Enthusiastic Scouter Swatted Down

[Onehouraweek2]

Hello - I'm new to this group, but not new to Scouting, having been a Den Leader, ACM, and CC for my son's Pack and ASM for his Troop while also being an involved and productive member of our District's Committee and working on finishing my ticket for Wood Badge. I struggle with finding folks to help me with my duties on the DC, and just when I thought I had found a good guy (someone who really WOULD help and WOULD follow through, and someone I could groom to eventually assume my spot), our District Chair told me he was going to "steal" him because I was good at finding folks to help me and that the role this person was going to assume on my committee wasn't really that important anyway, that I didn't really need him for that role, even though Council keeps asking me who is on my team, and who have I identifed to fulfill this important role. (I had gotten his adult application and had invited him to one District meeting, which he had attended.) He "stole" him to fulfill a position that was being vacated and since he didn't want to have to find a volunteer for that position or fill in himself until a vol was identified, he harvested my volunteer. To put it lightly, I'm seething. His message to me was "what you are doing is not important - this is a higher calling," Not only that, I felt humiliated as I had JUST recruited this guy ... I really believe in volunteer management - that's how you build a great team and achieve positive results - make folks feel good about their contributions, no matter how small and get to know them. In my many years of volunteer work, either through Scouts, or many other orgs I have worked with, I have never had a volunteer do something like this. I have lost total respect for this guy and am seriously thinking of resigning from the District Committee. Am I overreacting?

[Gold Winger]

Since your job doesn't seem to be important, they obviously don't need your service. I'd resign, detail the reasons in a letter and send copied to the DE, DC, and SE.

 

Imgaine how your recruit feels. He signed up to do X and suddenly he's drafted to do Y. I've been in that situation, I've volunteered to do something because of my expertise and when I show up, I'm put on some other task that I didn't want to do in the first place. Very irritating.

 

In the end, you have enough other Scouting irons in the fire that you don't need the put downs or need to feel guilty about walking away from one of them.

[Nike]

OneHour, can I steal you?

 

Agree with GW that maybe you don't need all the aggravation. Of course stepping back usually drives them right to your door in six months.

[stevejb]

I can tell you what I would do. I would resign and tell them why, just like GW suggested. There is no reason for the DC to take away someone you recruited to help you. He should go out and find his own recruits. I could not work for a group that would undermine my work like that.

 

(This message has been edited by stevejb)

[BeaverIII]

OneHour2

 

I agree with BW completely, resign; state your reasons and copy the SE. Odds are good the SE isn't aware of what the DE has done OR the DE is taking credit for finding this person.

I hate to sound jaded but...

 

BeaverIII

[Cubmaster Randy]

Yes, I would be upset too, However,

Have you spoken with the person you had recruited? Does he even want to do the position that the DC wants him to do? We are all volunteers, but if I volunteer for a job, it is for what I volunteered for. If someone else wants me to do something else, they had better talk with me about what they want me to do instead

Have you spoken with the DC after he harvested your recruit? and how that came off to you and how that is not the way to build a team?.

I am not familar with the particlulars of the situation or the whoms, so maybe what he thought he was doing what was right. But it did was the wrong way

I would want to have those conversations before I went off and resigned. Otherwise I would be overreacting

[printman31]

Your purpose in recruiting this person was to help you help these kids. If they're now doing it from a higher position than you intended is that really a bad thing? After all this is about those kids getting a good program correct? You can pat yourself on the back knowing you brang a good quality person to your counsel. That's what scouting is supposed to be about anyhow. Do a good deed daily!

[Eagle1984]

I have been in the same situation with my DC. I was part of the activities committee for a while my mom(who was on the DC at the same time) was alive(passed away in 2006) and then switched to the advancement committee(overseeing the L2E process and Eagle BOR's).

 

I had done this for six years, and then all of a sudden, the nominating committee selects a new advancement chair(I wasn't even considered) and then was replaced without any notice(phone call or email), just replaced. I was livid and demanded answers from the District Chair, who stated that there were problems while I was doing my job( I never knew of any until that moment).

 

I stepped down from the DC in March and never looked back. I also stepped down from the Council advisory committee too.

 

I currently served as the COR for a Troop and Crew at my church and on the Troop committee as the L2E advisor.

 

I was also recognized for 30 years of service to the scouting program back in December of 2006.

[ScoutMomSD]

resign.

 

In your letter and ANY communications be not only nice but nicey nice, sickeningly sweet nice. In the letter state that you are very busy and need to select only the most important tasks for your valuable time. And because they are not sure of the importance or necessity of the position, you need to refocus on other aspects of you and your family's life.

 

Tell them that you would be happy to discuss returning when there is a written job description including estimated time/week and assistant positions. You just dont have the time at the moment to figure all this out and when they do, let you know.

 

I would ALSO be VERY verbal about this to others, again in an overly nice way. Like "it was too bad that this happened as they just werent clear on the position and what it entailed. So as soon as THEY decide what I am doing and what people who help me are doing, I need to refocus my time."

 

This is Personnel 101. My best friend for close to 20 years was a HR director for years and she can spit this stuff off without practice.

 

You can say its 100% their screw up without saying it.

[Gold Winger]

"I agree with BW completely, resign"

 

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. . . .

 

That's GeeDubya not BeeDubya. Puh-leeeeze don't get us mixed up. BeeDubya is the irritating maven of rules and documents and I am the irrascible but lovable trouble maker.

 

 

[Gold Winger]

" I was livid and demanded answers from the District Chair, who stated that there were problems while I was doing my job( I never knew of any until that moment)."

 

It's always nice when that happens. What do you mean there's a problem? Why didn't you say something?

 

 

[jtswestark]

I really didn't want to post on this, but my gosh does this sound petty... Like Printman said - what are we really here for? Relax man, why did you join the committee to begin with? Not to stroke your ego but to make a better program.

 

If you just can't get along with these folks or it just isn't any fun, that's a whole nother story. But just because someone else sees a bigger and maybe better use for someone you brought to the table isn't a reason to take your ball and go home. Who are you to hold a guy back? There's no 'dibs' in this game.

 

Have you all taken that on-line district committee training? You've got to make the best use of what you got, regardless of how they got there.

 

Heck, two years ago I had a Dad that refused to do any more than pick up and drop off Junior. Now he's my wonderful committee chair and sits on all kinds of council and district committees. One of the best breaths of fresh air that's happened to our district, well, since me(!).

It's a mafia thing: I made him....

 

Jack

[Vicki]

Yeah, I'm kinda with Jack on this one. If I was irritated enough, I guess I'd talk to the guy that stole him and I'd talk to the person who got stolen - under the heading of "ya gotta dance at least once with the guy that brung ya to the dance." But that would be it, and I might not even do that.

 

Vicki

[derf]

Not fun, nor right. We all have had to chew an "ill" tasting sandwich, from time to time. So goes the Picnic, but, is your job for the "Boy's" or just something for the district and council? If it's for and about the Scout's, continue doing a great job, because they need "more fun", and someone to provide it. If not, maybe they need a little cactus in their preperation H, make 'em squrim!

 

I had tried to use co-chairs for the events I ran, so we could keep rotating people through (or at least back & forth), without the learning curve. When one got "stole" for another duty, I agreed to run that event one more year, if they could find another co-chair, they didn't. The year after that, the event fell apart. The Cub's lost out! (& a district fundraiser too.) It felt bad, after being on staff and the chair/co-chair (4yrs) to see them lose a good (great) event.

 

Don't let the Scout's lose out.... Derf