Interview a new D.E.

[nutz4scouting]

I'll have an opportunity to interview a new District Executive.

I am a new District Commissioner. What are some questions you think would be appropriate for a new hire?

[Eamonn]

Boy oh Boy!!

Last October I was asked to sit in on the interview of our "New" DE.

He had already met with the Field Director, who was being promoted and leaving a few weeks later.

We all met for lunch.

I was very derelict in my duties. I have over the years interviewed and hired staff at most levels, from Managers to cleaners.

When I met with this DE I was trying to be nice!! I really wanted him to be very comfortable and I went out of my way to be warm and fuzzy.

We chatted about what he had done as a Scout.

We chatted about his parents. (He is only 23).

I was very polite!!

While I admit to being a real twit. I think at the time my thinking was that it was a done deal.

Sad to say the Guy just doesn't get it.

He doesn't communicate.

He came up to me and said that he really wanted to get involved with Cub Scout Camping? He just didn't understand when I said that wasn't his job. Volunteers take Cub Scouts camping.

He doesn't understand how a District works.

Sure we packed him off to PDL-1. When he came back he wanted to get more involved in Venturing??

The Field Director that left and myself had more than our fair share of disagreements. But the guy was a task master, he pushed the DE's. Sad to say the replacement had never been a FD and it seems lacks either the knowledge or the leadership to motivate the DE'S.

I like to think that I have tried to help this poor guy out. I know that the Program Director has tried, but he just doesn't seem to understand what a DE does.

Maybe before you meet with him, you might ask the FD or the SE if he has a copy of the DE Job Description and yourself and the District Chairman could meet and write down what you both expect of a DE and a few questions that will help you both work out if he or she is right for the job and right for the District.

I didn't want a "Program Guy", I have people that deliver the program. I wanted an admin type, someone who would take care of the paperwork, meet with Unit Executive Officers. Someone who would go out into the community and bring in new units and FOS contributions.

We may not like to hear it but membership and finance are goals that a District must meet. Any DE that doesn't realize that the District should be raising at least twice his salary is in the wrong job.

Our DE works from his home. He has yet to share his home phone number with the volunteers (I do of course have it.) Where as everyone really liked our last DE, the feeling that the volunteers have about this guy is that he is just doing a job and doing as little as possible.

He is of course very young, he isn't getting much in the way of on the job training. I feel sure that if he stays long enough to become eligible for promotion that he will be gone.

I really wish that I had taken the time to interview him and hadn't been so darn nice.

If you get the chance you might want to view the DVD Meetings Of The District (#AV-06DVD07). Take notes about what the DE does.

Unlike yours truly I hope you go in more prepared than I did.

Eamonn.

[rpushies]

What an opportunity! There are a few of things I would like to find out about the prospective DE during the interview.

 

Time management skills - crucial to being effective. Does he/she bring a calendar to the interview? Ask a calendar related question. Like, will you be available for lunch on the 23rd? The response will tell you a lot.

 

Ability to prioritize tasks - soon after being hired critical achievements will appear. Keeping things in perspective and being able to assign the time needed to accomplishing the critical achievements will be really important to success.

 

Social Skills - This can be a difficult one to handle in an interview. A well thought out open ended question about how conflict has been handled in the past could help understand possible future responses. (Believe it or not, sometimes conflicts arise between professional Scouters and volunteer Scouters. Tongue firmly planted in cheek)

 

Delegation Skills - working effectively with volunteers gets a big shot in the arm if good delegation skills are part of the package.

 

I'm sure you will get a host of other good ideas from the group. These are ones I personally would like to get a clear picture on.

 

Yours Truly in Scouting,

Rick Pushies

[nutz4scouting]

This guy is certainly not new to the program. He is currently our camping chair,S.M. U.C. etc. He has a Masters degree,but just doesnt seem like "Professional Scouter" material. What I mean is,He's not a kiss_ _ _. When he does something it is usually the right way,with a lot of heart. That's what worries me. I think he would make an excellent D.E. but can a council take someone with an I.Q, & not looking for another patch.

 

[rpushies]

Well I hope you get someone who meets your expectations. I'm sure he will be surprised how well you meet his.

[OldGreyEagle]

A few things to ask a prospective DE

 

1. How much do you know about the program? In your case it may be obvious, but thats not always the case

 

2. How much "volunteer" training have you had? Again, it may not be a problem in this case, but it could be a factor with other candidates. If the candidate hasn't taken the volunteer training, such as Committee Challenge, etc, put it on his goal sheet for the first year. I am not expecting them to do those jobs, but have an understanding of what the volunteer position does

 

3. What role does the DE play in the District

4. What role does the Chair play in the District

5. What role does the District Commissioner play in the District

 

Ask those 5 and see how they jive with your thoughts

 

 

[Kahuna]

An interesting question. It MAY be useful to find out what the prospect's scouting background is, but not necessarily. Nobody under the age of 40 or so ever had more background in scouting than me. I was an Eagle Scout, Vigil Honor OA, 2-Bead Woodbadger, etc., etc. But I didn't understand going in what the DE's job really was and if I had, I would never have applied for it.

 

Once I was in, I could have been rescued perhaps, by some decent mentoring. When I was commissioned in the Air Force, I knew a lot about the military and sought out some NCO's who could keep me on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, that really isn't possible in the BSA. If a new DE goes to volunteers for guidance, s/he won't get the right guidance unless s/he is very lucky. Why? Because most volunteers don't understand what the DE is really there to do. Nobody in senior professional leadership was interested in mentoring in those days and I doubt they are now.

 

I don't know how it is in most councils, but I am registered in two (one in Florida and the other in Hawai'i) and both have a fairly high turnover of new DE's. Much higher here than on the mainland, because we have smaller pool of prospects to choose from.

 

I don't guess I have a real bottom line to this, except that I have no idea what to ask a prospective new DE. Maybe it would be: Have you followed a DE around for a month or so to see what the job is really like and can you do it?

[Backpacker]

I think it is amazing that the SE is allowing volunteers to interview a new DE, means he is more open minded than most of them. Usually only the professional staff at a council interviews a new DE, sometimes with one or two members of the executive board, and it is the SE and only he that makes the final decision. Maybe your SE feels that if you all decide this guy is right for the job and later on he doesn't work out you all get to share the blame.

 

One main concern with any DE is what his idea of a successful district and what his priorities are. I don't think it is important what his volunteer experience is, you are not hiring a new volunteer.

The main thing you need to discover is what his MO is and how trustworthy he will be to his district. Sometimes new DE's are hired to clean out a district that their predecessors could not of "volunteer deadwood" and that is bad news. It sounds however that your SE really wants your opinions of this guy and that is great. If this DE is a straightshooter thats your main concern, the rest you can teach him over time.