Letting Girls Take the Lead

As the troop leader of a Daisy troop, you will be making the majority of troop decisions; however, it’s important to let the girls know that by sharing their opinions and ideas they will be guiding the activity of their troop. You’ll want to repeat activities that the girls say they really enjoyed, listen to their ideas on how to make activities even more fun, and give girls the opportunity to ask questions or predict what is going to happen next.

Girls at the Daisy Age

Girls this age love to be helpers. You can allow girls to help collect forms, take attendance, pass out up supplies, lead a game, choose a song to sing, and other small tasks. Daisies may need to practice taking turns when talking and sharing—the Daisy circle (troop government for Daisies) is a great way to help to your troop learn to be open to others’ ideas and to cooperation.

To learn more about commons behaviors at the Daisy age, see our Daisy Behaviors and Group Dynamics article.

Girl-led Examples

Here some ways to ensure girls are taking the lead in your Daisy troop:

• Allow girls to make simple choices, such as which petal to work on at the next meeting, or to decide between two field trip options Try to limit choices to two so that girls are not overwhelmed.
• Allow girls to take on responsibilities that are short and easy enough to accomplish.
• Help them identify new experiences with ones they already know.

As the troop leader of a Brownie troop, you will take a moderator role and help girls make informed choices. You’ll want to let the girls plan as much as possible, giving them the freedom to solve problems on their own. If girls are not making mistakes they’re not doing the planning . When the girls ask to do something that you don’t know how to do, find another adult who can help the girls make it happen. With these suggestions, always keep in mind health and safety guidelines and step in when you feel it is necessary.

Girls at the Brownie Age

Girls that are Brownie age can generate ideas for activities that they want to do. Sometimes their brainstorming can get silly, but that’s part of the fun! One girl may say, “let’s go to the moon” which might inspire a memorable stargazing trip. The Brownie ring (troop government for Brownies) is an excellent way for your troop to have discussions and make decisions.

To learn more about commons behaviors at the Brownie age, see our Brownie Behaviors and Group Dynamics article.

Girl-led Examples

Here some ways to ensure girls are taking the lead in your Brownie troop:

• Encourage girls to be creative and add their own flair to projects and activities.
• Let the girls try new things and make mistakes trying them.
• Let the girls do the talking with meeting guests, their troop mates, other troops, or the service unit.
• Ask thoughtful questions instead of just providing answers.
• Let girls decide between multiple options.

As the troop leader of a Junior troop, you will step back even more and will start to advise and facilitate. You’ll want to let the girls take turns moderating discussions, decide how they want to plan sessions and activities, begin and end meetings, and even try leading meetings.

Girls at the Junior Age

Girls this age can participate in all steps of planning activities and carrying out tasks. Even if planning activities for the girls would be easier, girls will learn much more from the planning process than from doing the activity. Girls that are not helping with the planning tend to lose interest fast. Juniors should also be able to set goals with some guidance.

The patrol system, executive board, and town meeting system (forms of troop government) are great ways for girls at this age to have discussion and make decisions.

To learn more about commons behaviors at the Junior age, see our Junior Behaviors and Group Dynamics article.

Girl-led Examples

Here some ways to ensure girls are taking the lead in your Junior troop:

• Brainstorm possible ways of doing suggested activities or offer substitutions to make activities more to their taste.
• Let girls look at the Junior planning guide and make substitutions.
• Let girls choose their own Take Action Project (one they really care about) and call, interview, and email prospective community members to be their project guides. Let girls act alongside other adults in the community who have come forward to assist the girls in their action plans and develop additional ways to research community needs.
• Let girls select field trips to enrich their leadership Journey or River Valleys planning guides.

As the troop leader of a Cadette troop, you will coach girls so that they can lead the planning, decision-making, learning, and fun for their troop. This ensures that girls are engaged in their learning and experience leadership opportunities as they prepare to become active participants in their local and global communities.

When girls are planning a project or activity, you may need to think through tasks that will need to happen, consider the readiness level of girls for those tasks, and if the tasks could be broken down into smaller steps to help the girls be successful. You should also consider which tasks are essential to group safety.

Girls at the Cadette Age

As girls become teens, their personalities  continue to develop. Girls at this age are beginning to form peer groups based on their similar interests. When engaging in discussion and debate, girls may need guidelines for depersonalizing arguments. The Patrol, Executive Board, and Town Meeting System (forms of troop government) are great ways for girls at this age to have discussion and make decisions.

Girl-led Examples

Here some ways to ensure girls are taking the lead in your Cadette troop:

• Expose girls to opportunities to teach or guide others as well as support girls in providing service to others.
• Encourage girls to plan challenging activities and serve as a resource for them.
• Think about coaches in sports—the coach does not generally play in the game; she provides an encouragement and direction from the sidelines.

As the troop leader of a Senior troop, you will mentor and cheer on the girls while being careful to not take over. You’ll want to acts as a guide and resource for girls as they plan their own complex projects.

Girls should be doing most of the goal setting and planning. You may need to think through tasks that will need to happen, consider the readiness level of girls for those tasks, and if the tasks could be broken down into smaller steps to help the girls be successful. You should also consider which tasks are essential to group safety.

Girls at the Senior Age

Girls at this age are used to responsibility and have been gradually stepping into  leadership roles. They need time to talk between actions in order to fully learn from their experiences and to keep growing.

Seniors not only benefit from working in teams but from speaking openly and often about how teamwork is working out. The patrol system, executive board, and town meeting system (forms of troop government) are great ways for girls at this age to have discussion and make decisions.

Girl-led Examples

Here some ways to ensure girls are taking the lead in your Senior troop:

• Focus on what the girls want to do and the natural direction they seem to be taking.
• Encourage girls to question or investigate things they normally take for granted.
• Encourage girls to take what excites them and share it with younger girls, peers, and family.
• Engage the girls in scheduling how often, when, and where to meet.
• Have girls drive most of the planning, organization, and implementation of projects.
• Encourage girls to take trips and engage in other activities that spark their imaginations.
• Help girls identify topics that matter to them.

As the troop leader of an Ambassador troop, your success is measured by how much you let go. You’ll want to be less active as the girls become more confident in their abilities.

Girls should be doing the goal setting and planning. You may need to think through tasks that will need to happen, consider the readiness level of girls for those tasks, and if the tasks could be broken down into smaller steps to help the girls be successful. You should also consider which tasks are essential to group safety.

Girls at the Ambassador Age

Girls at this age are maturing into active, conscientious adults. Girls will want varying degrees of direction and advice, but they’ll mostly be counting on you to be their biggest advocate.

The patrol system, executive board, and town meeting system (forms of troop government) are great ways for girls at this age to have discussion and make decisions.

Girl-led Examples

Here some ways to ensure girls are taking the lead in your Ambassador troop:

• Encourage girls to identify challenges in their communities and the world.
• Assists girls in developing connections with individuals and organizations on national and international levels.
• Assist girls in finding the resources they need to plan for future careers.
• Let girls research policy making processes.
• Let girls decide how they want to schedule and conduct meetings.
• Let girls decide how they want to team up to work on a project.
• Let girls call, email, and interview potential project partners.