…the business of the Scouter — and a very interesting one it is — is to draw out each boy and find out what is in him, and then to catch hold of the good and develop it to the exclusion of the bad. There is five per cent of good even in the worst character. The sport is to find it, and then to develop it on to an 80 or 90 per cent basis....
Frank Maynard is a troop committee chairman writes the blog Bobwhite Blather. In a recent article Frank discusses three things that Scouters should never do for their Scouts; As Scouters, though, we really need to put… parenting instincts aside in order to make sure that we not only deliver the Scouting program as promised, but also to help our kids do their best by not helping them directly. Don’t teach Scout skills– If adults take over the teaching of Scout skills, such as knot tying, first aid, plant identification or compass skills, the skills will get taught – and probably very well – but we miss a golden opportunity for the Scouts to teach these skills themselves....
How do we inspire initiative in Scout Youth Leaders? The idea of connecting initiative to authority starts with this post by Dan Rockwell, Ineffective leaders seize and hoard authority; successful leaders give it. Those who cling to authority lose it. Those who give authority gain authority. Authority is permission to act without permission. Control freaks never inspire initiative. The more they control the less initiative – acting without permission – others take....
As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate. …When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!’ – Lao Tzu How do we lead? Lao Tzu describes three types of leaders with three leadership motives. We can understand the motivations by asking: why do we lead?...
A new patrol leader may think, at first, their position is one of great power and authority. Truth be told patrol leaders do have great power and authority but it’s not aimed at bossing people around or commanding their respect. The patrol leader’s real power is the example they set for their fellow Scouts. A patrol will follow this example – whether it is good or bad. If they are prepared their patrol will be prepared....
In a post titled The Patrol Leader’s Council and Planning I laid out the basis of structure, content, planning and preparation. Scouts establish a structure (the calendar of what’s happening), the content (what they’ll be doing) and plan (who will be doing what) and then they prepare for actually carrying these things out. The ball usually get’s dropped in the preparation stage when the patrol leader’s council meeting ends and everybody goes home....
Youth leadership goes through developmental stages. As youth become more capable and adults more comfortable with these capabilities higher levels of youth leadership are possible. Can you find your troop on the ladder? Where would you like to be? What do you need to do to get there? Scouting places the responsibility and authority to lead on the Scouts , we need to keep out of their way, and supply the resources they need to get to the top rung....
Two of the effects physicists describe apply to our work in Scouting: The Observer Effect Changes that the act of observation makes on the phenomenon being observed. A tire pressure gauge releases air from the tire thus changing the pressure we are testing. The Proximity Effect When two atoms come into proximity, the highest energy, or valence, orbitals of the atoms change substantially and the electrons on the two atoms reorganize....
‘Adultism’ can be a loaded term but I think it would be useful to consider it in the context of our work in Scouting. Adultism is the broadly defined as valuing the ideas, initiatives and direction of adults over that of youth. If Scouting is to stay true to its foundational principles we ought to make an effort to understand the place of adult influence and guidance. That we commonly call ourselves “adult leaders” is an sign that we are in danger of misunderstanding our role in Scouting....
This is a self assessment tool to help gauge how well a troop applies the patrol method. It may be a good idea to have several adults and youth troop members complete the assessment and discuss the results. This is not very scientific but it will at least give you an idea of where you are. Here’s PDF version you can download. Chose only one option for each pair of statements...
In the first installment in this series I asserted that youth leaders develop when they are doing, not watching. Our best Scout youth leader training is an active process of discovery. In part two I outlined the relationships and environment most conducive to development. What specific practices aid developing leadership? How do we actually make this happen? Don’t Wait. If you are going to wait for your Scouts to actually be leaders before they are trusted with real responsibility you’ll be waiting a long time....
What are the most promising approaches for youth leader development? In the first installment in this series we discussed some key concepts about the relationship between Scouts and leadership positions and the way they develop as leaders. Training events like NYLT (National Youth Leader Training) present both experiential and classroom learning. Troop based youth leadership training offers some experiential learning as well. As good as the event-style training is it can only be a part of a broader developmental process....
Scout youth leader training is important, we do a lot of training. Some approaches work well and some don’t. I often hear from Scoutmasters who say something like “you know we trained these guys, or sent them to training, and they still, just don’t get it.” At this point a lot of us grow disenchanted and conclude that ‘youth led’ is impossible or simply too much trouble. Scout youth leaders who take part in event-based training do not automatically become leaders anymore than anyone who spends a weekend in their garage becomes a car....
What’s the best way to hold Troop leadership elections? It’s pretty simple. Here’s all of the references I found in the Scoutmaster’s handbook: Each troop sets its own requirements and schedule of elections, though senior patrol leaders are usually chosen at six- to 12-month intervals and can be reelected. Scoutmaster’s Handbook p. 13 The members of each patrol elect one of their own to serve as their patrol leader. The troop determines the requirements, if any, for patrol leaders, such as rank and age....
What follows is a first look at one part of a youth leadership training-mentoring program I have been working on. I’ve imposed a few rules on myself – no paperwork, no presentations and no sitting down. In addition the adult role in this will be largely as a silent observer. As I develop the ideas I am working on ways that Scouts can first experience the concept and then discover the answers....
I had this message from Tom; the same Tom you hear when we have a Scoutmaster panel discussion on the podcast. Any of us Scoutmasters who are invested in youth leadership and the patrol method have times of frustration and doubt – at least I know I do! Hi Clarke, Well my Scoutmaster OCD and ADD and ADHD really kicked in last week! But by the end of the weekend I felt a lot better....
I get this email fairly often; ‘I have been reading what you have to say about the patrol method and youth leadership buy MY Scouts don’t seem to get it. We’ve done youth leader training and even sent them to NYLT but they just don’t lead. What are we doing wrong?’ It’s not that you’re doing something wrong – its just that you may have misunderstood the difference between training and experience....
One troop is led by adults, one is led by the Scouts. What’s the difference? At the risk of oversimplifying the answer the difference is focus. Troops run by adults are focused on results. Troops run by Scouts are focused on process. I accept that between the two extremes of fully adult and fully youth led there are many shades of grey but I think the basic conclusion of focus hold up....
As adults in positions of authority our exchanges, no matter how casual, carry the weight of position and authority. This is why I school adults to be very careful about what they tell youth leaders because what they say will be interpreted as instructions and they will be followed. We also must be careful to understand the difference between evaluating and valuing what youth leaders say. Since we are considered as the default authority youth leaders will take our reactions to what they say as an evaluation....
I advocate using guided discovery (asking questions) to help youth leadership find their way. Often my questions are rhetorical, in other words I do not expect that the person I am questioning has an answer. This can be a very blunt instrument, and sometimes a bit aggressive, so I do have to measure the way that the question is posed. ‘What are your plans for this meeting?’ ‘We’re going to work on requirements....