Overbearing District Director?

[Lady_Leigh67]

Okay Scouters. How do you handle an overbearing District Director? Some examples: coming up to the school where I teach (and the Pack meets/is chartered at) and "pretending to be a parent" in his own words to wait out dismissal time to meet with me. Also, calling the Committee Chair several times in one day (up to 20 times a day...and I have seen the phone log myself) and leaving messages, including asking if he can stop by her house to pick up applications, asking for her work schedule so he can stop by, etc.

 

I am currently the COR. I don't want to lose my CC, but she is close to stepping down because of this.

 

Desperately looking for advice!

[Scoutfish]

A a COR, you have alot of influence and power over this.

 

You can contact the DD directly and firmly (but nicely) tell him that wether he knows it or not, he is overstepping bounderies as well as stepping well beyond professioal mannerism.

 

aND IF THIS DOESN'T WORK, YOU CALL THE se - JUST NOT 20 TIMES.

 

aS A cor, YOU HAVE THE POWER OF INFLUENCE BY BASICALLY SAYING YOU CAN WITHDRAW YOUR UNIT.

 

hOPE YOU NEVER DO, BUT THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS.

 

Dang caps lock - not gonna retype cause I'm just not feeling it tonight!

 

[FScouter]

Tell him if he wants a date with her to just ask.

[Beavah]

How odd. And kinda creepy.

 

First, if yeh haven't already, yeh tell the district director that his behavior is unacceptable and that he is to cease it at once. As COR, he works for you, not the other way around.

 

Second, if he didn't respond to that, yeh call the council field director or the scout executive and you let him/her know that the district director is not to contact you or any of your volunteers in person or by phone again. If he wishes to get in touch with your unit, he is to email you and only you and only once. You make it clear that this is a situation which may compromise your unit charter if not addressed immediately.

 

Third, if necessary because the SE hasn't dealt with it, yeh approach the council president with the issue, and let him know that yeh need him to address it through the council executive committee.

 

Lastly, yeh let your building principal and school security folks know, and yeh have the fellow escorted off school premises or arrested if he tries that trick again.

 

If for some reason yeh don't think you're getting traction along the way, have your principal (who I assume is the IH for the unit) do the calls. Principals are good at that sort of thing.

 

Beavah

 

[Curious]

As a COR you also have a seat (as well as a vote) on the district committee. You could always show up and return the favor ...

 

[shortridge]

Ditto what Beavah said about the creepy factor. Keep those phone records, notes of dates and times, etc. - this is almost guaranteed to end up on the SE's desk. And if you have friendly relationships with other female unit leaders, you may want to discreetly check with them to see if they've experienced similar things. My gut says you're not the only ones he's doing this to.

[Eagle92]

WOW! As a former pro, this is not the way to handle things. Follow what others have recommended.

[Basementdweller]

Sounds like a case of harassment for sure.....I would call the council office and speak with the DE and the SE about it.

 

He will be gone pretty quick I bet.

[Eagle92]

Base,

 

DDs are higher up the food chain than DEs. Depending upon the size of the council, either the Field Director(supervises DEs and DDs), Director of Field Services( Supervises DDs and FDs), or SE is the one to talk to.

[Basementdweller]

Ok Eagle.....

 

I don't have a clue about district and higher stuff......In my book they are all pretty worthless. So clue a fellow in on their pecking order

 

SE head of council

 

DE District Customer support guy

 

District committee Activities, membership, training and??????

 

If it were my wife he was messing with, we would settle this in a pretty unscoutlike manner.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

[Tampa Turtle]

This isn't being overbearing this is probably the sort of thing that can you fired. I would just go straight to the SE.

[SSScout]

Definitely harrassment possibility. But he does not have the "threat" of employment over the volunteers, as loathsome as his attention might be.

Be assured that you are not the first ,nor will be the last to be affected by his "hobby".

Have you had any contact with anyone else besides yourself and the CO you mention that has had the same sort of contact? In numbers there is strength.

As has been suggested, keep a diary/journal of his contacts: Time, date, what is said.

Therefore, three possible responses occur to me.

1) Personally tell him in no uncertain terms that his constant attention is unwarranted and unnecessary. The Scout business can be accomplished with much less contact. Remind him that you are keeping track of his contacts and it will be reported to his superiors. I would be surprised if this had the desired result. Might pique his interest the more, leading to:

2) Don't bother with the above warning. Contact the SE for your Council, and you and the other Scout Leaders affected speak with the SE about what you have experienced. If ONE comes up and makes such charges, maybe (the SE should , of course, take you seriously, but then..) they will be heard. If MORE than one Scout Leader comes up and relates the same troubles, they will mean more. Let the SE take the appropriate action. If nothing changes, you can do other things (go back to the SE, legal action in the courts, publicity in the media, etc.)

3) Next time he calls, arrange to meet him for coffee in a public place. Have all the affected Scout Leaders there, together WITH the SE, the DC, and perhaps your lawyer. Let him draw his own conclusions and make sure he understands your expectations.

Be assured that if someone does not confront this ...idiot with his actions, and give him consequences, nothing will change, and you will lose more than one Scouter. And who loses in the final analysis? The boys.

We're with you here, if only electronically. Keep us informed how things turn out.

[infoscouter]

Is he pressuring other units like this? I can't tell whether the attention is personal, or if he's really pushing to get business done (like pick up applications). If its the former, I agree with the others, you need to bring this to the attention of his supervisors. If its the latter, he may be feeling pressure to make numbers, and somehow has the idea that your unit is a bottleneck in getting his paperwork in. Our past and present professionals have come to leader's home regularly to pick up applications or other paperwork, or meet us at coffee shops, etc. Its how they expedite paperwork. That may be all he's trying to do, but is a little too eager.

[SeattlePioneer]

While I don't defend the methods described, we are only getting half the story.

 

Is this a unit that routinely fails to turn in membership applications until rechartering?

 

Why has it been necessary to make repeated calls?

 

The council is entitled to collect the dues money and the District Executive's job depends on getting that job done.

 

 

[ScoutNut]

LL67 - Just wondering -

 

Have you talked to this person at all about what is going on?

 

When he approached you at your job, did you tell him it was inappropriate?

 

Have you asked him why he is harassing your CC?

 

Have you asked him to stop?

 

Before you take this to the Field Director or the SE, I strongly suggest you first talk to the DD. Find out what is actually going on, why he is behaving this way, and how your unit can best work WITH him.