Girl Scouts is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. We offer every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. We’re 2.5 million strong — more than 1.7 million girls and 750,000 adults.
Girl Scouts was founded by Juliette Gordon Low on March 12, 1912 in Savannah, Georgia. It was founded during the Progressive Era before women were allowed to vote. The first Girl Scouts blazed trails and redefined what was possible for themselves and girls everywhere.In fact, being a Girl Scout helps girls thrive in five key ways. As a Girl Scout, she:
• Develops a strong sense of self
• Displays positive values
• Seeks challenges and learns from setbacks
• Forms and maintains healthy relationships
• Learns to identify and solve problems in her community
The Girl Scouts operate as a federated model. This means the national level supports hundreds of councils to help them maintain and grow a healthy team.
There are several coaches that are deployed to support the councils. The national level influences the councils but does not do the work. Therefore, communication skills are vital to the success of the coaches.
The councils began to see a decline in their membership numbers. The national level needed to act and do something to support their health for continued growth.
The Girl Scouts learned about Extended DISC® through their partnership with Sandler Training. The Extended DISC® Assessments were a natural fit to help with communication and sales growth.
Girl Scouts thrive to help girls develop a strong sense of themselves, so it only seemed right to develop that within ourselves. Extended DISC® provides insights into our own self-awareness. It is pre-work for our council staff members and at the national level we try to get as many people through the training as possible.
The biggest benefit has been the sense of empowerment we have seen, both as an organization and at the individual level. Girl Scouts is comprised mostly of women, and many have grown up being discouraged to be strong and not being empowered to use their leadership skills.
The Extended DISC® Assessments have caused many individuals within the organization to pause and rethink the value they bring with their natural style. The assessments leave them with the sense that it’s okay to be who you are. We are able to embrace our true selves (even the pieces that have been squashed over the years) and appreciate the unique styles of each individual.
When the Extended DISC® 4-Steps to Effective Communication are applied, our coaches become more influential and are able to have their message heard; whereas, in the past it may not have been. Also, the councils who fully implement the training are the most successful, the healthiest, and see continued growth in their membership.
With Extended DISC® we have learned to celebrate who we are and focus working on continued growth.