Mentors and students create everything else

• We have selected each of you because of your experience, energy and skill set – we encourage you to each infuse your selves into the program experience!

Staff roles – Director v. Mentor (refer to Staff Roles Document)

• Local Director: Program operations, logistics, budget– Makes sure the program schedule is executed according to plan and

within the established budget– Community service, transportation, excursions, meals, security

• International Director: Responsible for student management– Ensure all safety protocols are followed– Final authority for student discipline issues – Make sure discussion and reflection is happening in small groups– Deliver leadership sessions or delegate to others

Mentors• Mentors are the critical ‘guides’ for students

– Guide their students through Discussion & Reflection sessions

– Serve as a counselor, supervisor, and close confidant.

– Manage group dynamic, discipline, and promote respectful behavior

– Keeping close to the students’ experience is very important, and Mentors are invaluable to the power of students’ experience as ‘older siblings’ and to the staff for understanding how students are feeling, what conflicts there might be, what legitimate concerns there might be, etc.

Operating Principles• Foundation for GLA culture and our guide for behavior and

decisions during our day to day work:

• The Principles:

• 1.  Safety is always first priority.• 2.  Everyone in the GLA organization is a leader.• 3.  Students are always watching and following our example.• 4. We push ourselves outside our comfort zone.• 5.  Nothing goes exactly as planned.• 6. We work together as a team.• 7. We take our work seriously. And we have fun!

Cardinal Tasks

• Makes sure these “Cardinal Tasks” are accomplished– Meet students at the airport with GLA sign– Prepare a system for students to call home upon arrival – for

example:• have phone cards available, • Skype set-up on a computer• mobile phone with sufficient funds handy

– Make sure all students call home within hours of arrival– Make sure all students complete a Final Evaluation form and that all

forms make it back to GLA HQ– Ensure gender-segregated lodging is pre-arranged– Collect and store students’ passports during the program

Cardinal Tasks

• Leadership & Learning

– “What is Leadership?” and connects program to concepts on Leadership

– Facilitates discussion around group experiences or readings

– Optional – prepare readings for discussion relevant to the country

– Leads a group reflection session periodically

– Teaches journaling and provides journal prompts

Cardinal Tasks

• Group Dynamic

– Maintain positive group dynamic

– Promote integration of group and try to melt cliques

– Keep group focused on larger goals and not petty things

– Emotional “check-ins” with students to check for homesickness or emotional disturbance.

Cardinal Tasks

• Marketing

– Send group photo first day of program to GLA HQ ASAP

– photos to GLA HQ for the blog

– Take photos for the catalog

– Relay updates to GLA HQ to include in parent blog

– Ambassador Nominations

• Ensure Safety and Security Protocols– Often local safety standards are not the same as GLA’s

safety standards. Trip Leaders are the ones to help our local team understand what is acceptable and how to comply.

– Keep GLA HQ updated on any safety issues that arise– Be aware of emergency procedures outlined in GLA

Operating Manual– Know key emergency contact phone number: international

medical support hotline, GLA staff emergency numbers– Ensure that students do not use drugs, alcohol or cigarettes– Ensure students will be have adult supervision 24 hours a

day

Cardinal Tasks

Staff Management• Meetings & check-ins

– The day before the students arrive, the staff should meet to set a schedule for how often they will meet during the program (min. every other day).

– Airport pickups: at least one of the staff members should be at the airport to meet students in red GLA Shirts. Check Enrolled Student notes to see if any are arriving as an “unaccompanied minor” and the director is required to show ID and sign for their release.

– Team meetings: How often they will meet as a team during the program. It is recommended that the team meet at least twice a week to gauge how people are feeling and to share experiences.

– Roles and responsibilities: clearly articulate who needs to be present for which parts of the program.

– Inter-personal challenges with staff, meet with both directors.

