Youth Leadership, Bobwhite Blather, Page 4

July 11, 2011

The waterline test

I came across a really insightful post to the Harvard Business Review faculty blog by Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer called Declaring Independence in the Workplace. The post deals mainly with problems that ensue when upper management micromanages their teams, and how team professionals deserve a “Declaration of Independence” of their own – independence to do their work without undue interference from above.

I began to draw many Scouting allegories from this, going back to the “Green Bar” Bill Hillcourt advice to train ’em, trust ’em and let ’em lead as we must do with our Scouts. However, one of the comments jumped off the page at me, full of meaning for the adult role in Boy Scouting. Continue reading “The waterline test”

June 3, 2011

Leader: a title or an attitude?

I frequently sit on rank advancement boards of review in our troop. Because it’s so important to me, I usually ask the scouts we interview about leadership in one aspect or another. I ask whether the scout holds a position of responsibility in the troop, how he’s handling it and if he’s Â had any problems. I also ask him what he thinks “being a leader” means. While occasionally we’ll hear an answer that really impresses me – the “right” answer: a leader serves others – usually what we hear is “a leader gets to boss people around” or something similar. I’ll also ask if he views himself differently since he’s held a position, and in what way. Continue reading “Leader: a title or an attitude?”

February 25, 2011

When they won’t follow

Many regular readers of Scouting Magazine enjoy the featureÂ 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”

February 16, 2011

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”

January 27, 2011

…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!”