DE Performance

[NealOnWheels]

 

I was rather interested in Eamonn's "Volunteer Agenda V DE Agenda" thread.

 

I have heard a lot of people say District Executives are forced to focus on fundraising and creating new units and do not support existing units.

 

So for all you unit volunteers - Suppose you have the authority to hire and fire District Executives. What would you base their job performance on? What things would you look at for an annual performance review? Please give specific measurable goals.

[sheldonsmom]

Specifics, eh?

 

1) How many healthy units are in the district? Percentage

 

2) If units are lost, what is the reason?

 

3) How many units (or percentage, thereof) are camping/day camps?

 

4) How well attended are roundtables? Percentage of units

 

5) How many "roundups" or recruiting nights are held in district?

 

6) How well attended are the camporees? first aid meets? NYLT? commission college? university of scouting?

 

7) Percentage of trained leadership.

 

 

[Eagle92]

As a former pro, I would gladly tell you what I would have loved my performance to be based upon. Neal stole a bunch of good ones, so I will try not to repeat

 

1) How many active units compared to "registered" units are on the roles? This was my biggest problem as I inherited 1/3 of a district that was "registered" yet no one knew anything about them.

 

2) How healthy are the active units?

 

3) How is attendance at district functions, i.e. Webeloree, camporee, Cubmobile, etc?

 

4) How engaging is your CSDC?

 

5) How healthy is your district committee?

 

6) What relationship does the BSA have with the COs?

 

7) How healthy is the relationship with local media?

 

8) How healthy is the relationship with the school board?

 

Ok I could probably think of a few more in the morning, just came back from a wonderful evening celebrating my Bday and I am tired.

[Eamonn]

Eagle92

Happy belated birthday!

"What things would you look at for an annual performance review? Please give specific measurable goals".

 

Strange how things in the forum can at times mirror what's going on in life? - I had my review this past week!

I think it's unfair judge a DE on things that he or she has no control over.

Just as it would be unfair to judge my performance by the performance and behaviors of the inmates at the correctional facility where I work.

Some things can at first glance look bad, but when you look closely can be a lot better.

I think it would be wonderful if every Troop was so busy doing stuff and following their monthly themes that they all decided to give the District Camporees a miss.

That being said goals that are set should be realistic and the DE should give it his or her best shot.

My expectations from a DE is that they do lead by example and do their best to live up to the Scout Oath and Law.

Being able to communicate well is a must.

While of course there will be people in the District that they maybe like more than others, I would hope that they never play favorites.

Being able to manage their time is very important.

Somewhere between being an old mother hen and "Who is he?" There is a happy medium. They need to find it. (I don't have any time for the hard luck or sob stories that some DE's think we need to hear! My view is that you opted to take this job so do it!)

Being able to work with and get along with the other members of the key 3 is vital. (We once had a Council President and a SE who couldn't stand each other. This hurt the Council.)

Ensuring that the support staff in the Council Service Center are doing and able to do their job is important. I don't want to hear that so and so is busy and didn't have time to do the report. (If that's the case the DE should do the report and tell his boss that so and so needs help.) I get upset when I'm waiting for a report and call so and so looking for it only to find that the DE never requested it.

DE's are supposed to meet with the Executive Officer of each CO at least once a year. This needs to be done and running into the guy at Lowe's doesn't count.

DE's should be the representative of Scouting in the community where they work, they need to get out and about in the community. Not hide in the office.

BP is sometimes quoted as saying "Never do anything for a boy that he can do for himself". DE's need to learn that they should never do anything that a volunteer should be doing. If there isn't a volunteer? They need to help the District Chairs find one. In the long run this is far more beneficial to the District.

DE's need to always remember that at the end of the day everything is done for the good of the kids we all serve. If i's not good for the kids than trying to sell it to the volunteers is not going to work and will turn them against the DE without the willing support of the volunteers. He is lost and needs to look for a new job.

Eamonn.

 

[scoutldr]

Eamonn stole my comment...you can't hold people responsible for things they don't control For example, my DE has no control over whether I attend RT or not. And adjectives such as "healthy" and "engaging" are not useful, unless there are measurable outcomes.

