Return to In-Person Youth Programming Honorably

With the vaccine rollout, blended and in-person youth programming is becoming a reality. So you and your team can be prepared, here are some considerations you won’t want to miss. Note: You may want to grab a pen and paper for this!

Sure, you’ve been focusing on logistics. Getting all the precautions in place. Readying the space. Ensuring you have enough staff. Talking to building principals. 

As you’re thinking about trauma-informed programming, leading compassionately, improving family engagement and navigating new funding streams, you have an opportunity to walk the talk of youth work.  You can model the practices you want staff to enact with kids.

Before you barrel ahead, schedule some time to reflect on your experiences this year and what you’ve learned. Here’s how:

Consider your role in your organization’s culture so you can better support and lift up your team so they can, in turn, better support their teams so they can, in turn, better support young people.

If you’ve created a work culture where vulnerability isn’t okay, you’ve also created a culture where innovation and creativity aren’t okay. ~Brene Brown

This year has required great vulnerability from our staff, teachers, families, youth and ourselves. Our teams have been thrust into jobs they were never prepared for. Our teams are in-person people who have had to use unfamiliar technology which has been stressful and for some, a nearly insurmountable task. On top of that, we have the pressure that failure cannot be an option. To fail, in our world, means to fail youth. 

And yet. And yet... to try new things, to generate new ideas, to create and innovate means that we will fall. We will fail. That’s part of the learning process. We’re good at saying that to children and young people, right? But are we good at walking that talk when it comes to supporting our staff?

This year, we’ve had no choice but to try new things. New ways to engage youth, to connect with families, to work collaboratively, to keep our organizations afloat. How has that gone for your organization? If your staff tries something new and fails, do you have their back? Do they know you have their back? And how have you shown them that you do?

Transitioning to the next phase of your programming is going to continue to require creativity and flexibility. To ensure your team is up for it, you need to ensure that you are up for it. 

Thinking about how you and your team have stretched this year, how you have been vulnerable, ask yourself and take notes: What have I learned? What does it mean? How does it matter to me and our organization?

Host a reflective staff meeting so you can hear your team and listen to what has become clear to them during this time.

“Change comes from listening, learning, caring and conversation.” ~Gwen Ifill

Even as you go back to a building, a classroom, or a program space, things won’t be how they were. And that’s good. Things should not be how they were pre-pandemic. We have needed change and here is the opportunity! But we need to acknowledge that we are still in a transition from where we’ve been to whatever nebulousness is next. Transitions are difficult; transitioning into unknowns are even moreso.  As a leader, provide space to end your team’s work during this phase of the pandemic honorably.  

How do you do it? With the Aha, Appreciation, Apology meeting. Shout out to Linda Lantieri and Hector Montenegro from Transformative Educational Leadership who offered this strategy as a reflection in one of our courses this winter.  The prompt is: Consider our work together this year. What is an a-ha (something you learned), an appreciation or an apology you would like to offer to the group? 

Edutopia shows how to use this strategy with young people daily; I’m suggesting you use this strategy as a foundation to help you wrap up the year. So, you may want to ask staff to first write down their thoughts then share with the larger group. You’ll want to allow time for them to provide context and share what they’ve been holding on to.  And, be ready for strong emotions to emerge.

During this activity, your role is to listen. Listen intently. Pay close attention to your team’s words, body language, pauses and reactions. This is an opportunity to be curious and learn what has been happening on the other side of your team’s cameras. This is not a time for judgement or performance review. It’s also not a time to troubleshoot, fix or defend. Focus on staying curious and listening.

Then ask yourself and take notes: What have I learned here? What does it mean? How does it matter to me and our organization?

Review your organizational structures so you can acknowledge and address the big gaps in your organization that pandemic life has highlighted.

The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.~Bill Gates

Oh the inefficiencies and issues that have been highlighted during the past year! For example, nearly every one of our clients has said that working remotely has highlighted how organizational communication structures have not been solidly in place: communication among leadership, between staff, with stakeholders, with partners, with families, with youth…

Organizations that relied fully on in-person meetings and office drop-ins have struggled with integrating other communication mechanisms like instant message, text, shared drives and live documents.

Remote working has pushed us to recognize the challenges with relying heavily on only one mode of communication.  What gaps have you noticed in your communication structures? How could your communication structures be more effective, wide-spread, and equitable?

Other gaps may include:

• Job functions--What roles have become apparent as needed that seemed optional before? What skills, talents and passions do staff have that were previously unrecognized?

• Staff training--What parts of your staff training have been inconsistent? How can online courses support your team? How does that free up your time and space to go deeper during in-person training?

• Community--What has become evident about how your organization interfaces with its community and stakeholders? 

Think about the gaps that this remote life has highlighted in your organization. Then ask yourself the same questions and add to your notes: What have I learned? What does it mean? How does it matter to me and our organization?

As we move forward into post-pandemic youth programming, don’t miss the opportunity to honor your experiences and your team’s experiences. Take a day to reflect and document what you’ve learned so you can turn your full attention to the future.