Leadership development is at the heart of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting. From the moment we promise to “do our best”, we step into a values-based leadership journey that shapes our perspectives and behaviours. We believe that everyone, whatever their age or experience, can equally practise leadership. Every adult member of Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting has the same leadership responsibility; to lead in a way which is true to our values, responds to context and uplifts others. In this way, we can contribute to a Movement where girls can be themselves, grow in resilience, take the lead in their own lives and build the world they want to see.
Practising the WAGGGS leadership model can help leaders of the Movement develop the behaviours they need to fulfil that responsibility, so we would expect candidates for the Regional Committee to be able to demonstrate that they are consciously practising the WAGGGS leadership model through their attitudes and behaviours. The WAGGGS leadership model uses six mindsets as tools to make leadership practice conscious.
We are looking for World Board candidates who can evidence a well-developed level of conscious practice towards the ten leadership outcomes. What follows are examples of the kinds of leadership behaviour we would hope to see in the World Board members under each leadership outcome:
By practicing the leadership model, she will:
Leaders of the Movement
OUTCOME
INDICATOR
Treat herself kindly
Lead a balanced life, which allows time to develop as a whole person beyond the Movement
Respond to challenging situations, conflict or pressure in a measured and calm manner
Recognise and acknowledge her own mistakes with confidence and resilience
Challenge herself to understand and take into account different perspectives
Challenge stereotypes and generalisations about people or contexts
Seek opportunities and be willing to learn from a diversity of perspectives, inside and outside of the Movement
Be ready to change her view or opinion based on the input of others
Learn from her own feelings and experiences
Create space to reflect on leadership practice and incorporate learning into future decisions and actions
Use questions to check her own understanding, seek feedback and avoid making assumptions
Be ready to adapt how she respond to others’ experiences and feelings
Work with others to create spaces where everyone can fully participate
Put the collective interest first and work at building a united team
Role model shared leadership in her different roles
Build and maintain strong and positive connections with WAGGGS volunteers and staff
Challenge gender expectations
Recognise how learned gender norms and unconscious bias can affect perspectives and decision making
Work to break down gender barriers to leadership for girls and women
Advocate for space for girls’ voices in global and local contexts
Empower any and every girl to practise leadership
Create pathways personally and organisationally for a diversity of girls to participate in decision making and strategic leadership
Prioritise an inclusive and accessible Movement for all girls and ready to act for this
Put the focus on positive impact for girls when discussing or making strategic decisions
Seek the information she needs to understand the full picture
Value new and external sources of information and expertise to inform decision-making
Be willing to separate objective assessment of a situation from her personal opinion
Seek information to develop her understanding of working in a complex global environment
Adapt her behaviour to the context
Respond constructively and positively in different cultural, social and work contexts
Take cues from others to help read a situation
Reflect and self-monitor her own behaviour
Innovate to create positive impact
Inspire and encourage others to protect space for creative thinking
Actively embrace risk taking as a pathway to innovation
Be committed to learn from innovation and refine creative ideas into tangible impact
Make choices rooted in her values
Demonstrate coherence between values and behaviour by modelling WAGGGS values in action
Act for the greatest impact towards the WAGGGS vision and mission
Be a positive ambassador for the impact of the Girl Guide and Girl Scout Movement in civil society