 

THe DE should be doing the following:

 

1. Meeting with prospective new COs in the District and "selling" the program to them.

2. Meeting with prospective FOS corporate donors and "selling" the program to them.

3. With the other members of the District Key 3, recruiting and training functioning members of the District Committee.

4. Advising the District Chair on Council goals and assisting him/her in developing a Vision for the District. Then get out of the way and let the Volunteers carry it out.

[Eagle92]

Ok you got me on healthy, I probably should explain that definition.

 

1) They are actually meeting and are not just apiece of paper.

 

2) They are doing activities as seen with the use of tour permits.

 

3) Some type of advancement is going on as evidenced by arvancement reports being turned in.

 

4) and here's where the DE is directly involved, the unit know about program opportunities provided by the district and council, i.e. round tables, camporees. cubmobile, etc.

 

As for attendance at district events, my philosophy is that if you have a great program, they will come.

 

CSDC was a weakness in my district. First year there were only 7 cubs in attendance. CD said she had everythgin under control, plus I had to go to PDL-1, two council conferences, and summer camp, so I was not much help. We did triple the number of participants the following year to 21.

 

As for healthy committee, I mean that you actually haev enough people to provide a quuailyt program with no one wearing three or four hats on the committee.

 

 

[scoutldr]

Of the things you list, Eagle92, my opinion is that those are the Commissioners' jobs. I do agree that "healthy committee" is a shared responsibility of the District Key 3. THe DE needs to ensure the District is staffed with volunteers to deliver the program...then go focus on new units and new money.

[Eagle92]

That was my problem with the powers that be, they focused solely on money and membership, and I they didn't care how you got membership.

 

I am a program oriented guy. As a result of my experience in a Metro council, I knew that if you have a great program, you will be able to meet FOS and membership goals. I also knew you needed a group of volunteers to be on your dist. comm. to have that program. Commissioners to help units, Trainers to train new leaders, Activities folks to create and run good programs, etc. But I couldn't focus on getting a fully operational committee to "multiply myself" as national and my friend told me to do. When you have 6 people doing everything, things stagnate and people don't have the time to really prepare things. You get a lot of "crisis management"

 

I spent the bulk of my time trying to figure out why 1/3 of my district existed only on paper, and how to get those units active. In addition to trying to start new units. No problem starting new ones, but can I at least get rid of the non-existing ones and have my goals on the actual numbers?

 

I guess that whatI am reallysaying is that I wish the above would have been my goals back in the day.

[Twocubdad]

Believe it or not, I had this conversation with my DE over a burger and beans sitting around the campfire.

 

His job IS about numbers. It's about the number of boys he can bring into the program so we can teach them Scouting values. It's about the amount of money the council needs to raise to support the facilities we use (the campsite we were sitting in last night, for example). It's about the number of new units we can support so our troop doesn't end up with too many Scouts to be able to deliver a solid program.

 

Many years ago the folks who run BSA, who we now call volunteers, decided we needed to hire people to do the crummy jobs of recruiting new units and members and raising money so that we can focus on the fun stuff, programs. Unit service is the responsibility of the district committee and the commissioner service. Sure, the pro has advisory responsibilities, but the volunteers are responsible for program.

 

Just about any professional will tell you the toughest part of his job is that his job performance relies upon voluntary efforts of others. He doesn't have a product he charges for or taxing authority. Folks can give to Scouting or not. The same with membership and new units. Folks can join or not. The foot soldiers in the FOS and membership games are also volunteers. He can fire them or give them poor review. Generally if a volunteer drops the ball the pro has little choice but to pick it up himself or see his job performance suffer. That's just the nature of working for a charitable organization. If you they don't understand that they didn't do their homework. And if they don't like it, they need to update their resume.

 

 

[Eagle92]

2Cub

 

I think Neal's point was what we would like the DE's goals to be. Yep money is important. Yep we need fulltime recruiters during roundup season. Yes we need to get new units started. BUT if there are problems in a district, I think the DE needs to fix them. I know DEs tend to stay 3-5 years, usually 9-18 mos in my current district, but I the PRIMARY job should be finding and correcting the problems. Yes still do FO. Still recruit and yes start new units. BUT FIX THE PROBLEMS!

