The Troop Committee

[Wood_Owl]

I would like to talk about the importance of having a trained troop committee,

 

In my experience as a scouter I have seen and heard many tails of woe from troops about the failure of a leader, a patrol, or an entire unit.

I believe most of these problems could be avoided if volunteers (and local councils) held committee training of higher importance. A trained committee could have corrected or even prevented most of the issues faced, whatever the 'apparent' cause.

 

In brief, the roles of the troop committee are:

1) Advise the Scoutmaster on BSA policy and ensure that quality adult leaders are chosen.

2) Review the results of the PLC annual planning meeting.

3) Conduct fundraising operations

4) Arrange transportation for Scouting adventures.

 

All of these run best when the committee is aware of the methods and polices, but the 1st on the list is foremost! A committee unfamiliar with the 8 methods of Scouting, and the national and council rules cannot properly support the Scoutmaster, or be able to spot trouble before it starts. There may be one or two individuals on a committee that can do this but if the others cannot be made to understand the issue faced, they may not respond appropriately or in time (believe me!).

 

For the sake of your Scouts, encourage the committee to have a local trainer come in and present the Troop Committee Challenge to the group. The online version does not properly prepare us for our job.

 

 

[Second Class]

I could not agree more. I think actions of committees are sometimes watered down because they are so large; full of people that don't know the program, don't want to know the program, but are there only to trailblaze for THEIR son.

 

It is for this reason that I have begun suggesting that new parents are not automatically placed on the committee. We log them in as "Scout Parent", and gives us time to train them up, and see if they'll "drink the kool-aid".

 

I've seen units that have a stong SM, and an in name only committee. He's burned out now, from trying to do it all.

Having worked with a functional committee, there is NO WAY I'd (try to) run a unit without one.

[Beavah]

Hiya WoodOwl! Welcome to da forums!

 

Yep, having a good unit committee is a big help, eh?

 

My experience in actually dealin' with many "tales of woe" leads me to a slightly different conclusion, so I'll throw it out there for thought.

 

Pretty much, people are who they are, eh? "Training" doesn't change personalities, or values, or communications styles, or attitudes. And the amount of training that a typical volunteer parent is able or willing to take for a committee position really isn't very much, eh? Not enough even to develop new skills.

 

So to my mind, the more important thing is what Second Class mentions. Selection. Yeh want to carefully select people with the right attitudes, personalities, and values for your program to serve on the committee. Yeh also want to carefully recruit and select people for individual positions that match their communication style and strengths and skills. No point in takin' random Joe Volunteer for the troop Treasurer position, eh? Select someone whose personal finances are sound (no temptation) and who comes with good bookkeepin' skills.

 

What da roles of the committee or the committee members really are depend more on the local troop and their chartered organization, so I don't think trainin' or materials that try to define roles work very well, other than offering examples. So I wouldn't go by your list. In some troops boys handle fundraising because they're planning the budget and it's good leadership. Same with arranging transportation. Committees are not what yeh want advising anybody on policy, so I'd leave that bit off entirely.

 

Now, one training that I think could benefit many troop committees is the sort of training that gets done for not-for-profit boards of directors. Da committee functions sort of like a board of directors (really an advisory board), and that sort of training is a good model to follow to give new members the basics.

 

Beavah

 

[Oak Tree]

I'm going to agree with Beavah - I don't think it's the training that makes the difference. Most people are just doing the job that the Scoutmaster or Committee Chair has asked them to do, so as long as those jobs are in line with the training, I don't think the training helps all that much.

 

Now having said that, all of our troop's committee is trained. And it works well. But I don't think the training is the reason it works well. It works well for a whole lot of other reasons, including primarily the type of people that they are in the first place. It helps to communicate with them regularly, and to be as clear as possible about what you would like for them to do. And it's really important to select the right person for the job.

 

For real trouble situations, I probably don't want the entire committee to have to respond anyway. I'd work with a small subset of the committee that is well-suited for dealing with the particular problem.

[Wood_Owl]

One of the problems we are facing is that the execution of duties is not in keeping with what is expected. They can't advise the scoutmaster on Policy, because they don't know what it is. Training would help them a great deal I think, as they don't have a clear grasp of their job description.

As for picking the right members, see the first duty of the troop committee.

