Transforming Leadership

Girls today believe that a leader is defined not only by the qualities and skills one has, but also by how those qualities and skills are used to make a difference in the world. In their own words, they want to be the type of leader who "stands up for his or her beliefs and values," and "tries to change the world for the better." Leadership is "knowing what you believe and putting it into action." As the world becomes more complex and uncertain, understanding how girls see leadership is crucial. Girl Scouting is meeting girls' definition of what it takes to be a leader with the New Girl Leadership Experience-a model that engages girls in discovering themselves, connecting with others, and taking action to make the world a better place. This model is more inclusive and empowering of girls as the experiences are, as much as possible, girl led and encourage experiential and cooperative learning. To develop and evaluate this model objectively, the Girl Scout Research Institute reached out to various youth development experts, volunteers, councils, and national staff. From this collaborative, intensive effort, 15 anticipated outcomes of the New Girl Leadership Experience were identified. Girls will experience these outcomes as they discover, connect, and take action in their new leadership experience through programmatic journeys in Girl Scouting. This body of work stands on a tradition of evaluation within Girl Scouting where numerous studies have been conducted nationally and locally to continually assess the impact of Girl Scout programs and special initiatives.