 

Take my instance. I came into a district with no district chair; only a a dis. commish and 5 others who wore three and four hats. I had 1/3 of the district on paper only, to the point where several COs knew nothing about the units in question. Activities were happening, but all last minute planning, and to be honest poorly executed. Best example of this is the CS DC with only 7 people in attendance! And what happens, instead of letting me spend time in my district trying to get things accomplished, they send me to summer camp the entire summer. You know it gets interesting when the council president asks why you are at camp and not in your district, b/c your district is in the worse shape.

 

My humble opinion is that there has been so much focus on numbers, that #1 we lost site of QUALITY over QUANTITY and #2 some pros did some unScoutlike, and illegal, things to get their goals. I know some of my predecessors did that because I tried to clean up their mess, and further the SE and DFS really didn't care how the goals were met, as long as we were First in our FOS division and the membership goals were met.

 

Sorry I've ranted. This kinda hits home as I loved being a DE. FOS was no problem, always exceeded my goal. Memebrship would NOT have been a problem had I not had 1/3 of the district only on paper. I could go into any classroom and pump kids up. Attend any roundup session and get kids and parent to join Scouting. But refusing to turn in paperwork on those units that were paper only did hurt me.

[BadenP]

Eagle

I too am a former DE for almost five years and for "professional scouters" (I really hate that term)the tricky part is too find that delicate balance between required duties and the needs of your districts. For me the problem was that my predecessors had basically used and abused the scouters and the big money people in both of my districts creating an obvious hatred and mistrust of the council, so my first task was to establish both credibility and trust with those same people. My first year was a a rebuilding year, but the next four years both districts far exceeded FOS goals and numbers growth and were the top two districts in the council for those next four years. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears but the end result when I left was two strong districts with solid,growing units and 96% of the leaders fully trained, and both exceeded their FOS goals every year.

 

What so many DE's miss coming fresh out of training is that if your district is in shambles you need to first nurture it back to health then you can concentrate on FOS & numbers.

And never forget the scout unit leaders, district leaders, and your community leaders as they are the basis for your success or failure.

[DeanRx]

To me (as I've never been a DE or "pro" scouter) - it seems there are two opposing forces in most districts / councils...

 

1) The Council and District leadership that focus on expansion and numbers... (i.e. how many new scouts, new units, etc...) are brought into the council each year.

 

2) The volunteers of the existing units that want resources and time spent on providing better program to the existing units.

 

Seems to many of the volunteers, its a no-brainer that QUALITY over quantity should win out. However, the "pro's" base their evals, retainment and pay-increase (or moving up the ladder) by the NUMBERS they bring in.

 

Hence, you have councils with "paper" units... if you're in your last year of tenure before moving on as a DE, why not sign 'em all up, get the national registration, count 'em on the roster... who cares if the new unit ever has a meeting? (let alone teaches the kids anything) You can put down that you started a new unit on your evaluation.

 

Metrics over substance... unfortunately this is the same crap that a good number of U.S. businesses are dealing with right now in the world economy... too much focus on the numbers, too little focus on the overall outcome of the organization. Its almost the mentality of, "Who cares if the company (BSA) fails, I've made my numbers and driven the metrics the direction my boss wanted, so I've done a good job."

 

That mentality sure as hell has put our country in a pickle and can do the same to good volunteers when a non-profit fails to realize that its not just about the numbers and metrics... its about the quality you put into the metrics.

 

A DE's performance should be rated on how "active" each unit is in their district. What does scouting DO in their immediate community? How many public events / service projects does each unit participate in annually? What is the retention and advancement percentage in each unit? What percentage of units participate in district and council events, camps, daycamps, camp-o-rees, etc...? These are all measures of what scouting DOES for the boys and for the community. The DE has no more control over these types of metrics than they do over who gives and how much $$ they give. But at least these types of metrics would measure WHAT a unit does for the community and for the individual scouts in the unit.

 

Right now, its all about head counts and dollars raised...

