Girl Scouts: Changing the way leaders are made

Check out this interactive electronic resource developed by GSUSA to guide you through the key features and benefits of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

What are girls saying about leadership?
Girl Scout Research Institute – Change It Up! What Girls Say About Redefining Leadership, March 2008

• More than half of American girls say they don’t aspire to be leaders because girls are turned off by the conventional conception of leadership as command and control.
• Sixty-eight percent of survey respondents said they would want to be leaders who stand up “for their beliefs and values,” and 59 percent said they would like to be a leader “who tries to change the world for the better.”
• Girls were more likely than boys to be motivated to be leaders because they want to help other people (67 percent vs. 53 percent), share their knowledge and skills with others (53 percent vs. 47 percent) and change the world for the better (45 percent vs. 31 percent).

What are Girl Scouts doing to address these needs?

• Girl Scouts is unveiling the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.
• It focuses on three keys to leadership – Discover, Connect and Take Action – with girls being encouraged to take on increasing responsibility for designing and implementing activities.
• The new program focuses on national outcomes as girls see how their actions can impact the lives of others.

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
View the full FAQs ( pdf, Aug 2008)

Q: What is the Girl Scout Leadership Experience?

A: The Girl Scout Leadership Experience engages girls in discovering themselves, connecting with others, and taking action to make the world a better place.


Q: What are the three keys to leadership and how do they relate to the Leadership model?

A: Discover, Connect, and Take Action. These three keys are defined as: 

• Discover: Girls understand themselves and their values and use their knowledge and skills to explore the world.
• Connect: Girls care about, inspire, and team with others locally and globally.
• Take Action: Girls act to make the world a better place.

In Girl Scouting, Discover+Connect+Take Action=Leadership. All Girl Scout experiences are intentionally designed to tie to one or more of the 15 national leadership outcomes, or benefits, categorized under the three keys to leadership. The three keys to leadership replace Girl Scouting’s “four program goals.” 


Q: What are the Girl Scout processes?

A: In Girl Scouting, it’s not just “what girls do” (activities), but “how” (processes) they do them (activities). When used together, these processes—Girl Led, Cooperative Learning, and Learning by Doing—ensure the quality and promote the fun and friendship so integral to Girl Scouting. Here’s how Girl Scouts defines these processes: 

• Girl Led: Girl led is just what it sounds like—girls play an active part in figuring out the what, where, when, how, and why of their activities. They lead the planning and decision-making as much as possible. 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. 
• Learning by Doing: A hands-on learning process that engages girls in continuous cycles of action and reflection that result in deeper understanding of concepts and mastery of practical skills. As they participate in meaningful activities and then reflect on them, girls get to explore their own questions, discover answers, gain new skills, and share ideas and observations with others. Throughout the process, it’s important for girls to be able to connect their experiences to their lives and apply what they have learned to their future experiences.
• Cooperative Learning: Through cooperative learning, girls work together toward shared goals in an atmosphere of respect and collaboration that encourages the sharing of skills, knowledge, and learning. Working together in all-girl environments also encourages girls to feel powerful and emotionally and physically safe, and it allows them to experience a sense of belonging even in the most diverse groups.

What does this mean for you and for Girl Scouts?

Pathways for participation

Girl Scouts is all about being flexible to meet the needs of today's girl. Don't have time to be in a troop - no problem, you can be an independent Juliette Girl Scout. Wish that Girl Scouts could focus more on just the things you love - you got it, join or create a Special Interest Troop.

The six Girl Scout Pathways are the ways in which girls might participate in Girl Scouting. Girls can choose any one, all or some of these pathways within a single year. The Girl Scout community nationwide continues to develop a new approach to ensure that girls and adults can participate in Girl Scouting in the ways they want to! Learn more about Pathways.

It's good to be a Girl Scout!

Imagine the impact of 10,000 adult volunteers in Colorado working with more than 33,000 girls to achieve these outcomes and nearly 1 million volunteers across the country doing the same. There will be no doubt that girls are on the pathway to leadership and they have the power to make a difference in the world. 

It’s a time to be excited about being a Girl Scout supporter, and it’s a time jump in because the journey is just beginning.

View the press release
View national media coverage
Learn more about the Leadership Experience