Our new leadership resource for Guides is here
Introducing ready, set, lead - a leadership resource created for Guides, by Guides
We’ve created a new resource to help Guides develop their leadership skills, grow their confidence and have fun!
In 2024, we launched the young leader development programme to help support and empower our young leaders.
But we know that youth leadership is key to Girlguiding, and doesn’t just start at 14. So we’ve created ready, set, lead to help Guides discover more about leadership and build their confidence as leaders.
Ready, set, lead
Ready, set, lead is a completely optional flexible resource for Guides, which helps to grow leadership skills and behaviours. Throughout the resource we look at leadership as being more than roles; it’s the way we behave and approach the world.
Through games, immersive scenarios and fun activities, Guides discover more about leadership and grow their confidence. They can then put all their skills into action by completing practical tasks. And of course, there’s some badges too!
Find out more about ready, set, lead and download the resource.
Who was involved in creating ready, set, lead?
We’ve worked with an amazing group of 11 Guides from across the UK for over 2 years to help create ready, set, lead. From sharing their initial ideas and identifying key skills, aims and objectives, through to testing out activities and choosing the design, layout and illustrations, Guides have been involved every step of the way. Their enthusiasm, knowledge and experience has helped to ensure that ready, set, lead meets the needs of Guides today.
Over 70 Guides tested and gave feedback on the first draft of the resource in autumn 2024 along with almost 20 leaders. This feedback helped us to make the final resource even better.
Thank you to everyone who has been involved in creating ready, set, lead. It’s been a team effort to create a resource that will really support, encourage and build Guides into the leader they dream of being.
I hope that Guides who choose to do this resource will not only gain confidence when leading and completing ready, set, lead, but also gain friendships and have just as much fun as we had creating it. I hope those who complete the resource take the confidence they’ve gained into their future! We absolutely loved creating this resource and hope you enjoy it too!’ Emily W – Guide aged leadership working group.
Questions you may have about ready, set, lead
Ready, set, lead is for all Guides who wish to develop their leadership skills and grow their confidence. This might be because they have or would like to have a leadership role within their Guide unit such as patrol leader or patrol second, or volunteer with another unit as a Rainbow or Brownie helper. But they don’t have to have a particular leadership role to do the resource – it’s for any Guide who wants to do it!
Ready, set, lead is designed to be completed by Guides as individuals or working in small groups. Each Guide can choose the challenges and tasks they wish to complete and how and when they’d like to do them. Many of the challenges and tasks will fit around other things they’re already doing in their unit meetings.
Check out our leader guidance (Word, 515KB) for more information and advice about supporting Guides with the resource.
In general, we think that it will take about a term or 2 to complete ready, set, lead. 1 term to work on the Guide leadership challenges and then the following term to put their skills into practice with the leadership in action tasks.
Remember leadership is a skill that needs to grow and be practiced over time, so this isn’t a resource that can be completed in 1 night. Instead, we hope it will give the opportunity for Guides to grow their confidence and skills over a longer period of time.
Ready, set, lead is an additional standalone resource which is separate to the Guide programme. It’s designed to be a Guide’s own journey, to be done in groups or by themselves; flexibly, at a speed (and timings) that work for them; within their patrol or helper roles. Therefore, as a whole resource it doesn’t count towards the Guide programme awards.
However, there are references to UMAs and skills builder activities throughout the resource as well as many opportunities for Guides to plan and run activities themselves. If there are UMAs or skills builder activities that a Guide needs to complete to achieve a section award, why not encourage her to plan and run these activities for her patrol, a small group or even the whole Guide unit – then she’ll be completing her leadership in action tasks at the same time!
Check out our leader guidance for more information and advice about linking ready, set lead to the Guide programme.
Yes, ready, set, lead is a mirror to the young leader development programme – almost like a younger sister.
For Guides who go on to be young leaders, they’ll find the structure and layout of the young leader development programme familiar, and there’s some overlap in the tasks that they’ll complete.
Using the knowledge, experience and confidence they’ve gained from completing ready, set, lead, they should be able to jump straight into the tasks for the delivering activities, giving girls a voice, keeping it kind, planning your activities, running activities safely or supporting inclusive spaces modules, although they can still use the discovery sheets or videos to help them if needed.
Some of the tasks in the young leader development programme modules are similar to tasks in ready, set, lead. As young leaders, they’ll be able to use their experiences in Guides to help them complete these tasks again and show how they’ve grown and developed their skills even further over time.
There are 2 badges available as part of ready, set, lead. The Guide leadership challenge badge for completing the challenge activities and the Guide leadership in action badge for completing the leadership in action tasks.
The badges are available from the Girlguiding online shop, or wherever you usually buy your guiding badges.
