360 review for Scouters

[pbiner]

One of my ticket goals is to do a 360 review. I could use the on-line companies, but they are geared for corporate America with their questions. Has anyone made up their own 360 review questions to ask of other Scouters? I'd love to see what you asked and how it was processed.

[Narraticong]

Greenbar Bill must once again be rolling in his grave...

 

The only 360 degrees that belong in Scouting are found on a compass! If Woodbadge would spend more time on making Scouters better outdoors leaders and focus less on "corporate America", we might actually be better able to recruit boys!

 

I wonder if tickets would make good tinder? It might be a more effective use..

 

Ken

[OldGreyEagle]

Welcome to the Forums pbiner

 

Not all members are sound like Narraticong was, some are worse, some better sorta just like life

(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[moosetracker]

Sorry pbiner.. Some of us have been on the boards too long, we grumble and bicker amongst ourselves.. It is unfriendly and not scoutlike to chew off the head of newbies like yourself.

 

I am unsure of what a 360 is? If it is to organize the boys, well you will get grumbling.. The boys are to be able to make mistakes and learn from them.. Volunteers also are a hard lot to line up.. After all they are volunteers, they join for the fun and adventure much like the boys.

 

But, there is disorganization that needs to be organized.. Like take the mess I just took on at District for Training.. Adult Training records should not get lost period.. Take at District Level our Merit Badge Counseling list.. We have people still list for MBC that have passed away 5 years back. Other who sign up, and get lost and never put on the list..

 

 

There are things needing organization.. There are things that just can't be organized.. Grumpy cantankourous scouters are one of them...

 

So if Narraticong didn't scare you off, can you explain more of what you are trying to accomplish?

[dg98adams]

Your syllabus describes the kinds of questions you could use.... Every Scouter would have questions that are unique to the position/Troop/Pack/Crew/Team/District/Council you serve.....

 

Figuring this out on your own is also part of the ticket.

 

If you are still stuck contact your assigned Troop Guide.

 

 

[sherminator505]

As far as Scouting goes, I'm not so much a purist that I don't see a place for management theory in Scouting. But I would go so far as to say that it should be applied correctly, and it should not replace the core elements of what we do, and why. Nor should it become so cumbersome and complex that it leads to questions like this.(This message has been edited by sherminator505)

[Gags]

PB - Is this a 360 review of yourself, your troop, or for you to conduct on others? That may help shape some of the answers.

 

My company utilizes a 360 review for our annual assessments, and includes input from our clients as well. We have a set of "core values" and a additional skill-based competencies that are the same for everyone. What's different is the expectations to perfom at each level. Junior staff may need to show a "writing" competency by contributing research to a deliverable, while Sr. staff would be evaluated on their "writing" ability to be the main author for whole deliverable. But it's the same basic skills for everyone.

 

To keep it simple, why not just use the Scout Law, or (even better? almost as good?) the 8 Methods (Patrol Method, Advancement, Adult Association, etc.)and ask how well you (or the program, or the person being evaluated) use those methods throughout the year.

 

Hope this helps.

 

YiS,

 

Gags

[AvidSM]

In the nutshell, the 360 review means that you ask "how am I doing" to everyone around you in your organization - your boss, your peers, your workers and your customers.

 

For example, a Scoutmater would ask for feedback from the Troop Committee, the Assistant Scoutmasters, the youth leaders, Unit Commissioner, etc. To get this feedback, the Scoutmaster would come up with a list of questions. That's what pbiner was asking about, before Greenbar's ghost let out a howl by proxy.

 

I've done a 360 review as a prerequisite for a "7-Habits" course at work. I have never done one in scouting - but I am always seeking feedback from those around me.

[OldGreyEagle]

A "360 Review" is a Possible Wood Badge Ticket in the 21rst Wood Badge Ticket

 

 

Now, I wonder if as a result of a 360 review, a scouter decides that he/she lacks scoutcraft/woodcraft skills and embarks on a self study course that ends up with he/she having scout craft skills that are second to none, if any destractor to Wood Badge would be impressed? And to begin with "I am Just sayin' "

 

 

[moosetracker]

Well tickets are either to help improve yourself for your unit, or to help your unit improve.. As long as he is not going out to improve everyone else around him, I see no problem with this ticket item.

