How many times have you been asked to attend a meeting but you had no idea what the meeting was for? It’s like being ambushed or held hostage – you don’t know who’s going to be there, how long it will take, what’s going to be discussed, or – worst of all – what you’ll be asked to be prepared to contribute. It’s an unsettling feeling, something you may dread looking forward to, and certainly that sense of the unknown will be remembered more than what, if anything, was accomplished at the meeting. Sometimes you just walk away and say to yourself, “did we actually do anything?” Continue reading “Effective committee meetings: Introduction”
Advancement’s greater purpose
A recent discussion with members of my troop committee got me thinking as to where advancement stands in the “big picture” of Boy Scouting.
The question raised was how to detect and encourage those Scouts whose time in rank was getting a little long, particularly Second Class scouts. Continue reading “Advancement’s greater purpose”
When they won’t follow
Many regular readers of Scouting Magazine enjoy the feature What Would You Do? in which readers are asked to comment on a problem a Scouter is having in his or her unit. The March-April issue poses the question of how the seven older scouts in a troop should command respect when the 15-20 younger ones won’t follow them. Continue reading “When they won’t follow”
Troop meeting goals and objectives
In a recent discussion with our troop Scoutmasters, I found myself using the term “goals and objectives”. Instantly I was reminded of those management concepts that were to revolutionize the corporate world. Continue reading “Troop meeting goals and objectives”
…if it weren’t for the adults!
Recently, a fellow Bobwhite tweeted a comment about something he heard at his troop meeting that evening. One of the Webelos Den Leaders visiting the meeting had been impressed by the fact that the elected youth leadership planned and ran the meeting, and plan and conduct the campouts and the annual program. I retweeted him with the observation that “in a well-run troop, it actually works that way.” Continue reading “…if it weren’t for the adults!”