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What do I do now?


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I am a new Pack CC and have admittedly stepped into BIG shoes. Our previous CC was a one man show and he was actually good at it (I envy his organizational abilites). The issue however is that my, failings? unwillingness to spend 25 hours a week on scouting? stubbornness?, have created a situation where I have delegated items and they were not completed and were essential failures.

The biggest two happened last Fri/Sat. Friday was our Pack meeting/holiday party, slam dunk fun right? nope. The CM after calling me to make sure I would be there early to unlock the meeting place, showed up 5 minutes AFTER the meeting start time, had no plan for the meeting so I had to try to put it together on the fly (you ever try to control 25 Cubs and keep them entertained when they know Santa is coming with no advance notice?) Well we made it through the Pack meeting and the next day, the Cubs were giong caroling to 2 of our local retirement homes. I and my son had prior commitments and had let CM know that a month in advance and had given him the song sheets and let him organize. People showed up to the first location, no CM, no song sheets, and no answer on his phone. I got several calls from upset parents asking what was happening. As I was 2 hours away, not a lot I could do so they stepped up and made it happen.

 

Now, what do I do with a CM that can't or won't do his part? And I will take the "do it myself option" off the table for discussion's sake (it may come to that but I want OTHER options.

 

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Both of those things you describe - running the pack meeting and organizing the caroling - are program. That makes them the CM's job, not yours. You should not have to "delegate" program; the CM should be coordinating it from the start.

 

And as he's apparently fallen down on the job twice in as many days, that requires a sit-down between you, him and preferably your COR. Maybe there's a reason - he's working doubletime to pay for his family's Christmas gifts, he's dealing with a sick parent. But if he can't carry out his basic job duties, he needs to be replaced.

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As CC one of your jobs to run the monthly Pack Leaders Meetings. These are usually held a week or two before the monthly Pack meeting. Part of what these Pack Leaders Meetings are for is so all upcoming events are discussed, and issued ironed out. The previous month's Pack meeting is discussed to learn what went well, what should have been done differently, and what should have been scrapped completely. The upcoming Pack meeting is discussed to make sure everyone knows what will be happening, who is in charge of doing what, and when the cutoff for turning in advancement info is. If needed for more in advance planning, other upcoming Pack meetings are discussed. The folks in charge (event chair usually appointed by CC) of any upcoming Pack activity/event discuss their upcoming (or just completed) activity/event to see what went right/wrong, and what needs to be done to make the activity/event succeed.

 

A Pack Leaders Meeting before your Pack meeting/holiday party would have given all of the Pack's leaders the plan for the meeting, and would have insured that things would run fairly smoothly even if there were last minute problems.

 

Good for the parents who stepped up to lead the caroling!

 

Has the CM run a good program prior to these two instances? I agree that you should have a quiet, friendly, conversation with the CM to see what is going on and to let him know of your concerns. However, if this has never happened before I would not immediately leap to dismissing him from the position.

 

 

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"Has the CM run a good program prior to these two instances? I agree that you should have a quiet, friendly, conversation with the CM to see what is going on and to let him know of your concerns. However, if this has never happened before I would not immediately leap to dismissing him from the position"

 

Yeah this is part of the issue, this is his third year as CM but the first where he has been expected to plan anything. Our one-man-show palnned ALL of the activities including Pack Meetings.

 

We do hold monthly meetings to discuss upcoming events and who is doing what and these events were discussed and CM knew what was going on but dropped the ball. I'm looking for how do I broach the subject and not seem like a jerk or dictator.

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And why exactly is this person Cubmaster???

 

If it is just because that's the person that agreed to do it, then I see why you have the problem. I'm a Cubmaster, and essentially I see my job is program - that no matter what it is my responsibility to see that the boys have something to do and are having fun. Even in situations where I have to wing-it because someone else that was responsible didn't show up, isn't on top of it, etc. It really takes a crazy person to be CM, because it really is a "step-up" position, and an ability to get into that 8 or 9 year old mode. The person that decides to be CC is usually not that person that is ready to do that.....and that is a good thing. I don't think I'd want someone as CM that is not ready to engage the boys, at their level, at the drop of the hat. Find the "super-mom" that's always there that can pull a pile of junk out of her bag and create "program" in a flash, or the nutso dad that has crowd of boys around him because he is creating interest and fun. That's where you will find Cubmaster material!!! Boys this age need engagement ON THE SPOT, so it really is necessary to have a CM that prepares, that shows up, and that is always ready to engage or arranges to have someone else ready.

 

This month, just a day before our monthly Pack Event...you know - our meeting, I came down with laryngitis. Not a good thing for a Cubmaster that yells cheers, sings outrageously loud, and uses my voice to engage everyone in the room. I got in touch with my new ACM and the CC(that's also a DL)a day before the meeting to be ready to help out with my part. It was very funny seeing me, with no voice, jumping around orchestrating things, with everyone else doing the voice part. CM more than anyone else always needs to "Be Prepared."

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Just do it as a friend who's working toward the same goal he. But have the conversation and soon and find a solution. It sounds like his responsibilities have significantly increased since the previous CC left.

 

It's important to remember that though pack leadership roles appear to have specific responsibilities, it's not official. It's more like here's a bunch of people and what can we do to get the job done.

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Give him a call. "Hey, Joe, can we get together next [date] to talk about the pack for a bit? I just had some questions I wanted to run by you, and some upcoming events to discuss, just to make sure we're both on the same page."

 

Once you're sitting down over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate at your local establishment, review the upcoming events and meetings, and who's responsible for what. Then, at the end, lay it out, firmly but politely. "So, Joe, I've had some parents with concerns about the last pack meeting and the caroling. They were kind of disappointed by the way things worked out, as was I. I know things have changed recently with Tim Smith leaving - our roles are different, and I just want to make sure we've got all our bases covered to deliver a quality program. Are there any issues you have or concerns you have? I know pack program is a lot to handle for one person - unless you're Tim Smith [chuckling] - and I'm hoping to get an assistant cubmaster soon to help you out. But what are your questions or thoughts?"

 

Just keep it low-key and solution-oriented. Don't use the word "problems." Make sure your concerns are focused, and there's no blame being cast or implied. Hopefully he'll be honest about his strengths and weaknesses, and you guys can work better as a team.

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And why exactly is this person Cubmaster???"

 

He was Cubmaster before I joined -- I inherited him

 

And Here is the really Ironic Part, I am that Zany outgoing silly person who would be awesome helping plan and executing the program but am NOT a great organizer. I feel that CM would be a more "natural" fit for me but there is no one for the CC position. . .

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pchadbo says: And Here is the really Ironic Part, I am that Zany outgoing silly person who would be awesome helping plan and executing the program but am NOT a great organizer. I feel that CM would be a more "natural" fit for me but there is no one for the CC position...

 

Knowing pchadbo.. I agree with this statement.. He came to one of my training courses and right away I knew I wanted to collar him for my trainers.. Didn't know if he knew anything, so I knew I might have to wait a few years for him to season.. But he just has a personality that lights up like a christmas tree..

 

But.. if the CM can not be depended on to do the CC job, if you switched.. Then you are more likely to be a one man show, because if the committee is unwilling to do the committee portion of the job, and you don't have any good ACM's to help, then to get the program to run, then all the underdressing work the committee should be doing but isn't will fall on the CM shoulders..

 

If a pack is being run by one person then it is unusual that the CC is the one man show, it normally that the CM is the one man show.

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