Group Interviews Are Not For Servant Leaders

 

I have camp colleagues who swear by group interviews for their staff and team recruitment.

I have to admit, that early in my career, I participated in this philosophy. Here are five reasons to avoid group interviews when hiring summer camp leaders, written to align with John C. Maxwell’s leadership philosophy and my long-held camp hiring lens, especially with a focus on humility, hunger, and people intelligence. 

1. Group interviews reward performance, not character

John C. Maxwell alignment: “Leadership is influence, not position.”
Camp reality: Influence at camp is quiet, relational, and consistent. I discovered this in the 1990s (yes after well over a decade of working and serving at camps). My lesson was from Ed who worked with a dedicated flare as a camp leader. He seemed to say and do thigs that greatly influenced his cabin group and all the rest of the staff around him. 

If you met Ed, outside of camp, he comes off as brash and boastful. He does not excel at one on one interactions in everyday settings. And then he goes to camp and he is that "unofficial leader" that everyone stops to listen to when he chooses to speak.

In group interviews, the loudest voice often wins. The confident storyteller dominates. The natural performer shines. But camp leadership is rarely about commanding a room, it’s about showing up for one child when no one is watching.

Group interviews tend to elevate:

• Extroversion over empathy

• Confidence over humility

• Quick wit over thoughtful judgment

Individual interview philosophy has always been about who they are, not how they perform. Group settings obscure character because they reward visibility, not values.

2. You can’t truly assess humility in a competitive setting

John C. Maxwell alignment: The Law of Solid Ground – Trust is the foundation of leadership. Trust is essential for camp. A leader who has not developed trust with their team members will lose their authority. I learned this the hard and difficult route. I can recall so many examples of my decisions that undermined trust with an individual at camp, that led to their decisions that created resentment towards all leadership. 

In one particular example, during a staff orientation session, I was paying too much attention to a staff member (Tori)  who garnered a great deal of attention from  negative behaviors.  One of my leadership team challenged me and engaged in a series of excuses for Tori and not only did I begin to loose respect from others, I undermined my own authority. I was not showing any humility in the situation.

Humility shows up when someone:

• Listens before speaking

• Gives credit instead of claiming it

• Admits uncertainty or learning edges

A group interview unintentionally creates competition:

• Who answers first

• Who sounds smartest

• Who gets noticed

That environment discourages humility, the very trait you know separates good counselors from transformational ones. Camp needs leaders who can say, “I don’t know yet, but I’m willing to learn.” Group interviews push candidates toward self-promotion, not teachability.

3. Hunger (drive) gets confused with dominance

John C. Maxwell alignment: The Law of the Process – Leadership develops daily, not in a day. In my BLOG “Unschooling” Leadership," I referenced a moment when a new camp leader botched a campfire story. Without blaming the circumstances, they came back the next night, tried again and ended with a standing ovation.

That “try again” moment is pure hunger (not performance hunger). It is growth hunger: the decision to return to the work, improve, and serve the campers better the next time. 

In camps, hunger shows up as:

• Reliability

• Follow-through

• Willingness to do unseen work

• Growth over time

Group interviews often mistake hunger for:

• Talking more

• Taking over

• Outperforming peers in the moment

But you’ve seen this story before at camp: The leader who speaks the least in interviews often becomes the one who stays late, shows up early, and grows the most.

Group interviews favor immediate impact, not long-term development, which runs counter to both Maxwell’s law of process and my own camp leadership experience.

4. People intelligence can’t be measured in a crowd

John C. Maxwell alignment: The Law of Connection – Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand. Asking good questions isn't enough. You have to ask great questions that help you as a leader convey the culture you want at camp. 

In my 10 part BLOG series Good Leaders Ask Great Questions, I dove into creating connections with your leadership throughout the summer. Those connections are part of how your camp leaders need to connect as well with their campers and their peers.

Camp is relational leadership at ground level:

• One child at a time

• One conflict at a time

• One homesick moment at 2 a.m.

In a group interview:

• Candidates interact with the room, not with a person

• Empathy gets lost

• Listening is performative, not genuine

You don’t hire leaders to manage groups, you hire them to connect with individuals inside a group. That nuance gets flattened in a shared interview space.

5. Group interviews send the wrong message about camp culture

John C. Maxwell alignment: Everything rises and falls on leadership. When there is a vacuum in leadership, individuals will attempt to fill that void with their interpretation of what you as a leader intend. I wrote about Intentional Leadership in a previous BLOG post: Click Here to read that BLOG. 

The interview is the first act of leadership a camp demonstrates.

Group interviews quietly communicate:

• “We’re efficient, not personal”

• “Stand out or be overlooked”

• “Fit the mold quickly”

But your camp leadership philosophy rooted in servant leadership that says:

• You matter as a person

• We see you, not just your résumé

• Growth is expected, not perfection

Individual interviews reinforce the culture you want:

• Belonging before brilliance.
• Character before charisma.
• Service before spotlight.

A camp-centered conclusion 

Group interviews make sense when hiring performers.
Camps are not hiring performers, we are hiring presence, patience, and purpose.

John Maxwell reminds us that leadership is developed, not displayed.
Camp teaches us the same truth every summer.

If we want leaders who will serve children well, we must interview them the way we expect them to lead, one relationship at a time.

Ready to hire leaders who actually serve?
If you’re serious about building a staff culture rooted in character, connection, and trust, then it’s time to upgrade your interview process.

Consider joining my Behavioral Interviewing for Camp Leaders course inside SKOOL and learn how to:

• ask questions that reveal humility, hunger, and people intelligence

• spot red flags early (before they become mid-summer problems)

• build an interview process that aligns with servant leadership

Click here to enroll in SKOOL:

And if you are applying for a leadership position at camp, consider this course that helps you grow your interview skills.

For a copy of my Number 1 selling book, “Serving From The Heart,” visit: https://clpli.com/al_ferreira

Or some leadership SWAG consider visiting my ETSY store: alfatcamp.etsy