what do you want your new DE to really understand?

We have a new DE, a very young person for whom this is their first job post-college. Our new DE has no prior experience with scouting of any sort. Needless to say the learning curve is steep! I feel a bit badly for this person, as they are following someone who was well-regarded and well-versed from all angles of the program. These are tough shoes to fill.

So there's an opportunity here. (Yes I am trying to see it as that) And I'm curious. If you could spend 15 minutes with a brand new DE and know that just ONE thing you told or showed them would "stick" for the remainder of their BSA professional career, what would that one thing be, and why?

Ground rules: One thing only! It can be related to a specific BSA program or to the relationship between pros and volunteers, or whatever else it is you think you would want to share with a brand new DE as long as it is relevant to scouting. Let's think "blue sky" here, assuming that this DE really does want to learn from the volunteers.

The most important thing you can do to assure the success of the district is to ensure that the volunteer district chairman understands that his most important responsibility is to staff the district committee with functioning people in every position. The functions of unstaffed committees fall to the DE, and the purpose of a DE is NOT to do volunteer jobs.

" The functions of unstaffed committees fall to the DE, and the purpose of a DE is NOT to do volunteer jobs."

It's been my observation that the unstaffed position functions wind up being done by the Dist. Commish. and other overworked volunteers.

That's not to say that I would want a DE's job. Not on a bet. Pay might not be too bad but there are too many hours involved.

I'll do my job the best I can and if you ever need my help call me, and I'll do my best to help you. All I ask is that you do the same.

(It's important to keep in mind that it is not the volunteers role to train the DE or the DE's role to please the volunteer. The DE's job is to meet his or her goals set by his or her superiors in the scouting profession. Good pros learn from others around them in and out of scouting, just as good volunteers keep learning from others both in and out of scouting.

It's a cooperative relationship. The De's role is to do their jown job and the volunteers role is to do their own job, and if all goes rigtht they end up helping each other.)(This message has been edited by Bob White)

Winter, spring, summer, or fall,

Hey now, all you've got to do is call.

Lord, I'll be there, yes I will.

I thought that was the UC hymn.

I would want the DE to understand that there is more to Scouting than "meeting your numbers." And that, as a volunteer, my goals are not necessarily the same, and I am just that...a VOLUNTEER...I do have a real job to pay the bills, and Scouting is what I do for fun in my SPARE time. When it starts to feel like a JOB with a BOSS (DE), I will find some other way to spend my SPARE TIME.

The District I serve has had 10 DE's in 11 years and the current one has been in his postion for nearly 20 months, and setting an endurance record unheard of in those 11 years. Please note this includes 18 months when we didnt have a DE.

Each new DE comes in and asks us what do we expect of a DE, and my response is I dont know as we never have had one long enough to expect anything of him.

I would expect that the DE has a grip on the Programs, and that means Cubs, Boy Scout and Venturing. If we had a Vasity Team, that woudl be incldued as well. We can say that the DE needs to understand that Scouting is not all about meeting numbers, but the DE's evaluation is going to be based on what? Numbers? So, is it the DE's fault if he concentrates on what secures his employment?

The relationship between volunteers and Pros is unusual, they who may never have been in the program, over see many people who have more years in the program longer than many of the Pros have been alive and even then, my terminology is wrong. The DE doesnt oversee the volunteers, thats what the District Chair and COmmissioner are supposed to do. So, perhaps I should say those who have more years in the program than their DE has been alive should expect their DE to be a bit numbers driven, as thats where his job security lives and the volunteers shoudl be quick to praise the DE when he does good to his bosses and quick to alert the DE, in private prefferably, when he doesnt. Then again, the result of a good working relationship between DE and District is that you will soon be breaking in a new DE soon as the old one has been promoted, which is what we want, people to do well?(This message has been edited by oldgreyeagle)

I enjoy working most with DE's who view their jobs as supporting the volunteers, rather than the other way around.

