Core Strategy

Say the word "leader," and CEOs, coaches and politicians all come to mind. But we also speak of "leaders in their field" -- breakthrough scientists and surgeons, cutting-edge artists and writers. To a young girl, a leader may be the school crossing guard or the team captain chosen at recess. A leader may also be the classmate who takes a new student under her wing at lunchtime or on the playground, or on the walk home from school. Leaders, then, can be highly vocal or they can work quietly, often going unnoticed except by those who benefit directly from their work..

This view of leadership is straight from the dictionary definition of "leader," but is also so much more. It's the kind of leadership that Girl Scouts of the USA is striving for in its new Leadership Development Program, which aims to be the premier leadership experience for girls in this country, and possibly the world.

"Leadership in Girl Scouting is holistic. Leadership in Girl Scouting is about self, others and service," said GSUSA CEO Kathy Cloninger, speaking at an August staff meeting at Girl Scouts' headquarters in New York.

"A leader is somebody who knows herself really deeply, understands her values, has conviction about her values, has self-awareness, self-knowledge, self-confidence," Cloninger added. "You can't lead well unless you really understand yourself and have your set of values very well in place. A leader is somebody who really does care about the world that they live in."

For Cloninger, this is “a noble way to look at leadership” and it gives Girl Scouts an immense opportunity “to change the lens” through which the country looks at leadership.

This holistic view of leadership is also at the heart of Girls Scouts' new Core Business Strategy. "Everything we do as a Girl Scout organization needs to connect to leadership ... and how we make a difference in the world through the work we do," Cloninger said.

“When people say, “Every girl doesn’t want to grow up to be a leader,’ my response is: “In Girl Scouting, every girl is a leader,” she added. “A leader is somebody who knows herself, has empathy for others and does something with that to make a difference, [to] make the world a better place.”

The new Girl Scout Leadership Development  Program breaks down leadership into three pillars—discover, connect, take action—which translate into knowing yourself, reaching out to others and, through service and contributing to society, making a difference in the world. Girls work and learn within these pillars in various ways according to their age group.

The pillars are similar to the basic program goals that have served Girl Scouting since the 1960s, and Cloninger expects the new leadership model to prove similarly long-lasting. "This notion of leadership development is not a fad, it's not a three-year initiative," she said. "Leadership is ongoing."