Too few leaders

[mbscoutmom]

Our pack will soon be losing 4 very active leaders when their sons crossover in March. My husband and I have had to take on a lot more work than we wanted to this year--he's the committee chairman and webelos I leader, and I went from asst. Wolf den leader to Wolf and Tiger leader by default.

 

With these 4 leaders gone, I'm afraid we're going to be overwhelmed. We currently have about 35 boys, and will have 25 after the crossover. How can we get more parents to come forward and take on some of the burden?

 

Dorothea

[Rixkidz]

Have a parents meeting!

 

Let the parents know that you NEED help! If you continue at the level you are, you are not going to last long yourselves.

 

You need to let the parents know...if you don't tell them then you have only yourselves to blame..

 

Good luck!

[SemperParatus]

First...I would not call volunteering a burden. It should be viewed as a joy. If it is communicated as a burden, then I expect very few will find that appealing.

 

You have a pool of at least 80 parents between the current and crossover members. Have a mandatory parent meeting before and after next year's recruitment campaign to fill needed positions. Put out the expectation that every parent should contribute time and talents in some way in order to make the pack successful and enjoyable for all the boys. There are many recent threads on this site where recruiting issues have been addressed at great length. Read them. Involve your CO in the recruitment of CM and CC leadership positions. If the right person is in those positions, then they can drive successful recruitment of den leaders, assistants, special event coordinators, etc. as well as make long-range plans to ensure that future transitions of pack leadership are smooth. Recruitment is pretty much about asking (face to face) and making a person feel comfortable that they will be given the expert training and pack leadership support to be successful. Welcome to the forum and good luck!(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

[Fuzzy Bear]

Here's the Rule: One person, one job. If you do anything more than that, you will be giving less than what is needed. If you still want to do something useful, then help Recruit. But you say, "I can run two Dens because I know how and I have the time". Good, then Recruit and Train somebody else. But you say, "That is too harsh, somebody will not get the program". Then get some training on how to Recruit and ask for help to Recruit. Apparently your husband has time to Recruit also. This program is meant to be a Shared Leadership experience not a One Person Band. You might also believe that somehow you are saving the world by doing a big job (meaning, two or more jobs) nobody else will do. So what happens by taking the other positions yourself, the Unit still drowns but it just take a little longer. Another way to look at the same thing is that the job that nobody wants to do is Recruit and Train another person. The most important job in Scouting is Recruiting. It is the way to deliver the Program to the boys. Anything less is POOR LEADERSHIP and a rational that always leads to unnecessary problems.

 

Most all of us have been down the road of wearing more than one hat. We think we look pretty good doing it but the quality of the work generally stinks. We always hope nobody can smell.

FB

 

[mbscoutmom]

We plan to make a pitch at the Blue & Gold for more help. But we have asked and asked these parents to help and no one does. I think they don't feel the urgency because, with the strong Webelos II den leadership, the work has been getting done without their help. How can we make them see the urgency of need without pushing them away?

 

I entirely agree with the "one person, one job" rule. That's exactly what I've been telling my husband since he took on the Committee Chairman job. He's not doing that well trying to do two jobs, and I've had to step in to help him get things done. I became a Wolf leader only because I thought the two leaders needed some help, but then they asked me to manage the boys' achievements. The leader hardly ever shows up at den meetings, and the other assistant just wants to do games and crafts. I took on the Tiger achievements as well because we only had one, and he was just joining in Wolf den meetings. I couldn't stand to see him not even get his Tiger. Anyway, I don't feel overwhelmed by my den leader duties--it's all the committee leadership that's too much. But my husband won't step down. What can I do?

[mbscoutmom]

What's a CO? Also, I looked for threads on recruitment and couldn't find them. Can you post a link? Thanks!

 

Dorothea

[EagleInKY]

Begging for leaders at events or parent's meetings seldom work, especially if it feels like begging or pressure. But here are some suggestions to make it work.

 

1) You have to become a scouting evangelist. Sell the scouting program to them. Make them understand this IS the best thing they can do for their son.

 

2) Allow them options of limiting the scope of their job. Jobs can revolve around one event (PWD coordinator, Popcorn Sales or Blue & Gold). Just think, if you get three people to take on those three activities, you've just made the CMs job much easier.