[BadenP]

Dean,

 

What you say is essentially correct, dollars and numbers are truly all that National really cares about bottom line. DE's really are truly in a no win situation as you can't serve two masters. Thats why the DE's that truly do care about the people in their districts wind up leaving the profession in three years or less, usually feeling disgusted with National and guilty about how they steamrolled over those district scouters, community leaders, etc in order to meet their required goals. District scouters will never get the DE's they truly need or want or deserve for these reasons.

 

As I understand it the current DE training at National is even more hardcore than it was in the late 80's when I went through it emphasizing only money and numbers to the almost complete exclusion of program and district needs, except when there is money or numbers to gain.(This message has been edited by BadenP)

[Eamonn]

"A DE's performance should be rated on how "active" each unit is in their district. What does scouting DO in their immediate community? How many public events / service projects does each unit participate in annually? What is the retention and advancement percentage in each unit? What percentage of units participate in district and council events, camps, day camps, camp-o-rees, etc...? These are all measures of what scouting DOES for the boys and for the community. The DE has no more control over these types of metrics than they do over who gives and how much $$ they give"

 

I'm going to have to very much disagree.

 

The only thing a unit has to do is to recharter in a timely manner.

Mr. Scoutmaster or Miss Cubmaster does not have to attend or support any District activity.

The CO approves the adult leaders.

If the CO is happy? That's all that counts.

In the District I serve we have Troops that each year recharter with the minimum number of Scouts. They ave being doing this for years. The names change each and every year.

The SM is a very nice fellow, just not a good leader and for some reason the kids that join don't stay.

The pastor of the church that charters the Troop thinks that the SM walks on water.

The SM is WB trained. He just doesn't get "It" and never will get "It".

When I was District Commissioner I send the best UC we had to try and help him. -It didn't work.

What could a DE do?

Absolutely nothing.

Volunteers deliver the program or what they see as being the program.

As long as no one is getting hurt or harmed a unit can tell the DE and the rest of the District team that they are not welcome and to go away and no bother or interfere.

On the other hand a DE who is out and about meeting with people from he business community can work on having them support the program by donating money or materials.

He can meet with organizations who might be willing to start and support new units.

Will every call be successful?

No! Of course it won't.

But the DE can control how many calls he or she makes.

He or She can belong to organizations that have a history of supporting youth organizations.

By belonging to some of the service organizations he or she will meet with and network with the people who can make things happen.

I don't need a DE to hang out at the District Pine Wood Derby.

We have a lot of volunteers to take care of that.

I'd far sooner him or her meet with people who are willing to help expand the District or support the District.

 

No one wants or likes a cheat.

Cheating and telling lies is never a good thing.

Most times when a DE or a SE does this sort of thing it has a way of coming back and biting someone on the tail.

We all expect the professionals who work for us and with us to be stand up people.

Because they work for this organization that we believe is a value based organization, it really hurts when they let us down.

Paper units, false reports, and any sort of skulduggery should not and must not be tolerated.

But when it comes to the delivery of the program?

The DE (Working as a DE) is about as much use as pockets in your underwear.

Eamonn.

 

[Eagle92]

Don't know how PDL-1 or equivelent was run in the 80s or now, but in '98 we were required to complete SM Fundamentals, CS Basic Leader Training, and Explorer Basic Leader Training, prior to even arriving at the hotel. So we were supposed to have a basic understanding of program. If you didn't have that covered, you had to spend some of your limted free time taking the self study courses for CS and Explorer Basic Leader. I think they would have sentyou home if you didn't complete SM Fundamentals. Don know as everyone had those courses.

 

During the two weeks at PDL-1, we got to meet with the various division heads and learn about the resources national has to offer. Also had one afternoon at a scout camp simulating a cookout and campfire. The rest of the time was spent on how to do fundraising, new unit organizations, and membership recuritment. I remember several of the "luncheons" and "dinners" focusing on model FOS amd membership dinners. Classes were both nites and days. very little free time as each patrol did have assignments and presentations to make. Had one social activity, a rodeo, on friday nite, had saturday evening and all day sunday off,spent mostly doing prep work. Also had the nite off for the Seinfield series finale.

 

What was interesting was that my PDL-1 class was large enough to form 2 troops of 4 patrols each. But when we had the PDL-1 reunion at the '98 NLTC "All Hands" meeting, less than 3 months later, only about half the folks from both troops were there!