Tips for a new committee chair

[Bronco]

John in KC wrote:

 

"One caution: Let the Scoutmaster make decisions on hiring ASMs. They are responsible and accountable to him as the chief program guy for the Troop. You have a chop, but ASMs have to be able to work with and for the Scoutmaster."

 

Yes, I would expect his total buy in on people. I'm in a good spot right now as I know the vast majority of people in both the troop and the pack due to having boys in both units. I know the talents of the people coming up and can introduce them and let him know the best place to put people.

 

Thanks to all for their advice. I was voted in last night. I have 3 pages of notes to go over with the SM and his assistants. I think everyone was excited about the change.

 

Aquila wrote:

 

"Putting together a troop calendar is a group effort. The more the Scouts can do on their own the better. If the SM can work with the SPL and PLC to do the whole thing from scratch that will be great. If the secretary (Scribe) of the PLC can keep the calendar updated, and bring copies to every PLC meeting, and then update it after the meeting, fantastic! The same calendar needs to be reviewed at the troop committee meeting so appropriate adult leadership can be planned, funding can be reviewed, etc."

 

My hope is to take the next six months and use it to work with the SM to lay the groundwork for the boys to begin to operate the troop themselves come September 2011. We haven't run TLT or JLT in over a year although we do require SPLs to take NYLT. I want to get that and other 'must have' events on the calendar - currently we don't have one that extends beyond February. I also want to make sure the transition for our upcoming Webelos is as smooth as humanly possible. This in particular has been a real rough spot for our unit.

 

[Oak Tree]

So much of this depends on what issues you see for the unit, how much the Scoutmaster wants your help, what the other adults have as their expectations - in short, any tips that are general enough to apply to everyone are pretty high-level.

 

1. Be on the same page as your Scoutmaster. What does he want your help with? My experience is that it's not normally the committee chairman who gets involved in the details of the Webelos transition, nor in setting the specifics of the outdoor program. The things you are describing doing sound more like what I would expect from a new, enthusiastic ASM. Now, your SM may be fine with having your help on this. He may welcome it, in fact. I'd ask him what parts of the program he think need the most work, and what you could do to support him in working on those.

 

2. In keeping with the "one vision" thing, see Eagledad's comments. Get everyone on the same vision. The best way to get willing volunteers is that they have an understanding and appreciation of what you all are trying to accomplish by running a troop - if they are with you on the vision, they are much more willing to be with you on the logistics. Whatever you can do to get all the adults to pull together is a great help as CC.

 

3. Ask for help. Ask specific people to do specific things. Too many units become dependent on too few people - and when those people either burn out or their kids age out or whatever, the unit suffers. Delegation is essential.

 

4. Communicate. In particular, communicate with your committee members. Be available for communication with parents. You want to be visible, supportive, known and liked. You need to communicate regularly to make that happen.

 

Those are my four general tips.

 

In regards to a few more of your specific questions:

Put together a troop calendar for the next year

So this IS the responsibility of the committee? I've suggested several times that the boys need serious guidance with this issue - but I'm always told 'If we do that it isn't boy run.'

 

That gets back to the 'one vision' issue. Who is telling you that the boys need to do it? If it's the SM, you're going to have serious issues trying to override his style. If it's someone else, they should direct that comment to the SM. The traditional "official" way to do the calendar is for the boys to plan it and come to the committee for approval. We normally have a few adults working with the Scouts on getting that plan together, suggesting other things that they might want to consider, etc. We usually have some type of brainstorming session where all of the Scouts and adults get to throw some ideas up on the board, and then discussion comes around to what the preferences are. The boys typically have some way to vote. Your troop may be entirely different.

