TORONTO– 4-H leaders scrambled to figure out how to put together a crossword puzzle that was missing pieces during an annual 4-H leaders conference in Toronto early last month.
Trainers Rob Black and Jane Muegge used the exercise to bring people together during a workshop on positive influence and communication.
“We’re just there to help them learn from each other,” Black said. “There is years of 4-H experience in each one. The experts on how to deal with things are in the room.”
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Added Muegge: “Our role is to help them connect.”
Susan Deyaegher of the Brandon Ghost Riders Equine 4-H Club in Manitoba said she learned that leaders, members and parents have to work together to solve their challenges in clubs.
Getting everyone interacting and participating is especially important for her 18-member multi-aged club.
“Keep the kids busy and don’t let meetings drag on,” she said.
Joanne Hamilton of the Carlton Trail 4-H Beef Club in Lanigan, Sask., cited technology such as social networks and texting as ways to stay connected as a group and bridge generational gaps.
“Kids feel more comfortable with them. They are savvy to that,” she said. “If you can bridge that gap, you can become a team and accomplish whatever they want.”
Raymond Binks, a 4-H key leader at Grande Prairie, Alta., agreed.
“Be able to use it instead of putting our heads in the sand and not using it,” he said.
Muegge and Black advised leaders to consider the different generations they work with from baby boomers to generation X.
Different people need different approaches, said Muegge, who suggested leaders listen and ask open-ended questions.
“You can’t teach just one way or you may miss two-thirds of the group,” said Black.
He said some are hands-on learners while others pick up things from reading.
“As a leader, you need to think about that.”
Muegge said leaders can deal with difficult people and overbearing parents by getting them involved in other tasks such as preparing lunch.
“Create a diversion so they can’t do what they’ve been doing before.”
Binks said parents often lack a clear understanding of what 4-H is trying to do.
Lethbridge key leader Andy Pittman said better communication and education would help, especially with new parents.
“Communication seems like an easy thing, but the more you talk about it, the more you realize it’s a barrier,” he said.
“The session allowed us to learn how to come in different ways, learn what the barriers are and how to get over them and move in the same direction.”
