Anyone who takes on a position of responsibility as a leader will feel pretty self-important at first. After all, you have been chosen, or you stepped in when no one else did. It’s a big ego boost to have a title, to have people follow your directions. That’s a pretty heady feeling isn’t it… all that power? Power scratches an itch, […]
Senior Patrol Leader
Every Scout is a Leader
We tend to focus only on directive leadership roles when we are thinking about engaging our Scouts in leadership, but every Scout can (and ought to) be a leader. Here’s some thoughts you can use to encourage all of your Scouts to engage in leadership. Leadership is much more than standing in front of the group […]
Podcast 246 – Classes, Chow, and More!
Another agonized alliteration! In this podcast I answer emails about merit badge classes, patrols cooking their own chow, a Scoutmaster worried about Scouts who change troops, Scouting’s chimeras (or urban legends), and a little troop leadership election chicanery. Hows that for one jam-packed alliterative podcast? Here’s the first chapter of the narrative: A New Scoutmaster. Here’s the […]
Podcast 240 -Elections, Reviews, & Conferences
Elections, Boards of Review, and Conferences Should a Scout be denied a Scoutmaster’s conference because, horror of horrors, he’s wearing white socks? I hope you know the answer to that already, but in this podcast I answer an email question from a parent whose son is having a problem with getting though a Scoutmaster’s conference […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 239 – Help!
Help! Everyone needs help, right? Most Scouters, at one time or another, find ourselves overwhelmed, discouraged and helpless. Don’t worry, you aren’t alone, and there’s a way out! See if the email answer about getting volunteers to help in this podcast helps you. In addition I’ll offer some advice about how a troop handles Eagle courts of honor, […]
Authoritative Leadership in Scouting
Authoritative leadership should not be confused with authoritarian leadership; in this context they are polar opposites. Authoritative leaders have high expectations, respond actively, listen more than they talk, and readily reason with those they lead. In Scouting our expectations are clear and well-defined but it’s a mistake to apply that clarity and definition in an authoritarian or obedience-oriented manner. While we encourage obedience we […]
10 Ways to Support the Senior Patrol Leader
The senior patrol leader is in charge of troop meetings from beginning to end. He chairs meetings of the patrol leaders’ council as they plan troop activities and programs… To help the senior patrol leader achieve that leadership goal, you as Scoutmaster should work with him before and after troop meetings to mentor him, encourage him, and provide him with the tools to succeed. […]
Unqualified, Unskilled, Immature: Perfect!
Experience, maturity and skill are not prerequisites to leadership; they are the traits produced as we practice leadership. We often get email or comments from Scoutmasters with a troop of young Scouts wondering how they can be anything like boy led. They look around a bunch of immature 11-year-old boys and don’t see anyone who measures up to their preconceived […]
Lead by Walking Away
Adult leaders often say things like; “I don’t override the boys decisions at all. ” “I asked them what they wanted to do.” “This was their decision.” What most of us fail to recognize is that many of these ‘boy led’ decisions were probably coerced, at least in part, by the presence of adults when they were discussed. It’s not that the […]
