As committee chair, it’s your responsibility to see that the committee supports the troop or pack program by providing those things that the Scoutmaster or Cubmaster needs to be successful. These things can be similar between these two programs (help in arranging activities such as camping or transportation), or they can be very different (“running the show” in Cub Scouts versus training the boys to do so in Boy Scouts).
Of course, you don’t do it alone. You hopefully have a committee full of eager parents willing to help with all the details, and it’s your job to recruit and support them.
How do you support them, once they are in position? Â Authors Linda Hill and Kent Lineback, bloggers for the Harvard Business Review, reveal the one question that successful managers ask the people they support:
What can I do to help you be more effective?
Go ahead and read the article – it’s full of helpful information on how to ask the question, what you can expect to hear, but most importantly, how you can get the most out of your conversations with people and, in the process, how to improve your effectiveness as a team leader.
Think of ways to apply this information to the way you interface with the people on your committee. As chair, you are the chief resource person for your unit. You have the contacts with the Scoutmaster, chartered organization, council, Â and community. You can provide the tools to make sure that everyone on the committee has what’s needed to improve the Scouting experience for the boys.
How will you use the one question to improve your committee?
Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
This post first appeared on Bobwhite Blather.
