November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 63

leadership skills and abilities.
This particular facility also tended
to hire good students, with an average
grade point average was 3.54. The respondents were also highly involved in
other extracurricular activities including
Boy and Girl Scouts, school leadership,
and other school related clubs and other outside service organizations. Good
students and those who are engaged in
other extracurricular activities may be
able to focus better, divide their time effectively amidst a busy schedule, and be
responsible to the task at hand.
The concept of leadership was almost
as important as teamwork, according
to survey respondents. They considered themselves leaders at the facility
and most pointed out specific examples
where they were given the opportunity to take the lead in a program area
as a senior staffer. Traits included leading by example, modeling professionalism, building consensus, establishing

fairness, maintaining a safe facility,
keeping a can-do attitude, and empowering staff. This, in part, appeared to be
a motivation tool that led staff to return to
the facility in later years-to give back.
They remembered what it was like their
first year as a lifeguard and helped ensure younger staff learned the culture
of the facility as they did-a balance of
hard work, responsibility, dedication,
and fun.
A few traits to look for in successful
lifeguards and in building a better lifeguard staff:
■■ Better staff members may be those who

are good students.
culture should emphasize a high
degree of teamwork which goes beyond just watching the water. Staff members who have participated in team
sports may understand better that the
team looks out for each other and are
able to recognize and anticipate the
needs of team members.

■■ The

culture should offer the ability to
learn and develop leadership skills at all
levels-skills that are then folded back
into the culture of the organization, such
as loyalty, dedication, teamwork, and a
strong work ethic. Staff members who
were involved in a variety of extracurricular activities seemed to thrive in
this type of environment.

All of the above observations combined together led to staff that enjoyed
the job, bought into the culture, gained
life skills, and eventually stayed longer
at the job. A quality culture can contribute to better observation and readiness
to act in emergency situations.


■■ The

Chris Chamberlain is an assistant
professor in the Department of
Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism,
California State University, East Bay, in
Hayward, California, and a chapter
author in the upcoming edition of NRPA's
Management of Parks and Recreation.

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November 2010 - Parks & Recreation

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