Leader Burn-out?

[Lady_Leigh67]

How do you not get burned out as a new leader? We are a new, small pack and despite asking parents to help, the work load has been on the shoulders of basically four of us (a fifth person at times). And despite our Committee Chair wanting to keep her position, she is not doing her job. She is very involved in leading a new girl scout troop and her focus has been there. We have asked her (in a nice way) to do her job and take up some of the slack, etc. Still the same thing.

 

Sorry, not trying to sound whiney! But, I know that having a few folks doing the majority of the work is the norm with a new pack. So, how do you not just kill yourself and burn out trying to do "too much"?

[Stosh]

New leader burn-out? I thought burn-out was for the guys and gals that hung around too long!

 

My suggestion:

 

Do what you can do for the boys and let the rest of the stuff go. Focus on the boys and make sure they get what they need to have a good scout experience. The rest is just fluff.

 

Focus on the den meetings and run a nice pack meeting and all the rest of the stuff just forget about until you get a leader that steps up and takes the reins on the project.

 

When anyone starts something new from scratch, it's important to realize that you will not have a full-blown program right away. It will take time, resources and people to put it altogether. Be patient and build it a little at a time.

 

Once the boys get established and den leaders found, cubmaster comes next, add to that his staff, then a support committee, train them all so they know what they're doing (nothing more frustrating wandering around wasting time wondering what you should be doing). and then start adding the special things.

 

Pace yourself by defining priorities, set goals and take sufficient time to do it right and it will go a long way to keep from getting burned-out.

 

Stosh

[molscouter]

Actually, you'll find in a lot of packs 4-5 people do the majority of the heavy lifting. Start with asking somebody to do one specific thing for one meeting. For example, a den leader could ask a parent to get the snack for the next den meeting. Ask one family to get the table service for the Blue & Gold Banquet. It's harder to say no if you keep it a simple task, and it's one less thing you'll have to do. You'll also find out who's reliable, and can hopefully tap them for more complex tasks.

[Crew21_Adv]

Lady Leigh,

 

Greetings!

 

There are many different methods to relieve burn out and re-energize leaders.

 

Here are my thoughts...

 

Usually, Cub Scout leaders enjoy the company of their fellow Cub Scout parents. A pizza party at the local Italian restaurant, no children, only Den Leaders, and laugh, joke, and tell stories about the funny things you and your kids have done. I would expect the Den Leaders would come back to Den Meetings and Pack meetings, enthusiastic to see their fellow leaders and parents for quiet a few months.

 

Adult recognition. In some form or another. Adult training awards (knots) (I tell my friends If your Scouts are advancing, you should have already qualified for those knots) Dont wait for the Committee Chair, look at the form, fill it out, and hand the adult training award form to your DE, or if they absolutely don't qualify yet within the time limits then maybe gag gifts(camping supplies, marbles, waterproof matches, rubber duckies). But let them know they are appreciated for driving, taping, glueing, pasting, burning, hugging, cooking, first aiding, and the care and feeding of all of our Cubs. It is a "pat on the back" that makes them feel appreciated, and ideally, they will be coming back for more.

 

Finally, for a new Pack or new leaders. Recruit parents to join, give them an application with their name in the top blocks already filled out. Then, Focus on the basics. Just the program for Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos Books. There are so many recognitions beyond the Cub Scout ranks, I would call them "nice awards" or "icing on the cake" that are extra to the program. Totem Chip, most belt loops, Pinewood derby, Summer Time award, Scout show, these offer some excellent fun, but most are beyond the normal advancement program. Certainly, if your Pack is "banging away on all cylinders", I would want them at all kinds of events. But if it is a struggle and burning out the leaders. For a while, drop the "nice recognitions" and go back to the basics of the Cub Scout Advancement Program. Don't get me wrong here. They all have much to offer, but the Den meeting program and advancement is the core of the Cub Scout program. Bottom line, the advancement program supports the rank and growth of the Cub Scouts in Character Development, Spiritual Growth, Good Citizenship, Sportsmanship and Fitness, Family Understanding, Respectful Relationships, Personal Achievement, Friendly Service, Fun and Adventure, Preparation for Boy Scouts.

 

Good Luck and have some fun!!!

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv

 

[scoutldr]

How to prevent burnout? Focus on the job you signed up to do...if you are a DL, then don't worry about a nonfunctional CC. It's not your job to pick up the slack. Focus on den meetings and your group of boys. It's up to the CO and COR to decide if the CC is "pulling their weight" or not, and to replace them when necessary. Most cub scouting happens in the Den...where the rubber meets the road.

[OneHour]

... don't ask for volunteers ... assigned them (diplomatically of course). If the event fails through, then be it. Approach the person(s) with the task/event and ask if he/she will chair. The trick is to publicize it once you got the volunteer(s) ... then everyone will know who has successfully pulled it together or dropped the ball. Most importantly, recognize him/her for the job well done.

