The girls in the Girl Scouts-Seven Lakes Council, and thousands of other girls, wish to lead in new ways. More than half of American girls say they don't aspire to be leaders, turned off by the conventional conception of leadership as command and control, according to a study released by Girl Scouts of the USA.

The nationwide survey, “Change It Up! What Girls Say About Redefining Leadership,” was conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI). The study found that 39 percent of girls want to be leaders, and that the desire for leadership is higher for African-American (53 percent), Hispanic (50 percent) and Asian-American (59 percent) girls compared to Caucasian girls (34 percent). Yet a majority of girls (52 percent) are deeply ambivalent about leadership, saying that being a leader is not that important to them.

The data indicate while girls find the command-and-control style of leadership unappealing, a majority of them would aspire to a different kind of leadership focused on personal principles, ethical behavior and the ability to affect social change.

Some 68 percent of survey respondents said they would want to be leaders who stand up #“for their beliefs and values,”# and 59 percent said that they would like to be a leader #“who tries to change the world for the better.#”

“It's clear from the research that girls today don't embrace the conventional style of leadership,#” said Judy Schoenberg, director of Research and Outreach at the Girl Scout Research Institute and lead author of the study. #“It's simply not how they want to lead. Girls today appear to be redefining leadership in terms of being more inclusive and serving a larger purpose.#”

The study involved a national survey of 2,475 girls and 1,514 boys ages 8 to 17, as well as a series of focus groups and ethnographic interviews.

Girls were more likely than boys 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).

Boys, on the other hand, were significantly more likely than girls to be motivated by the desire to be their own boss (38 percent vs. 33 percent), make more money (33 percent vs. 26 percent) and have more power (22 percent vs. 14 percent).

Last week, we said thanks to the women and men who are leading Girl Scouts in our communities as we celebrated National Girl Scout Leader's Day. In Auburn, Kristi Vollmer received the Leader of the Year pin, and Elaine Wilt was chosen Volunteer of the Year.

Girl Scout troops in Moravia and Southern Cayuga participated in town clean-up projects for Earth Day. They are collecting gently used books for a June 13 sale at the elementary school. They are also collecting school supplies for children in Afghanistan. Donations can be dropped off until May 7 to Audrey Ryerson at 8 Hulbert St., Auburn, or call 255-2214 or 497-0972. She is at the Auburn address from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On May 1, Girl Scouts there will distribute flowers to residents in the two villages.

For more information on the leadership study and to find a tip sheet for parents, visit the www.girlscoutssevenlakes.org or call 539-5085.

Judith E. Gallagher is communications director for the Girl Scouts Seven Lakes Council, Inc. She can be reached at 539-5085 ext. 721