Leadership

Troop s330 and Troop 5330 are scout led troops. We strive to empower the scouts to become better leaders. It is very easy to allow adults to run meetings and plan events. Admittedly, in almost every case, most things we do would go smoother if adults ran it. However, in order for a youth to grow to become an adult, they must learn by doing. Along the way there will be mistakes. Learning from our mistakes and lots of practice is how we make leaders. Adults are there to create a safe atmosphere and foster a culture of consistent adult mentorship that strives to move us forward as a scout led troop.

We emphasize the following 5 behaviors of leadership:

1) Leadership is not about telling a person what to do. It is about providing your team with the proper tools, training them on those tools and then supporting and serving them as they use the tools.

2) Lead by example is the best method for the Scout to follow because “actions speak louder than words.” A good way to think of this is that you don’t direct people to do something you have not done or are not willing to do yourself.

3) “Mentoring” and “Empowering” are the primary tools of a leader.

4) Show you care by caring for the needs of your fellow scouts, you as a leader will gain their respect and will be seen as caring. If a scout leader achieves this level of caring for his fellow scouts, motivating the scouts becomes secondary. The scout leader’s simple request now has someone motivated to support that request.

5)“Ask for Help” As a leader, you are constantly being challenged to plan, organize and execute tasks. The best way to have someone take on a task is to ask them for their help. In a calm and relaxed tone, the scout leader should ask his or her fellow scout for help. This works for the simple fact that no one likes to be told what to do but they do not mind helping out when asked.

Example – A scout forgets to bring a water bottle on a hike. His patrol leader provides him a water bottle because he has planned ahead and brought a spare. Later in the day, a third scout is having difficulty. The patrol leader asks the scout who forgot his water bottle if he would mind helping out his fellow scout having difficulty by carrying his day pack. The scout, who forgot his water bottle gladly and without hesitating, helps out his fellow scout.