Advice needed...Leadership vacuum

[dundalk83]

Hello Scouters,

I'm a long time lurker and this is my first post. I'm a Webelos II den leader and ACM for my Pack. My son is an Asperger syndrome boy who has earned his AOL and is moving on to Boy Scouts. I'd like to move on with him and become an ASM with the troop my son is in.

 

My dilemma is this however. Recently I have learned that the CM wants to leave the pack too. His personal life and its issues are consuming more and more of his time.

 

My intentions along with the CM's departure will leave a serious leaderhsip vacuum in the pack.

 

We are a very small pack with only 5 boys, but we think it will grow as we have recently been allowed to recruit in our church's school. We haven't been able to do that in the past.

 

Our pack has two good Dads that have expressed an interest in becoming leaders. One is the Dad of a Tiger so, there is the chance he'll stay for awhile. The other is a Web I Dad, so at best we have another year with him. However, neither has run a Cub Pack. It would be best to allow them some time as ACM's before turning them loose. Both I and the CM are willing to act in an advisory role.

 

I really need to go with my son. His autistic condition won't allow me to be very "hands off". It wouldn't be fair to the other scouts/leaders in his troop if I didn't come along to help. I wish I had the personal time to be both an ASM for my son and ACM for my Cubs, but I can't.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

[PACK15NISSAN]

First of all welcome to the forum and congratulations to you and your son for his accomplishments. I have 1 boy in my den with Asperger and another with full blown Autism and I have seen first hand the challenges you 2 have faced.

 

I know you said you are a small pack, do you have a CC or a COR? What about a UC? These would be the people you need to contact and let them know of the leadership or lack there of issues. They should work to replace you with an interested adult and the UC, CC, DC should help them get trained and ready to run a successful and growing pack. You have to do what is best for your son, it is not selfish to assist him in his excelling in scouts.

 

I do think it would be ideal to have some one with the experience in running a pack to come along side the CM and assist him, it would make his transition easy. However, with the right support and training they should do fine.

 

Another suggestion is for you or the current CM to work with him until Christmas break and then he is on his own. That would give him a little more than 3 solid months of help and experience before the before you hand over the wheel. You may even be able to work something out with the current CM so he could work with the CM for a while and then you so that no one is being over extended. No matter what happens with quality, trained leaders who are dedicated to the pack and a good CO the pack will survive.

 

Have you talked to the troop about your son? In our troop a parent cannot be an ASM over his sons patrol. We have 2 boys in the troop who have either Autism or Aspergers and there parents are on the committee but no direct involvement with the boys and they do great. I know the situations vary with all boys but most boys excel without dad or mom right behind them. The troop may currently have or in the past have dealt with autism. Just something to consider.

[John-in-KC]

Welcome.

 

As Pack15nissan said, there is a support structure that's supposed to be in place.

 

Let's start with your Chartered Partner: That's the church, school, or business which sponsors your Pack. One of their duties, as the licensees of record of the Scouting program, is to provide leadership. The two people who matter are your Executive Officer or Institutional Head, who is overall in charge, and your Chartered Organization Representative, who does the day-to-day work.

 

In addition, you're supposed to have a Pack Committee. This should be at least 3 adults, one of whom is the Chairman. They're the support structure, even as the CM and DLs are the program structure. One of the CC's jobs is to find leadership. Another of his jobs is to serve as Cubmaster in the absence of one.

 

The next Scouting layer beyond your unit is the District. It's a service and support area within your Council. The person who can give you the most support is your Unit Commissioner. Every unit has one. If the District Commissioner hasn't appointed a UC for your unit, HE is your Unit Commissioner. His job is to provide expertise and support to direct contact leaders, such as you. He has access to the resources of the District!

 

Finally, your friendly Professional staff, the District Executive, is the top line of support for you. He should be able to point you to a slew of volunteers who can provide training and program assistance.

 

HTH. KISMIF.

[Karen_216]

They need not have been ACM to be CM. I was not. Our ACM was deployed so unable to be CM, I stepped up in his absence but he was not abel to take back over as CM after his return. There is training and plenty of help. Since it is a small pack every parent should go to every meeting and be ASSIGNED some type of responsiblity. You need to go on with your son he will need your coaching in hsi special situation. (congratulations it's great to hear how well he's done!!)

you can offer advice or lend a hand here and there but sometimes if someone else will do it others will not step up.

[DenZero]

You and the outgoing Cubmaster ought to sit down with the two dads and figure out what they would be willing to do. You could offer to remain as a committee member until next recharter to be available for consulting. Theres plenty of time for the new leaders to take at least the online training and read the books, and maybe go to the basic leader training if its offered in your area.

 

If the Cubmaster is doing the job of Committee Chair as well, try to get someone else to do the duties of Committee Chair so one person doesnt have to do everything. When you recruit more boys in the fall, it will be a good time to build a functional pack committee (something our small pack hasnt had for several years).

 

Its not necessary to know how to run a pack to be a pack leader. Most of us never did this before we stepped up. Thats why theres training materials. Being around to help with the transition will make it easier (better than my transition, when the keys to the hall were dropped off at my house by the soon-to-be-former Cubmaster on the night of the Pinewood Derby).