The best new hire DE's I've seen understand they have a host of resources to tap into. Docs, nurses, university professors , lawyers, mechanics, accountants, route sales... you name it, it's out there.

Learning how to work with the other members of the Key 3, how to listen and take advice from them, and how to look for the win-win are vital skills if the young DE is going to make a life of "Sales on Salary."

Does that make sense, L?

I would tell them it is about developing strong, fun programs for the boys (and Crew girls!), and not about money. You build strong programs in your district and the money will come.

A DE has a hard job, and I understand that, but if he is looking for some one to listen to his problems, go find a bartender.

I only want to know how he is going to support the boys in my troop. If he supports us, we will support him(or her). But don't come asking for time at my troop meeting for FOS when we haven't had a unit commissioner for the past ten years. I have a troop to run and the success of my scouts is way ahead of the success of my DE.

" But don't come asking for time at my troop meeting for FOS when we haven't had a unit commissioner for the past ten years."

Is that the fault of the DE or the DC. A big problem in BSA and probably many other youth organizatins is that tooo many people drop out when their kids leave. They were only there for their children and weren't really there for the other kids.

The CC for my son's pack didn't even wait for the end of the 'year' to quit. The day her son crossed over into Boy Scouts was her last day as CC.

How many Den Leaders and ASMs have we heard say, "I can't wait until my son's out so I can quit"?

How MBCs quit as soon as their son leaves Scouting?

You might argue that this is the DE's fault but it is all part of the "I got mine . . ." attitude that pervades our society.

Of course, few if any, of the members of this forum fall into that group because if we did, we wouldn't be discussing, arguing, or ranting about the interpretations of the program. We do what we do because we care. We may not always agree but we all car about more than getting our son to Eagle and then freeing up time to watch hockey.

Our mission, together, is Service. Da other stuff is just drivel.

Don't start out with a hole to fill and then go look for a person. Start with a person who is willin' to help and then find something they like to do and are good at doin'. Organizational charts are easier to change than people.

B

I couldn't decide what my ONE thing would be! I should have fudged it when I set up this thread and said "the couple of things" I want a new DE to know.

So I've settled on this: yes, know your volunteers are out there and will do things if asked - but know how to ask, and then LET THEM DO IT!

I recently had a conversation with a fellow who isn't my DE but was filling in, and what I expected to be a 2-way conversation consisted of him trying to shove a whole bunch of stuff down my throat - stuff I had no authority to agree to in the first place (other people's budget lines) and some I wouldn't approve if I did. He couldn't seem to understand why I dug in my heels and then he attempted to "manage" me. Not well either. Since then I don't know what the heck he has done but it isn't what we agreed to do, I know that. Making what I agreed to do, that much more difficult or even redundant. Man that gets me irritated (can you tell?).

So yeah, you want me to do something, you want my input, ask me and I'll be there - but don't bother to ask if what you're really doing is dictating. Learn the difference. And once a plan is agreed upon, give me room to do my part of it without micromanaging and duplicating efforts and wasting my time.

By the way I asked my FD about what sort of training our new DE will get and he told me it is mostly on the job. I kind of feel badly for her; much as I am trying to see it otherwise, I think she's being set up.

My quarter of an hour would be spent explaining the difference between a Professional Scouter and a volunteer.

At the risk of sounding like a big headed Englishman! I don't want the money I give to Scouting (The local Council) spent doing work a volunteer does.

A good many new DE's seem like they want to play at being a paid volunteer and get involved in running events that youth are involved in, or training events.

I unlike some of the forum members who have posted. Do want him /her to be a numbers type.

I want him to be out and about in the community doing what he can to sell Scouting to business leaders who might be willing to support the Council financially.

I want him to be meeting with chartered organizations who might be willing to expand their Scouting programs and be on the look out for organizations who might become CO's.

We have great volunteers who do a wonderful job of delivering the program to the youth.

The volunteers have a lot more experience at doing what they do. They don't need to spend $20.00 an hour having someone do what they do for free.

Ea.