 

Even if it doesn't lead to skills 2nd to none, feedback will lead to self improvement one way or another by just knowing what you should pay more attention to. Unless you are someone who just don't give a darn.. But, if that were the case, I wouldn't think you would go to Woodbadge in the first place.

[pbiner]

The 360 review is for my own personal growth as a leader in the Scouts. I would like to know how other Scouters and parent volunteers feel about working with me, if I'm effective or not, etc. Most of my work with Scouts is administrative; Pack Planning meetings, district meetings, round table meetings, volunteer coordinator and Camp Director. But for those who think I should be with the boys, I am. I go on most of the events with the Cubs, they all know who I am and seem to get along well with me. Thanks for all the replies.

[Narraticong]

Please all accept my apology for my earlier ranting explosion. To explain myself, I will just remind everyone that Scouting is supposed to be a game for boys. No more, no less. Sure we try to instill some values and the original concept was to do so through taking the boys outdoors.

 

It's really a very simple process. Boys naturally gravitate toward "gangs" and will develop and follow their own leadership. The goal of the adults should be to let the boys develop and learn on their own as much as possible. If we do so within a well run outdoor program, we will be successful. BP had the right idea and Hillcourt developed a program that was near perfection. And none of it involves a 360 degree review! The good leader knows the hearts of his boys and they know his.

 

It just amazes me that we have allowed the "corporate speak" to so complicate Scouting that we have lost focus on our purpose- the boys. We don't need 360 reviews. Our packs and troops are not corporations. We should be more like a family than we are like IBM.

 

My most effective self evaluations take place sitting around summer camp doing absolutely nothing. My checklist includes: are my boys smiling? Do I hear laughter? Do they bring cool bugs, rocks, and sticks to show me? Do they tell me jokes? Are they comfortable sharing their concerns with me? Do the early risers come over to my table as I enjoy my first cup of coffee? So, I watch, I listen, and I engage the boys.

 

Sorry, I guess my own work life is complicated enough that I prefer to keep "the game" simple. Find an old Scoutmasters Handbook and read it first page to last. Mr. Hillcourt was brilliant.

 

Ken

[desertrat77]

I agree with Ken. No management tool can replace the human-to-human feedback that results from genuine rapport.

 

I've done several of these feedback instruments in military professional development courses. I have yet to see, from both my experience and the peers who shared their results with me, any genuine revelation.

 

The results just kinda confirm what was already known. The rare exception is the manager who doesn't realize what a freak show he really is until he opens the envelope.

 

[AvidSM]

In my scouting position, I am constantly seeking ways to do things better. I feel I owe this to the people that report to me and to the youth that will ultimately benefit from my actions. No training - Basic, Wood Badge or otherwise - is as effective unless you have that attitude.

 

A 360 review is a training tool - a means of self-assessment. It only works if the sender of the information is honest and sincere and, the receiver, humble. I don't agree with making it into a Wood Badge ticket or part of a ticket.

 

Management tools have worked their way into scouter training, whether you like them or not. I guess it's because of the shift in America from blue-collar to white collar mentality. We are less a nation of factory workers and more service industries and high tech.

 

Very little of my Wood Badge course was new to me - I had seen most of that stuff in my 20 years working for the Navy. I guess you can say it took some of the luster off of it. In the end, it was more an emotional that cerebral experience for me.

[John-in-KC]

Want a good self-assessment in a Scouting context?

 

Evaluate each point of the Boy Scout Law in your daily life.

 

Evaluate each point of the Boy Scout Oath in your daily life.

 

Since you work with Cubs, evaluate the Cub Scout Promise as well.

 

You don't have to buzzword it (360). You are simply applying the Scout Spirit requirement to yourself.

 

I wish you well

 

John

A Good Old Owl

C-40-05