Let me give you the basics of Hudson's article or you can read it yourself at this link. His argument is that we should stop using leadership in a technical sense and instead let it grow naturally or as he calls it, "the need for deeper, inner work..." It is a metaphor for cultivating self-awareness, reflection, and "unlearning." There is no need for a regid program curriculum, and relies on emergent learning.
It is a mindshift from "collecting skills" to "growing identity." Too often we rely on only on external expert formulas or techniques. To be more succinct, Hudson emphasizes folks to develop or discover, experiment, reflect, iterate, and grow.
THIS IS WHAT SUMMER CAMP DOES!
In a career of working at a summer camps, I have found that it offers one of the most vivid
incarnations of that approach. Camp life forces leaders to act, adapt, reflect,
and grow in real time, with relational intensity, feedback loops, and evolving
responsibilities. The constraints, community, and daily/weekly/seasonal cycles of camp make
it a microcosm for leadership development that’s deeply aligned with the "unschooling" philosophy.
(A little Al from al - I asked for a comparison chart based on my BLOG posts)
|
Hudson’s Unschooling Principle |
How Camp Life Embodies / Challenges It |
Examples & Nuances |
|
Leadership as lived, emergent learning |
Camps force on-the-ground, high-stakes responsibility.
There's no substitute for real-time decision making with real people. |
A camp leader might have to manage conflict between campers,
decide whether to delay an activity because of weather, adapt a game
mid-flow. These situations can’t be fully pre-scripted. |
|
Interior development & self-awareness |
Camps often provide reflection periods (evenings,
debriefs, staff meetings), and require staff to adapt to interpersonal
dynamics, fatigue, and emotional stresses. |
Leaders must monitor their energy, biases, emotional
responses, and learn to lead by example under pressure. |
|
Unlearning and confronting assumptions |
Many staff arrive with ideas of “how camp works” or “ideal
leadership.” Camp life disrupts those assumptions: not all plans succeed,
people behave unpredictably, logistics fail. |
A “perfect plan” might fall apart due to rain or a missing
piece of gear; staff must unlearn rigidity and pivot. |
|
Experiential rather than theoretical |
Rather than sitting in “Leadership 101” lectures, camp
staff lead by doing—and learn through feedback, trial and error, and
mentoring. |
Senior staff or directors coach new staff in situ: “Why
did that go sideways? What might you try differently next time?” |
|
Safe space for failure & iteration |
Because camp is a time-limited, closed environment,
mistakes have lower long-term consequences (within reason). This allows
risk-taking. |
A camp leader may invent a new activity that flops — debrief
and try again next day. The short-term failure doesn’t ruin a career, it
becomes a learning event. |
|
Community & peer learning |
Camps are tight-knit communities; staff learn from each
other through modeling, coaching, feedback, observation. |
One camp leader sees how another handles homesickness; over
meals, they share tips; junior staff receive “shadowing” or mentoring. |
|
Reduced overemphasis on external expertise |
While camps have training sessions, much of learning
happens in situ. Staff can’t always rely on “expert instructions” in
real-time crises. |
Policies and guidelines exist, but in-the-moment judgment
calls often dominate. |
|
Tension: structure vs freedom |
One challenge is that camps must maintain safety, rules,
schedules. That necessary structure can conflict with pure emergent learning. |
For instance, risk management, schedules, supervision
ratios—some constraints are nonnegotiable. Good leadership growth recognizes
constraints rather than pretending they don’t exist. |
Camp is and has always been a great "living laboratory" for the kind of unschooling that Hudson calls for.
I have written lots of stories about camp leadership and here are a few that I believe make my point on what Hudson is calling for.
Example 1. You Don’t Learn Leadership — You Live It
At camp, leadership isn’t an abstract concept or a skill. It’s right there in front of you — hungry campers, a broken griddle, and
45 minutes until breakfast.
In my post “The Pancake Problem,” I wrote
about the morning the cook’s griddle broke down, the line of campers got longer,
and nobody panicked. One outdoor skills leader grabbed a spare pan, another started
flipping on a camp stove, and together they made it happen — with smiles and
laughter.
No one “taught” them that. They just lived it.
That’s leadership — unschooled, unpolished, and absolutely real.
Example 2. The Myth of Control Gets Washed Away
During one particular summer story, “When the Sky Opened Up,” a young
camp leader watched her carefully planned soccer tournament vanish in a downpour.
Instead of giving up, she invented “Rain Olympics” complete with a towel relays
and a soggy tug-of-war in the lodge. The campers had the time of their lives.
Control is overrated. Creativity and presence are what
matter.
In his article, Hudson calls for inner work, reflection,
not instruction. Camps do that naturally.
In “Leaders Gotta Lead,” I shared about a
staff circle where a camp leader admitted she lost her cool with a homesick
camper. Instead of judgment, she got support and a quiet realization that
vulnerability is strength, not weakness.
That’s not a seminar. That’s soul work — the kind of growth
no PowerPoint can teach.
Example 4. The Community Is the Classroom
In “The Kitchen Table Effect,” I described
how a shared meal in the camp kitchen became a masterclass in empathy. The Cooks, cabin leaders, activity leaders, and support staff (directors) swapped stories, laughed about disasters, and
built trust that no training manual could ever replicate.
While Hudson would call that “peer-led learning.” At camp, we just call it a Tuesday.
Exampl 5. Failure Is Part of the Lesson Plan
Hudson’s “unschooling” model depends on safe spaces to fail. I have found that that is camp to it's core.
In “Burned Marshmallows and Second Chances,” I
talked about a new leader who botched a campfire story — and got a standing
ovation the next night after trying again.
Summer Camps offer do-overs. (Michael Brandwein calls it an OOPS!)
Grace.
Growth.
Where else in life do you get that?
Why Camps Are the Perfect “Unschool” for Leadership
|
Hudson’s Principle |
Camp in Action |
|
Learning through doing |
The Pancake Problem — crisis turned into collaboration |
|
Unlearning control |
When the Sky Opened Up — plans collapse, creativity
thrives |
|
Inner reflection |
Leaders Gotta Lead — humility becomes strength |
|
Learning in community |
The Kitchen Table Effect — leadership shared over supper |
|
Freedom to fail |
Burned Marshmallows and Second Chances — safe failure,
real growth |
Here's what I know..."
While Michael Hudson challenges us to stop teaching leadership and start creating conditions where leadership emerges. At camp, we’ve been doing that all along. I have found that every meal served, every thunderstorm endured, every mistake redeemed are the moments that shape humble, hungry, and smart leaders.
No classroom required!
What are your examples from camp? Let me know in the comments.
For a copy of my Number 1 selling book, “Serving From The Heart,” visit: https://clpli.com/al_ferreira
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