 

3) When I took over as CM many moons ago, I was taking over for a control freak. He had to run everything. Hence, when I took over, there were no ACMs, no real committee members, nothing at the pack level. After I was installed as CM, we did a little skit. They gave me my patch, then they brought out a box of stuff. I don't remember everything that was in it, but it included a box of popcorn (representing popcorn chair), checkbook (treasurer), a whistle (Den Leader Coach), streamers (B&G chair), PWD cars (PWD Chair), paperwork (Advancement chair), etc. You get the idea. As they kept piling on things, I showed a look of shock and disbelief like "what have I got myself into". At the end of it, I told everyone that I was only one person and could not do the job alone. If anyone would like to help, see me after the meeting. After the meeting I signed up two new leaders (treasurer and popcorn chair). It was a great start and the beginning of turning that pack around.

 

Best of luck.

[ScoutNut]

The more you do FOR people the LESS they will do themselves. It is just human nature.

 

You need to step back & NOT do some things. It is hard, especially if it looks like things will not get done, but that is how people learn.

 

For instance your Tiger. You only have 1 Tiger Cub, correct? Is he your son? If he is, then you get the leader job by default. If not, then where is this boys Partner? One Tiger - One Tiger Partner. The Partner should be the "Tiger Leader" not you. You could give them a copy of Program Helps & some ideas & be there for them if they have questions, but they should be working on the Tiger (not Wolf) program on their own.

 

Your Wolf Den. You need to talk to the other 2 leaders & set some things straight. You should all be working TOGETHER!

 

Your Hubby. He should not be doing both Committee Chair & Webelos Leader at the same time. If he feels overwhelmed he will not do either job well. For his CC position, is he truly doing only his job as CC or is he doing everyone else's job also. If you have to step in to help it sounds like he is doing more than JUST the job of CC. Or maybe it is that he is not doing the job of CC correctly. He should be mainly a delegator, a coordinator. He OVERSEES the monthly Committee meetings and the business end of the Pack. NOTE - I said oversee NOT do it all himself. He should have committee members that he has designated to do different tasks, head up different sub-committees, who report back to him at the committee meetings. I am sure that by now he knows the families in the Pack. He should be able to put together a list of possibles for each position he needs filled and then go see them, face-to-face, and ask them to do that job. Out of 25 boys I am sure that you have some folks out there that are willing & even wanting to help, but are not ready to make the first move & are just waiting to be asked.

 

If something doesn't get done, then maybe the parents will realize that you guys aren't going to do it ALL yourselves after all!

 

BTW - CO is Charter Organization. This is the organization which owns the Pack. The Charter Organization Rep (COR), along with the Committee Chair (CC) is responsible for providing Pack leaders.

 

 

[Joni4TA]

EagleInKY experienced something that I similarly remember as a part of my New Leader Essentials Training.... a sort of a skit where they had someone stand up from the group, and kept handing that person pieces of paper with different jobs printed on them. They had to hold the papers in a particular way so that everyone watching could clearly see what was printed on the papers until eventually, the person could hold no more papers.. yet there were still several papers to hold. The main idea came across - No one person can do it all!

 

Sometimes we feel such a sense of responsibility that we will wear 2, 3, even 4 hats. When we see we're going to bear too much, it's time to pull people aside and ask, "Will you do ________ for the Den/Pack/Patrol/Troop/Crew/District/Council?" I think there are people out there who will help and step up to the plate, but if we never call them out and ask them we won't get their help.

 

I don't know if it's useful to "beg" for leader help in a general capacity, as in "Hey, Joe and Jane are doing it all, we need help!" I tend to agree with EagleInKY also, that if you can start by getting folks to commit to one particular activity (Pinewood Derby, B & G, etc.) it will relieve some of the hat-wearing.

 

We've had similar issues here every year. One important one being finding a Day Camp Director. We give volunteers plenty of time to step up to the plate and we are provided a deadline for signing up to the position. Often, no one does until the very last minute when we get the announcement that there will be NO DAY CAMP FOR THE BOYS due to lack of a director. I think once parents understand that their boys aren't going to have a day camp at all (which means no fun for all that are looking forward to it), folks are more apt to step up and volunteer. It's for the boys after all, not for us!

[mbscoutmom]

Thank you for all your helpful replies. I think the best idea is telling everyone that if no one is in charge of an activity, we won't do it. It won't work for us, though, because we don't want our own boys to miss out on anything!

 

The best solution for us may be to find someone to be Assistant Committee Chairman, to share the administrative duties with my husband. I believe he is doing the job correctly, but, between work and scouts he has so much to think about that he sometimes forgets things he should have taken care of or delegated to someone. I've been trying to help him with this, but it would be better to have someone outside our family doing it.