 

Really - I think you can do this any way you want to. The more buy-in you can get from the Scouts, the more likely they'll be to want to go on the trips that they've come up with. But an entirely adult-planned calendar could work fine, too, I suspect. What does your Scoutmaster want to do? My personal philosophy is that the adults need to make sure the framework is in place for a successful unit, and that includes making sure there is an annual plan in place. The boys have a lot of freedom within that framework, and they are even free to change the framework if they want, but if the boys won't put a plan in place, I won't let the absence of a plan lead to disorganization, confusion, frustration. Certain things I'm going to insist that we have. Other Scoutmasters may view it differently.

 

My biggest concern is sitting on my hands long enough to let the dust settle from me stepping in before I start to make wholesale changes.

 

This is a good concern to have. There is an art to making changes. Quite honestly, I would never expect a new CC to make wholesale changes, unless the old CC had been in direct conflict with the SM. What all wholesale changes are you planning on making, and how does the SM feel about those? Who is going to object to the changes? It's normally the Scoutmaster who sets the tone for the troop, not the CC.

 

So much of this depends upon the particular interpersonal dynamics that you're working with, it's hard to give general advice.

 

Am I missing something or is there no way to quote on these forums?

 

Nope, you're not missing anything. That's why everyone quotes previous comments differently.

[Bronco]

Oak Tree wrote:

 

"My experience is that it's not normally the committee chairman who gets involved in the details of the Webelos transition, nor in setting the specifics of the outdoor program. The things you are describing doing sound more like what I would expect from a new, enthusiastic ASM. Now, your SM may be fine with having your help on this. He may welcome it, in fact. I'd ask him what parts of the program he think need the most work, and what you could do to support him in working on those."

 

The composition of our current committee is approx. 4 parents with boys in the unit and roughly 10 adults in the 55-60+ age range. They haven't had boys in scouts in at least....10 years? It's created a disconnect between the committee and the troop. We usually spend 5 minutes talking about the actual program the boys are running.

 

The SM has 3 assistants that show up regularly. One's son just made Eagle so I expect his contribution to drop off. Another has grand kids and his attendance to events can be spotty at times. The 3rd is a nice guy but isn't a hands on helper like the SM needs. I'm working on adding both of the current Web II leaders into ASMs right now. They are both gung ho - getting fully trained and doing Wood Badge this spring.

 

My time in the pack will serve us really well with getting new leaders into the mix - a big need right now.

 

I spoke with the SM yesterday and his biggest need is help - he needs help with the back office stuff - collecting permission slips, monies, etc. Our current treasurer only comes to committee meetings and refuses to get involved with that sort of stuff.

 

"Who is telling you that the boys need to do it? If it's the SM, you're going to have serious issues trying to override his style. If it's someone else, they should direct that comment to the SM. "

 

I've heard it from a few of the ASM - not anything confrontational. Honestly, I don't think the vast majority of people associated with this troop have any idea of what a truly boy run program is supposed to be.

 

I get along very well with the SM - we've known each other for years - we worked very well together when we were both in cubs. He wants a successful boy run program.

 

"Get everyone on the same vision. The best way to get willing volunteers is that they have an understanding and appreciation of what you all are trying to accomplish by running a troop - if they are with you on the vision, they are much more willing to be with you on the logistics. Whatever you can do to get all the adults to pull together is a great help as CC. "

 

I've asked the SM and ASMs as well as any committee members that want to - to get together in 3 weeks (post Klondike) to discuss our vision of the program. I'm very good at coordinating people and resources - it's my RL job. This is why I wanted the CC job in our unit.

 

Thanks for your feedback - I really appreciate it. My biggest concern was doing something wrong. I feel now like I'm heading in the right direction. The SM and I spoke last night and our goal is to have the troop vision in place by June. It's ambitious but doable I think.(This message has been edited by Bronco)

[SeattlePioneer]

If you have some long time adult leaders that are surplus to your needs, you might talk to your district commissioner, district chairman or district executive about inviting them to help with district activities.

 

Some might make good unit commissioners or a good district membership chair, or help with the district's Camporee or other activities.

 

Most districts have a pretty desperate need for experienced Scouters who can help out at the district level, and it tends to be a nice community of experienced Scouters working together as well.