 

When you ask for volunteers, assuredly, no one will step up. I learned it the hard way when I was the lone-ranger trying to pull all the events together for a Pack of 132 boys! Don't get me wrong ... there were a lot of helps, but no one stepped up to lead the events. Needless to say, after two years in the CM seat ... I was burnt.(This message has been edited by OneHour)

[Lisabob]

It sounds like you have a functional den program, is that right? So is the burnout happening when it comes to pack events? If that's the case, maybe you can do one of the following:

 

1) For pack meetings, use your resources well. Use the program helps guide for ideas (don't re-invent the wheel here). Assign other parents specific and manageable tasks (don't do it all yourself). If other people will not step forward to do some things, then they just don't get done - make sure your other parents in the pack are clear on that.

 

And keep pack meetings short! An opening (assign it to a den), a couple of skits/songs/game (assign to another den), a demonstration of some sort (assign to another den - what have they been doing this month?), presentation of awards, closing (another den) and juice & cookies and you're done within an hour.

 

Put parents from the assigned dens (not DLs if you can help it) in charge of some of these specific parts of your pack meeting. Need ideas for making pack meetings more fun? Need a reference for songs/games? Send them - NOT YOU - to one of the following web sites:

 

http://usscouts.org/usscouts/bbugle.asp This is an "online cub roundtable" with links to the monthly program helps for cubs in "Baloo's Bugle."

 

http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/home.html The Virtual Cub Leader's Handbook (one of my personal favorite sources for all things Cub-related). Check out the section on "meeting dazzlers for leaders."

 

There's also www.macscouter.com but for some reason I can't get the site to load today. It has all kinds of resources for games, skits, songs, ceremonies, etc. though.

 

2) For support stuff cut as much of this down as you can for now and ask your unit commissioner (if you have one) to point you toward good district resources and people who could help you with the rest. For example, we have a person from the district membership committee who will, if asked, come in and help a pack organize/run their cub roundup night.

 

3) Over the summer see if you can make some ties to a local troop or two, if you haven't already. Once you know each other, you can ask them to lend a hand with events on occasion (like doing an impressive flag ceremony at a pack meeting, helping with your pinewood derby if you have one, etc.).

 

The biggest lesson I learned as a pack leader was that you really don't have to do it all and in fact doing so can be counter-productive. People will fear volunteering to help because they see how you are in up to your eyeballs and don't want that for themselves. If no one else will step up to help with a specific event, cancel it. You'll probably only need to do that once before other people get the picture! Either they'll start pitching in or your calendar will have fewer cub events on it - but either way, you'll retain a bit more sanity.

[Eamonn]

Hi,

Welcome to the forums.

I just looked back over what you have posted before.

Maybe I'm wrong but it seemed to me that you and the Tiger Den were having fun?

Small units have a rough time!

Big Packs with 50 or more Cub Scouts do at times have a hard time selecting and having all the positions filled.

Try looking at the percentage of involved parents the Pack you serve has? I'll bet you beat the pants off the bigger packs.

One of my big failings in the past and even now is that I have allowed myself to judge other peoples commitment to the program, using my commitment as the yard stick.

This isn't a good idea.

We all promise to do our best.

I'm guessing that the Committee Chair also has daughters? She might be guilty of taking on too much? But I'll bet that she is doing her best.

You don't post what isn't working or what isn't been done?

At times when we attend training's and gatherings where there are a lot of Scouter's we hear and see how things "Should be done" Or how they "Get things done".

This is a good thing, but for the Pack you serve to get to where "They are" Should become a goal. Something to work toward.

Talking of goals!

Maybe at the next Pack Management Committee meeting it might be an idea to write down a few goals.

We have some for our Sea Scout Ship.

They include:

Increase membership by 25%.

Find another female leader.

Get into the local Junior High Schools for Sea Scout Presentations.

Have a seven day long cruise.

You of course will come up with goals that fit your needs.

Share the goals with the other adults.

Along the way celebrate the reaching or almost reaching of each goal.

Every new Cub Scout is the Pack reaching it's goal -Cup cakes at the Pack Meeting.

Recognize each and every person who helps the pack. Nothing big or expensive, even a Lifesaver candy on a ribbon can be a way of saying thanks.

Of course new units tend to revolve around a few people. -Maybe just one person!! It is however important that no one person or small group claims ownership. The unit is there to provide a program for the youth members. We are there to serve the unit following the program.

When I find myself falling into that gloom and doom mood, I try hard to think of the good stuff and the funny stuff.

It's been a long time since I was in Cub Scouting, but I remember like it was yesterday a little Lad coming up to me telling me how nice it was to have a grown up who would listen to him.

I have carried that with me for a long time and it still makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Ea.