Junior Leaders who won't lead

One of the most effective tools I have used is to ask the Scout to
evaluate his own job performance. I find that the Scouts know very
well how they are doing. I then ask him if there is anything he needs
from me or anyone else to help him do his job. It is important to let
him know that he is not out there dangling in the wind on his own.
Remember, it is our job as advisors to show our youth that there are
many styles of leadership, and often the least effective way is to
take on a job that is too big and not know that help is available.

There are some Scouts who do not respond, but in my experience, if
you give a Scout the proper tools, he can and will do the job that has
been entrusted to him.

A number of years ago, we decided to skip our annual JLT workshop since
almost all of the leaders had attended it the year before. Big Mistake!
The meeting planning was going haphazardly and the execution of the plans
was downhill from there. At one PLC meeting, I asked each of the leaders
there to evaluate how the meetings were going. The responses ranged
from "not so good" to "boring." As we were going around the room, a
lightbulb went on. They realized that it was their responsibility to
make sure the meetings were interesting, and the adults were not going
to pick up the slack if they didn't. We held our belated JLT a few weeks
later, and the PLC stepped up its investment in planning and executing
the meeting plans.

YiS,

Alan R. Houser ** troop24@emf.net
** Scoutmaster, Troop 24, Berkeley, California **
** WWW page ** http://www.emf.net/~troop24/t24.html **

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message
• Previous message

What's become of SCOUTER Magazine, the print publication?

Buy the Back Issues