should i step up or step back

[jewelofdnl74 10]

I want to start from the beginning. we have a relatively new pack. It was started about a year and a half ago. I love being involved in scouts with my son but i am on the verge of quitting. problem is that our cubmaster does absolutely nothing. he pawns all his work off on me and i am just a den leader. I plan almst everything for the entire pack. i enjoy helping but i am to the point that i just want to step back and let him fall on his face. only problem is that i want to keep scouts going for my boy and the other 21 boys in the pack. what do i do?

[Spiney Norman 10]

It is always worth it to stay at it for your son, but you need to make it fun for yourself as well.

 

Before anyone here can give you advice more info would help. Are there other den leaders or adults who could step up? Has anyone contacted the unit commissioner, it is their job to help you after all. What about the CC? This should be their problem and not yours..........

 

Respectfully

Ken

[Twocubdad 665]

First, you need to decide what you want to do. What do you enjoy? Not what's been dumped on you or what you think you're compelled to do because no one else will.

 

Over the past year I've gone through this and have stepped back from all my district and council involvement. I decided what I really enjoy is being Scoutmaster to the boys in our troop and don't need the hassle and politics which seem to go along with district and council committees. Do you only want to stick with your DL duties? Are there elements of what you're doing for the pack you enjoy?

 

Armed with this knowledge, let the CM and pack committee know what you are and aren't responsible for. I've learned over the years you have to be very clear and direct. People don't take hints -- especially when they don't want to hear it in the first place.

 

"I'm not handling advancement any more. You need to recruit an Advancement Chairman or we won't have badges at the pack meeting."

 

"The pack needs an Outings Chairman. From now on, I can't organize campouts."

 

Or what ever.

 

Personally I would handle this at a pack leaders' meeting. If the CM is a do-nothing, he probably won't do anything to find a replacement for you. Going to the leaders' meeting puts everyone on notice they need to step up to the plate.

[Crew21_Adv 25]

jewelofdnl74,

 

 

Greetings!

 

Here is a question.

Could you transfer Den Leader to another adult leader and assume Assistant Cubmaster?

 

Here is my story, then I'll ask you a few questions....

Like a few other friends, I bounced back and forth between Boy Scouting, Cub Scouting, and Venturing over the years.

 

I felt pretty comfortable as Cubmaster (and emcee), I also knew the major programs coming up in the next 2-3 months. But I knew that I didn't do it alone, the advancement chair lined up the advancements, the den leaders worked directly with their dens, the treasurer had cash money coming and going weekly. My tenure as Cubmaster, I loved handing out the ranks, high fives and cheers, but I had the DL's hand out the monthly belt loops, activity pins, tiger paws and etc. I brought up a committee member for "announcements". I was only the emcee, but the Pack meeting was put on by all the Den Leaders and the Cubs. As emcee, I was constantly running on/off stage, I think I was up there maybe 15 minutes a night. But it was broken up into 15 separate one-minute ceremonies, introductions, and cheers.

 

Probably even more, I was the time-keeper, our Pack meetings were fun, but I was adamant about an hour ceremony with 100 Cubbies, plus parents.

 

Even my ACMs were up there on stage, with comments, jokes and scripts and recognitions. The ACMs didn't get a break during the Pack Meetings.

 

I made sure the DL's knew the upcoming theme of the month (2-3 months in advance), and sometimes issued some equipment and flyers to help them, but they put on the den meeting program/workshops.

 

Now... In my commissioning role. I've visited some great Pack meetings. Some CMs took a role similar to mine. Some CMs were business men (or business ladies) who ran the pack like a committee while the ACMs/DLs had fun.

 

Believe me, the cubbies and the families could recognize each role. They knew who got the bus, who organized the hike, who handed out permission slips and historic guides. And who was singing songs, playing games, leading cheers and making learning fun. That style of CM was still very effective since they had a great staff, but it was vastly different from my style.

 

My bottom line is. All the Cubs knew who I was, but they also knew the Assistant Cubmasters, they also got to see their Den Leader/Assistant Den Leader (parents) participate in recognitions, as well as their DLs being recognized each year.