Common Challenges for Staff

• Hardest things for staff

– Fatigue – emotional and physical

– Balance between mentor and friend

– Maintain calmness in chaos – fear, tension, frustration – cause group dynamic to spiral down

Staff Preservation• Running a GLA program can be exhausting. It is important

that staff take time to decompress and relax whenever possible. The program is structured to allow different staff members to relax at different times

• Evening supervision should be shared by all the staff on a rotating basis. This allows others to rest, relax and get extra sleep

• The Program Director should make sure that other staff is not getting burned out or run down. If staff begins to become burned out, the Director should assign them some time off. Ultimately, GLA wants the program to be a positive experience for its staff.

Setup Prior to Program Start Date

• 3 Days Out

• Review the schedule– Are there any activities missing?– Are speakers lined up?– Do we have “thank you gifts” or stipends allocated for

each speaker?• Meals (Make sure the kitchen staff knows about: )

– Dietary issues: vegetarians, vegans, gluten free, celiac disease, allergies

– Days that we will eat off campus– First/last meal served & food for airport day– Snacks

• 2 Days Out

• Mentors and Directors should visit all community service sites together in order to begin planning activities for their group.

• Room assignments• Welcome packet• Team assignments• Door signs with students names on them• Check # of beds - All clean?• Post “House Rules” in the entry way to lodging facilities• Have room keys ready• Create welcome packet with intro & contact info• Research Emergency Contact information• Purchase supplies for community service project• Review allergies and dietary needs & and check-in with cooks

• 1 Day Out

• Coordinate with Local Director to purchase materials for community service projects• First Aid Kits?• Develop content for Orientation and decide who will deliver what parts• Airport sign/Airport pickup schedule• Check for student birthdays• Review Schedule

– Any activities/speakers missing?– Assign duties– Figure out schedule for “free evenings”

• Write post for program blog to send to all parents• Post daily schedule in highly visible places on campus• Setup whiteboard to post schedule (ideally, in dining area or meeting area)• Print out weekly evaluation forms and final forms• Make copies of articles or any other • Obtain envelopes to collect students valuables and passport for storage

Ambassador Program

• The program will encompass ~50 student ambassadors • Work to promote GLA and its mission in their schools and communities • Coached by GLA staff, but given lots of freedom to execute• Develop their leadership skills• Share their life-changing experiences

Ambassador Program – Staff Tasks

• What Staff Needs to Do– Identify 3-5 candidates from each session – Jot down a few notes on why you think they are qualified– Talk to the candidates and ask them if they are willing to become

GLA ambassadors• Attributes of ambassador candidates

– Enthusiastic about the GLA mission– Charisma (they are the "go to" people in the group; students

gravitate towards them in the session)– Extroverted– Articulate (good speakers, can present to a large crowd)– Leaders in extracurricular activities back at school (i.e., editor of

school newspaper, student council president, captain of sports team, etc.)

– Entrepreneurial and creative (comes up with new ideas and "makes them happen")

Ambassador Program FAQ• FAQ• How will ambassadors be compensated?

– Ambassadors will become eligible to receive a combination of commission and credit to a future GLA program for finding leads and enrollees, as well as other prizes i.e. gift cards, GLA gear, etc.

• What are next steps for ambassadors?– If a candidate expresses interest, GLA staff will contact them in September via

phone or e-mail for next steps.  Candidates will get training and help on how to be kick-ass ambassadors.

• What will ambassadors be doing day-to-day?– This is will be fun!  Ambassadors get to be entrepreneurs.  GLA will give them

direction and tools and ideas, but it will be up to them to decide what they'd like to do.  

• What is the time commitment?– Students are busy, and we don't expect them to commit much time.  On average, it

would be a few hours a month to promote GLA by organizing an event, writing an essay, etc.  In addition, they will need some time to talk to others about their experiences.

Program Evaluation

• The GLA Operating Manual includes:– Weekly Pulse Evaluations (to be used for 14, 21

day programs) – Final Program Evaluations (exclusively for 10 day

programs and at conclusion of 14, 21 day program)• This is how we continually improve our programs• This is how we gage our success• This is how we acquire student references for next

season• These need to be scanned, faxed or mailed to GLA HQ

as soon as possible after conclusion of each session

• What do we want students to say about our program?

• What do we want parents to say about our program?

• What do we want to say after our program?