Resignation letter

[dlw73078]

I need help writing a resignation letter to the leaders and parents of my pack. Any advice.

I feel that all my efforts were in vain.

 

[bbng]

Is this because of the den leader/den dues & pack dues issue?

 

I'm not aware of anyone providing letters of resignation, though in my experience, even the most frustrated of leaders tend to give some for a replacement to be found and have made their concerns known well in advance of resigning. This way, supposing those concerns are something the pack as a whole shares, they can be worked on and the pack isn't left scrambling for a new leader.

[Lisabob]

dlw, if you feel you must resign, then that's what you need to do. Don't burn your bridges though; you still have a boy in the pack, right?

 

If you decide to write a letter at all (which I agree is not necessary or even typical) then your letter should not (let me repeat NOT) be circulated to the whole pack. I've seen leaders do that and it seems like no matter how justified and no matter how hard they try to avoid it, letters like this tend to come across all wrong. More often than not, letters like this end up doing far more damage than good. (to the person who wrote it, to the pack leadership left to pick up the pieces, and the rest of the pack.)

 

Instead, politely let your committee know that you need to step down. Frame it in a way that allows you and them to move on with dignity. Give them some time to find a replacement for you. If you have b&g in February, that might be a good time to make a transition. As the boys move up in rank you can "present" the new CM with his/her new position too. This can be done in a positive way no matter what's going on that causes you to believe you need to leave.

 

Remember, this is about the boys. Don't let the adult stuff spill over into the pack or den meetings. The boys deserve to have a good program and a fun time unburdened by pack politics.

 

Sorry to hear you have come to the point where you feel resignation is the answer.

 

Lisa'bob

A good old bobwhite too!

[ScoutNut]

Either your Pack is a complete mess, you get frustrated easily or you just really do not want the job of Cubmaster. Or, maybe, a combination of all three.

 

This is the second time in a month that you are asking for help with writing a resignation letter. You made it past one leader's meeting without resigning, but it looks like you might not make it past another.

 

As you were told then, a letter is not necessary. However, what IS neccessary is to not just leave the Pack (no matter how bad they are) up a creek without a Cubmaster. At your upcoming leader's meeting, let the leaders & the Charter Org Rep know that you will be leaving. Ideally, you should stay until the end of the school year to give them a chance to find a replacement. If you can not manage that, you should, at the very least, give them 2 months.

 

 

[MarkS]

His pack already has a replacement. It's the Committee Chair, just check out the roles and responsibilies section of the Cub Scout Leader Book... "If the Cubmaster is unable to serve, assume active direction of the pack until a successor is recruited and registered."

 

Lisa Bob, et al, indicated correctly that the best way to handle this is to make a polite verbal resignation at your next pack leaders meeting. If they don't know, you might want to show them how to plan the next pack meeting--maybe get them started.

[Lisabob]

Mark, it is true that the CC assumes this position if the CM suddenly steps down and there's no replacement. However, most CCs would not welcome this added position. Being CC is enough work. So in a situation like this where the CM elects to step down mid year (rather than needing to because of an unforeseen emergency) I think it is only good manners and common sense for the CM to give the committee sufficient notice so that they can find a replacement before he leaves. It would certainly make the transition smoother for the pack.

 

Not to mention that dlw has a boy in the pack; if his son wants to stay with this pack then it is incumbent on dlw to handle this in the most tactful way possible. Dumping it on the CC's lap is not going to win him any friends.

 

Lisa'bob

A good old bobwhite too!

[SemperParatus]

Dear Pack,

 

It is with deep regret that I must step down as Cubmaster of Pack XXX due to personal reasons, effective XXXXXXXXXX. It has been a pleasure working with the boys and leading this pack over the past year. I wish you all the best in your future scouting endeavors.

 

Yours in scouting,

 

dlw73078

[MarkS]

Lisa,

 

Normally, I'd argee with you but not in this case. You're talking the rule of thumb for a leadership transistion, this situation doesn't seem to be fit.

 

The transition needs to be expedited because the CM is unhappy with the situation. How can you have a quality program if he doesn't want to do the job? He stated before he's a first year CM with six months of experience (took over in the summer). He probably hasn't accumulated a lot of tribal knowledge the pack would need.

 

Also, his pack is likely having B&G in February, maybe their pinewood derby in January or March. As such, it's likely he may have never planned these events before. The nature of these events usually results in the CM having more help than usual from parents and leaders planning them. Given the lack of experience and the usual extra help, his loss now probably wouldn't adversely affect the planning of these events. If he resigns now and sticks around to help them plan their next pack meeting, they still have six to eight weeks to find a new CM before the next one.

[mbscoutmom]

If you were cubmaster in my pack, you'd skip the resignation letter and just stop showing up for anything. You'd leave the CC (me) to handle everything by herself until I'm ready to write my own resignation letter--which I did this morning in an email to our commissioner. She, the commissioner, walked out on our leaders' meeting on Wednesday because she thought I was being critical of her. I don't need that on top of all the other garbage I've been dealing with. She's apologized now and wants me to stay, but I don't think I can take it anymore. I never was any good at running things.

[Lisabob]

mbscoutmom, that's a really unfortunate situation. Sorry to hear you are feeling so frustrated.

 

Before you quit. Do you have a pack committee? If so, is there anybody at all on that committee that you can work with?

 

If you have any kind of a decent committee, go to them and put it on the table. Tell them that you cannot continue as both CM and CC and give them a deadline. "We need to find a CM by ___ date." Set it after the holidays so that it is more likely to happen. Make it a group project. Ask each person for 3-4 names of people they personally will contact. Don't leave it general ("we need to ask people") because then it is too easy not to follow through.