 

So back to you and your pack.

 

If you were the ACM, could you participate in the Pack meetings more? Could you be recognized for your work and performance? What would your son enjoy seeing you do DL or ACM, or eventually CM? What would give you more job satisfaction?

 

I don't think anyone on the forum will tell you to step up or step back. But our fellow Scouter forum members may comment/advice and help you to decide to step up or step back.

 

Good Luck in your decisions!

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv(This message has been edited by Crew21_Adv)

[GKlose 24]

Ooof! We just "graduated" out of a pack that pretty much almost died over the summer. The CM/CC (what I call a "one-man show") was to the point of putting the bare minimum of effort into the job. My wife stepped up as the assistant CM to run pack meetings. That just meant the CM/CC did even less.

 

BTW, I know that one can't register as both CM and CC, but in this case, the registered CC was actually his wife, but she didn't function in that capacity because she spent her effort on running a Webelos Den.

 

On the KISMIF blog page, I saw a list of something like "7 key retention tips" for a Cub Scout pack. This particular pack was failing on 7 out of 7 items in that list. For a talk at a roundtable, I offered this summary:

 

How to Kill A Pack:

1. Don't do anything to recruit new Cubs.

2. Offer a lousy program.

3. Don't do anything at all to retain who you already have.

 

So the one-man show probably did put in reasonable effort one year. He based the program exactly on what the previous CM did. The next year, same story. Except that when notice of an event would come in from the district or the council, he would just forward it out to the entire pack: "anybody who wants to go to [this event] can just sign up for it on their own." By that time, a pack of 70 Cubs dropped down to about 55. The next year, same program, same story, it had dropped to about 35 Cubs. An entire Webelos I Den left Cub Scouting. Nobody is sure why, but my guess is that nobody could get excited about the exact same minimal program. At this point, my wife stepped in to at least run pack meetings. But the "themes" were the same as all prior years: cake decorating, Cub Scout Olympics, etc.

 

So the CM/CC finally had enough. He told everyone in an email that he was stepping down and someone else would have to take over. We had moved on to a Boy Scout troop, so my wife wasn't interested in continuing. In fact, she pretty much hates the Scouting program because she's never really seen it done the right way.

 

Going into this fall, one Den Leader from that pack (who refused to take on "Pack leadership" duties) threatens to take his entire den to another pack. Nobody else would even answer email. Pack was really on life support at this point, with the plug just about ready to be pulled, when the D.E. found a recently-retired CM to step in and get the pack going again. His motive is to train those parents left in how to build a vibrant pack. Things are looking up all of a sudden, and the Den Leader who was threatening to leave is staying.

 

I've seen another pack fail (it was a small pack, with about 12 Cubs, and in that case when the CM had enough, he took his kid to another pack, and the kid's friends went with them -- the entire pack was left to about 3 parents) and it wasn't pretty.

 

My recommendation is always the same in these circumstances. Concentrate on building a strong committee, one that is committed to offering the program the right way, and then build a strong program. It isn't easy, but it's the best way to run a pack.

 

Guy

[GKlose 24]

Seven Cub Scout retention tips:

 

http://kismif.org/cub-scout-retention-tips/

[eghiglie 10]

Make a plan and delegate things to him to do. Call him on the phone and give him status on what your doing and then find out how he is doing on his tasks.

 

Maybe invite him for a cup of coffee and ask if he wants to trade jobs? Sometimes when we adults take a job, we don't understand what we really have to do.

 

But as Twocubdad says make clear statements at the leaders meetings. No one takes a hint.

 

One thing I learned at Woodbadge was to say No and it works.

 

 

[T259Eagle 10]

Wow. I am kind of in the same spot as you. I read this after I posted my dilema. http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=255592

It looks like there are some good ideas here and I am glad that I read this. Good luck with your decision.

[perdidochas 658]

First, does this guy want to step down? Secondly, and most importantly, is there somebody good who can step up to be den leader in your place. The Cubmaster is an important position, but your own child will be better served by a good den leader with a bad Cubmaster, than a bad den leader and a good Cubmaster.