 

Before you try to involve the chartered orgainzation, find out how cooperative they are. Most chartered orgs don't want to be bothered by their scouting units except to sign the recharter and leader applications once a year.

 

If you need more help, call your District Executive, it's his job to help keep units on their feet.

 

[walk in the woods]

Well, we have similar stories. I served as a MC and CM for my Asperger son's pack for 5 years. About 2 years ago, working with a friend, we restarted a Troop so our Webelo's had an option in town. I'm still on the Pack committee as my friend's son ends his cubbing career but my Cub career is winding down.

 

Anyway, move with your son, go be an ASM and enjoy the ride. My son crossed over this past Feb. and we've had a blast in Scouting. He's making great social strides every week. Offer to help on the Pack Committee if you'd like, stay on until the other Dads get trained, or to help set up the PWD or something, to smooth the transition but make sure they know you are moving on. I don't mean to be crass, but, the vacuum will likely fill once the other folks in the pack realize you mean it.

 

It's been difficult to let my son be "on his own" in the Troop. Even though I'm the SM I'm trying really hard to give him the full Scouting experience. I've had to intervene a couple of times during social meltdowns but on the whole he's having a ball. Sometimes I wonder if I want him to pick up the social skills of some of the other scouts! I suspect you'll understand what I mean. Enjoy the ride and thank you for being strong for your son!

[John-in-KC]

DenZero,

 

Doing what is right isn't always what is easy, but your Chartered Partner is the licensee of record for your Scout unit... Pack, Troop, Team or Crew. They have the obligation to support the unit they charter. Now, if there are not good relations between the unit and the Partner, here's a time to fix them.

 

Also, the DE's responsibility is not to the Units; it's to the Chartered Partners. His volunteers (Commissioner's Service and District Committee) are the ones who provide program and management support for the various things a District does.

 

You might want to revisit this particular set of webpages on the www.scouting.org website, to understand the moving pieces and parts:

 

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/AboutCubScouts/ThePack.aspx

[DenZero]

Yes, John-in-KC, I know how its supposed to work in theory. In reality, most Chartered Organizations are not enthusiastic about their Scouting units. Someone probably was enthusiastic 50-60 years ago when they agreed to take in some homeless Scout units. Now they continue to do it because they have always done it. Most are willing, and will continue to host the units as long as they dont cause too much trouble. What Im recommending is that a unit needs to judge how involved a Chartered Org. wants to get before you get pushy about them getting involved in the running of the unit. If most Chartered Orgs. actually read their obligations in the agreement, many would drop their units.

 

The DE supports units, because his performance rating is affected by losing units.

 

 

[dundalk83]

Actually, our charter org is supportive, especially recently. While the church is our charter org, we've finally been able to set up a recruitment booth at our church school's open house night in the fall. This is something we have not been able to do in the past. The school's new principal is receptive to the pack. The church's commmittee would also like to see a larger pack and greater visibility.

 

I guess this is the problem. After several years of parents thinking we were running a babysitting service, we've finally got good parental involvement. The pack seems to be on the verge of a breakthrough whereas in the past, it was on the verge of collapse.

 

I'm worried that if I don't stay to help mentor the new leaders, the pack will fail just when things are starting to improve.

[ScoutNut]

"I'm worried that if I don't stay to help mentor the new leaders, the pack will fail just when things are starting to improve."

 

 

You have stated that you absolutely can not work with both the Troop and the Pack at the same time. You have also stated that you must go to the Troop with your son. That leaves you few options.

 

Both you and the CM have offered to be "on call" as such, to the Pack for advice.

 

Mentoring a BSA unit is the job of the Commissioner Service. Does the Pack have a UC? You might want to talk to either your UC or DC about the leadership problems and about the Commissioner Service being more available to them at this time.

 

I don't see that there is very much else you can do given your situation.

[John-in-KC]

What ScoutNut said ... contact your District Commissioner; find out who your UC is.

 

Congratulations on having a good Chartered Partner ... that is way cool. Make sure the folks taking over work with the church on service projects, VBS, and fun!

 

One thing you want to find out is when is Cub Leader Specific training this fall...

[Eamonn]

At the end of the day you have to do what is best for you and your son.

You have to follow your heart!

Many of us have served our time in positions that when the time came to move on, we felt bad about leaving.

You might want to think of yourself as a house builder.

You built the house, did the best job that you could.

The time for the new people to move in has come.

The time for you to build a new house has also come.

The new owners of the house will do whatever they want with the house.

They might make some wonderful improvements.

They might not like some things and will want to change them.

They might demolish the house.

But you did your job, you build the house and moved on.

What happens next? Really is up to the new house owner.

Eamonn .

(Yes if you are lurking? Thanks!)

[Docrwm]

Go with your son. But, try to get the new leaders up to speed by bringing in the Commissioner's staff from your District. You may or may not have a Unit Commissioner. I know you've been told here that every unit has one - fantasy. The Commissioner's Service is down roughly 40% nationwide from the last figures I saw at UC training. Your District does have a District Commissioner and probably Asst DCs who can help you. Frankly, given the very small size of your unit its likely that you're not on the Commissioner Staff's radar. Also, the Paid BSA Employee for your District has as part of their evaluation the continuance of units and membership generally. They should also be able to help with supporting the unit.

 

Good luck.