 

If you have any real ties to your charter organization, consider asking members of that group to step in, whether they have boys in your pack or not. This wouldn't have worked for our pack but it does for some. Look at other outside groups that have an interest in your pack too - church leaders, community leaders, the local PTO, etc. Don't draw leaders only from your immediate circle in other words. If the circle is too small or disfunctional, that just doesn't always work. But above all - don't do it yourself. Make it the committee's task as a whole.

 

Whether you have a committee or not -also go to the parents with this opportunity for involvement. Be upfront - it is too much for one parent to do all this work (CM and CC) so we need additional help from YOU the parents. But also dwell on the positive rather than your frustration (no matter how justified you are in feeling this way - it won't make it easier to recruit people by venting).

 

And as for your commissioner...

I know there are some wonderful unit commissioners out there who are a huge help to the units they are assigned to. Sadly I've met very few of them. Most are either longtime scouters who may be great people but don't know the first thing about today's cub program, or they're invisible, or they're just over-committed and wearing too many bsa hats to do the job well. But honestly, the UC plays (or should play) a very small role in how your pack functions. Don't let one outsider put you into a position where you are abandoning your pack.

 

It seems like this is the time of year, from now to about March when all the really big stuff is about to happen (pinewood, B&G, cross over, not to mention the non-scouting stress of the holidays) when really good people get fed up and quit. That's so unfortunate. What can we do to avoid this? : |

 

LIsa'bob

A good old bobwhite too!

[Backpacker]

Dlw

 

I find your post to be premature. How do you handle problems at work or home when things go awry do you always quit and run or do you try to work things out first. Bring up your concerns to the committee and demand that they take action, also give them your ideas as to solutions to these problems and let them know that without this help you will step down as soon as they find another leader. To scribble out a letter and then cut and run are the actions of a coward, remember you are only hurting the boys. I am sure all of us in this forum have at one time or another felt like bailing, but we stuck it out and things improved in most cases. It is easy to run away, but it takes real guts to stay and work things out, the result will be a much stronger pack.

[mbscoutmom]

Yes, it is unfortunate how things work out. The new year starts with everyone eager to help, but as it gets closer to Christmas, people drop out or do less. I don't know what to do about it. Especially when you're dealing with people new to scouting--they really don't know what they're getting into. Then there are big changes like having babies or buying a house--you just can't predict who'll still be doing their job by December.

 

I started out as CC and DL, and was doing a lot of the CM's job as well. I knew I couldn't handle all of this, but the CM was supposed to take on more of his own responsibilities, and the ADL was supposed to share the den meetings with me 50-50. Also, two moms promised to help me with den meetings. Since Nov. 1, however, I've been doing the den meetings all by myself, and the ACM, who's also a DL with no assistant, is running the pack meetings.

 

The committee knows we need more help. At the last meeting, we formed a search committee for a new ACM, or two--one to run pack meetings and one to plan the program. I hate to leave them without a CC as well, but this is getting to the point where I have to make a change for my own and my family's well-being.

 

I e-mailed the pack leaders today to let them know that I have to give up either the CC or the DL job, if not both, and I'll let them know by Jan. 1.

[MarkS]

Scouting is a volunteer organization, By definition most of the work is going to be done by a few of the people. This is not a fact exclusive to scouting. Your school PTA, your church, and your hobby club all work the same way. There may be events where most everyone pulls together and helps out (e.g., Blue & Gold, organizing a concert for the school band, painting the sanctuary, etc.), but the daily grind of moving forward is usually done by the hearty few.

 

My guess is that almost everyone who visits this forum and makes posts are either members of the hearty few or those who haven't quite realized they're part of the hearty few and there's not much you can do to change that except find another person here or there to join you as part of the hearty few.

 

Scouting is not work or home. It should not be put on the same level of importance as job and family. We shouldn't try to equate them.

 

We're all involved in scouting because we know the phrase "quality time" is a misnomer, a load of garbage, made up by parents who don't spend enough "quantity time" with their kids. We know that the most important quality of the time we spend with our kids is the quantity of it. Scouting provides us with a program that helps us do that.

 

I salute you, you hearty few...

 

MarkS

Official: WDL. Unofficial: CC, part-time CM, PT, and Advancement Chair.(This message has been edited by MarkS)

[SeattlePioneer]

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

 

While it's certainly a good idea to provide people with notice that you intend to resign, in my view you have no obligation to do so if you are not up to doing the job that needs to be done.

 

It's quite easy for Scouting to force compromises with the needs of family, employment and other obligations, including your own personal needs. This is especially true when the unit Committee isn't doing its job and unfair burdens are being placed on unit leaders.

 

Under any of those circumstances, I'd get out if you need to do so. If giving notice places a damaging burden on you, get out NOW!

 

In Scouting, we are only expected to to do our best.

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

[John-in-KC]

I am going to agree with LisaBob here, for both of the Scouters who need help in this thread.

 

Her reasoning is smack-on. If there is one lesson I've learned in life, it's "be exceptionally selective about when, where and how you burn your bridges. You never know when you'll need that bridge again, and ... 8 of 10 times, you will."

 

Stepping away with dignity, grace and compassion really does reduce the amount of loss in a lose-lose ... which is what someone leaving a CC or CM (or any primary Scoutering job) at mid-year does ... to the youth.

 

Lessons to be gleaned:

 

1) If you contemplate a major job (Cubmaster, Committee Chair, Den Leader), do not let the sun go down on saying yes before you have help and backup behind you.

 

2) Remember who the service is for: ALL THE KIDS! Emphasize that to parents. Too many parents look only at Billy, and forget Johnny and Jake need a smile and some encouragement too.

 

3) Get as many people trained as possible. While the 15-85 rule is out there, there is nothing that says we can't stretch the envelope to 20-80 or 25-75!

 

John

A Good Old Owl too