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Training and mentoring youth leadership is the most exciting and rewarding part of our work.
In this third part of a three part series I’ll talk about the the continuing process of developing youth leaders through mentoring and training. We need training that is more than an event, based knowledge dump. I’ll discuss how we can make training an ongoing process.
Who is George W. Sears?
Do you know the author of “Woodcraft and Camping“? His approach to camping is satisfyingly philosophical and completely practical. Worthy reading for anyone who wants to take to the woods.
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In This Podcast
Moving from adult to youth leadership PART 3 [3:48]
George W. Sears [18:59]
Podcast Notes
Aids to Scoutmastership by Baden-Powell
Woodcraft and Camping by George W Sears
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There is a Kindle version of the this book on Amazon.com.
Do a search on Amazon.com for woodcraft and camping, should be first item listed.
It is available in the Kindle Store.
Hi Clarke
I totally agree about mentoring. It must be ongoing and intentional.
However, how do the professionals do it? That’s the way that I tend to think. So, if I want to learn SQL Server 2008, or how to virtualize my server environment, I go to training. How does that happen? That’s what I try to recreate with my training.
1. Very nice venue. Do NOT do this at your meeting place. A nice conference room with projector (yes, we use powerpoints), kitchen and big cushy chairs. Lawyer, engineering firm, or real estate office maybe.
2. Full dress uniforms. Required. Period! Including adults. Adults without uniforms wear slacks and button down shirts, ties, and a jacket if they will.
3. Mid morning break with drinks, fruit, snacks.
4. Professional looking materials. A pad, pencil, nameplate, and notebook with agenda and materials at each seat when they walk in.
5. Nice luncheon at the venue or at a restaurant (not necessarily expensive, but not McDonalds.
6. Many presenters. Many. Not 1, not 2, probably not even just 3. Lots. As many as you can get. Committee members, Scoutmasters, SPLs, Instructors, MB Counselors, etc.
7. Throw everything you can think of at them. Quizzes about Scouting and business. Leadership stuff (John Maxwell, etc). Scout skills. Patrol method. Troop organization. How committee functions.
8. Positive, positive, positive. Everything that happens reinforces the Scouting program but it has to be positive.
9. Challenge them with goals. How many new Scouts will make Tenderfoot by the next Court of Honor? How many MBs at camp? When will they be done with their next rank? Write the goals down. Troop goals also. High Adventure trips, etc.
10. I totally agree, this is not all there is to training but I do this once or twice a year, usually for the Scouts that are First Class and above.
11. Train your adult leaders. They should be capable of presenting for 10 or 15 minutes on a topic. They should be interesting and arresting. This type of activity helps train them because they have to do some research.
Make your leaders feel like CEO’s. Let them know that in a few years they will be back in these same offices, holding meetings in these same rooms, leading men and women just like the current owners.
I live in a suburban environment and this works for our troop. However, I think that this can also be viable in a residence camp location. I would like to alternate my conference room training session with one more outdoors, but in cabins with a nice dining hall. We don’t have a good facility like that around here. The best venue would be a denomonational conference center with nice rooms, nice meeting rooms, and excellent food. My main leadership training is usually in August or September, and a campout just isn’t the best place to do training like I want to do. YMMV.