How many in a patrol

[Stosh]

well, yes.... and actually I tried to hint and advise him on several occasions to do just that....

     that his job is to support his scouts.... to make his PL look good...... constructively show his PL how to do it... etc....

 

He was disappointed, but also understood that the other guy was....well more charismatic, for the lack of a better word....  & so that wasn't really the show stopper.  

     And he certainly wasn't trying to sabotage in any way shape or form.... it was more about being lazy....and "if he doesn't have to do it then why should I?"

 

There will always be those who get selected based on popularity and charisma.  Sometimes they step up, sometimes they don't.  But a true leader will hang in there and do what he needs to do regardless of the choices of others.  "If he doesn't have to do it, then why should I?"  Well because if you aren't going to be any better than him, you need to settle for that which you don't like and others around you don't like either.  You're no better than him.  Lousy excuse all the way around.    It's really easy to lead that patrol if he became a functional leader and from what you have descrived, the charismatic and the competition from a lazy PL would be an easy win for him.

 

But right out of the gate, he hears the adults say in a very direct fashion..... "you can't hold the job if you don't attend the training."    period

    and then they with the very next breath let a scout take and hold the job without the training.  

         He's 11 but he aint stupid.  He see what it is.

 

Nope, not stupid, but why is he being swayed by the poor decisions and hypocrisy of others?  And when you say, "He sees what it is." it is his way of settling for the poor decision and hypocrisy.  Maybe he needs to step up and prove by his leadership that 1) the patrol erred in their selection of PL, and 2) the adults erred by compromising their own rules.

 

then, add to that scribes that do not much of anything, librarians that do not much, webmaster that does what exactly.... and he's being taught by troop guides and instructors who are just reading out of the book like they would at school because the "have to"...and not inspiring or leading in anyway.

 

And your son has thus decided to join that group of people he has no interest in following because they are totally dysfunctional in their POR?

 

and apparently even as PL, he tried to make a few suggestions at PLC and was shot down or treated like an underling rather than an equal at the PLC table.

 

If one is taking servant leadership to it's extreme why would it bother him to be treated like an underling, i.e. servant?  The other boys aren't stupid either.  They will soon figure out who's making it work for the troop, especially when all the competition is sitting around doing nothing.  One doesn't need to be charismatic to get the work done.  It's all part of the leadership training I call leading from the back seat.  Take off all the bling and badges, all the POR patches and then show me you are Eagle material.  If you can do that, people will follow!!!

 

All I was trying to get at with all of this was an example of how the idea of new scouts hanging together isn't what kills it and makes the "NSP" underperform.  I think that it could be more form lack of encouragement and instruction...and lack motivation.

 

And with a lousy TG, that's exactly what one is going to get.  If the TG went in with the notion that he was going to guarantee the NSP success, his attitude alone would make it work.  What I find is TG's that wear the patch, get the POR and blame the boys in the NSP for their own problems.  My best TG was an Eagle scout who had earned his POR as an effective  DC for 2 years running and earning the National DC award. 

 

   I liked in Clarke Green's book how once the scouts realized that they really do have permission to make decisions, that their confidence and excitement soared.... and yeah I know that's a work of fiction, but I saw the opposite approach in action and so I believe it's possible.

 

Your son is still young, but if he figures out some of these very basic dynamics of working in a group, he won't need to be charismatic, eventually the boys will always seek out the leaders willing to do the work and function properly in their positions.  Your son has a great opportunity to put that into practice and set the example for others.... in other words - lead!