Leadership is the keynote to success– but leadership is difficult to define, and leaders are difficult to find. I have frequently stated that “any ass can be a commander, and a trained man may often make an instructor; but a leader is more like the poet– born, not manufactured. Baden-Powell from B.P.’s Outlook B.P. speaks of three different sorts of […]
Leadership Principles
Compliance or Initiative
Read this at Seth Godin’s blog Compliance is simple to measure, simple to test for and simple to teach. Punish non-compliance, reward obedience and repeat. Initiative is very difficult to teach to 28 students in a quiet classroom. It’s difficult to brag about in a school board meeting. And it’s a huge pain in the […]
Five Ways to Succeed as a Scouter
Here’s five ways to Succeed as a Scouter Trust the Program Rely on 100 years of proven results Embrace changes when they are announced – stay current No short-cuts When you make things easier for adults you usually diminish the experience for Scouts Conduct activities that are age appropriate Understand how the Scouting program responds to […]
Neutralizing “Bad Apple” Behavior
Almost all of us have either had the personal experience of working with someone who displayed bad apple behaviors … When this process starts to unfold at work, it consumes inordinate amounts of time, psychological resources, and emotional energy. … such circumstances underlie many people’s reluctance to fully commit to teams… they offend us, reduce our […]
Storm Over Everest
The spectacular Frontline documentary on PBS by David Breashears on the 1996 Everest tragedy includes interviews with expedition members and interactive maps of the mountain and the accident. The documentary is a fantastic case study in risk management, judgment and decision making and is highly recommended as a Scouter training tool. On 10–11 May 1996 eight people caught in a blizzard died on […]
Stages of Competence
Part of learning is knowing we don’t know. Psychology’s four stages of competence describe this process: 1. Unconscious Incompetence Neither understanding or knowing how to do something, nor recognizing the deficit or a desire to address it. 2. Conscious Incompetence Does not understand or know how to do something, recognizes the deficit, without yet addressing it 3. Conscious […]
Webelos Den Leader Transition
We do all we can to help new Scouts transitioning from Webelos – let’s not forget that Webelos den leaders stepping into new roles will need some help too. Thirty-plus years ago I was a Webelos Den Leader for eighteen (!) Webelos. I was recruited to be a Scoutmaster a year later, but it was a while before I […]
Training is Doing
We learn best through action and discovery, not listening. Training is doing things in real time in real situations. Leadership training is like a claw machine – a clumsy remote control experiment aimed at catching a prize worth less than the quarters required to win. Training removed from the situation where the skills will be applied is about as effective as […]
