Positions of Responsibility

If things aren’t moving along the problem may be obvious… .. like our understanding of the relationship between the program, advancement, and positions of responsibility. The Scouting program is there, ready to go, but it can’t go on it’s own can it? It’s all words in books, it does not have muscles or lungs, or a heart, or a brain, it’s just sitting there. In this podcast I’ll answer a couple of emails focused on positions of responsibility that got me thinking about carts and horses, I hope it helps!...

Podcast Episode (00:43:43): Download MP3 Listen to Scoutmaster Podcast 238 | What, exactly, is the Patrol Method? Why did our founder emphasize the importance of the patrol method over all else in Scouting? In this week’s podcast the fourth of four installments that discusses how basic ideas to practically apply the patrol method. I also answer email questions on how to have Scouts form patrols, how to address bad behavior that happens outside of Scouting, and what positions of responsibility are elected, which are appointed, and if a Scout can hold more than one such position....

Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers What kind of an internal standard is the aim of our work? In this podcast I answer email questions about positions of responsibility , leadership and other subjects , plus (of course) your messages in the mailbag! Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Podcast Episode (00:28:20): Download MP3 Scoutmaster Podcast 205 | Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Announcing the new Scoutmastercg.com site, new features roll out this week! What standards do we apply for evaluating leadership? Should we create a set of standards that define when a Scout has achieved the fulfillment of their ‘leadership’ requirements? How else can we encourage our Scouts to be responsible and guarantee we are being fair when evaluating their work?...

Years ago there was some question as to whether one of my Scouts who was a candidate for Eagle had satisfied the ‘active’ requirement. He had not attended many meetings or outings in the last six months. He was a high school senior and a wrestler. We set up a meeting with him, his father and his wrestling coach. At that meeting the Scout enumerated the things he had accomplished as a leader in his Troop and his wrestling coach spoke of how much the team relied on his leadership as a team captain....

Is there really a job description for Scout youth leaders? Every First Class Scout is a leader by definition. Three requirements for advancement are common to every rank after First Class: Merit Badges Service to the community Leadership: ‘Serve actively in a position of responsibility’ It is every First Class Scout’s job to lead, train, and inspire Scouts to achieve First Class rank. It’s his job whether he is SPL, PL or “just” Historian....

A predictable frustration for Scoutmasters is the Scout who takes on a youth leadership position and doesn’t meet expectations. We may respond using employee-employer or soldier-officer thinking and tactics because these are familiar models. Scouts are not employees, Scoutmasters are not employers. Scouts are not Enlisted Men, Scoutmasters are not Officers. Scouts don’t sign contracts, they volunteer. I have attempted to write job descriptions and contracts for leadership positions in an attempt to lawyer my Scouts towards responsibility....