 

Yes there are personality issues, we all deal with that. But training never negatively impacted performance. It either works, or remains neutral. Even a modest improvement is worth it. Agreed?

[Beavah]

Poor training (or poorly listened to training) frequently has a negative impact on performance. And I confess I have seen my share of poor BSA training. Even led some poor training once or twice. . But sure, encourage everybody to get trained. At least it will help 'em learn da language of scouting.

 

Now, on da policy thing. The BSA has a bazillion pages of policy and pseudo-policy guidance documents, eh? Many of 'em aren't that easy to access, and lots of folks aren't very good at interpreting them without having additional background. Almost none of da BSA policies are covered in training.

 

So can yeh explain why exactly yeh want da troop committee to be informing the SM on BSA policy when he or she would be better off just asking the unit commissioner or another more experienced scouter at Round Table?

 

The TC might be more plugged in to the Chartered Organization's policies, but that depends on the committee. Even so, why not just ask the COR?

 

Beavah

[Wood_Owl]

Look, I'm new to scouting. Only have two years in it and was never a Scout when I was a kid.

I took some training, and learned where to look things up on policy and Poof! Made a huge impact on the health of the troop!

Learning to apply the 8 methods of scouting to our program was dead easy and turned our troop around.

 

I still have a ton to learn, but I know much more than most of the committee that has been around for years. Id say that is proof positive that taking BSA training and reading BSA literature is indeed very effective.

 

 

[moosetracker]

To a troop that is wandering around not knowing it's left from it's right.. A person taking training and HAVING AN INTEREST IN DOING THINGS RIGHT.. Will make a very big influence on the troop (provided those not doing the program correctly are not stubborn to "doing things the way we always have done them")

 

If you have shaken your troop in order to wake them up and get them to improve their program Wood_Owl it is to be commended..

 

To troops following a close semblance of the BSA program, it still is a good thing for newbies to take the training. It will bring into focus what the troop is doing and why..

why.. If they have their own practice on one or two ideas, most likely they are still not threatened, as they can discuss with you why they have altered the recommended practice and why they feel in its more beneficial to their program.

 

For troops that are doing their own thing, know it, and do not want to follow BSA, then they would prefer no one in their troop goes to training.. Just way to hard to then brainwash them to thier way of doing things again.

[JoeBob]

Moose is right about one thing: Training gives you the means to resist 'the way things have always been.' My first venture into being BSA trained was specifically aimed at refuting the twaddle being pushed on my pack.

 

As to having a full committee; what are there, nine positions now that they have added the Scout Parent coordinator?

A meeting of nine folks who all have their own interpretations of what they learned in their BSA training doesn't sound very efficient. It's apt to be drawn out, tangent filled, and poorly attended in the future. Do you want your future committee meetings to be attended by the folks who have the biggest axe to grind, or the effective folks who want to meet, settle the issues, and get back to the boys?

 

I'm pushing for a group of four or five motivated workers who share a common vision.

Squabbling over which cow-path we take to get to the barn is useless.

[Wood_Owl]

Oh I never said full committee. In truth none of us fill more that the most basic positions; treasurer, advancement coordinator, uhh... Chair. That's all.

 

As for interpretations and axes to grind. Those are already present.

A clueless committee is far less efficient than one would realize!

A committee that does not know the BSA cannot support the scoutmaster in any way, effectively leaving it a one man show. It wasn't until our committee became useful that our poor scoutmaster started to have fun and enjoy his position again!

=o)

 

It only took a year to get over the"We've always done it this way" phenomenon.

 

[AvidSM]

Training is important, but practical experience and a desire to do the job right also helps. Most of the units in my district do not have trained committee members. This has been an outstanding issue and it may come to a head if training becomes manditory for all adults in my Council. This is the case already for some Councils in our area.

 

I will also add that a unit committee must meet monthly and all parents must be invited to attend and observe these meetings. This allows the parents to see how a unit operates and gives them a way to bring up any issues or concerns that they may have. You would think that a unit cannot operate with out monthly committee meetings, but they can and do.

[noname]

I've sat in a bundh of the committee meetings- sat in cause they wont let me talk! it is always 2 folks doing all the talking and interupring when anyone else tries to speak. Always intresting. Guiding the scoutmaster? I always like how anytime I bring something up to the TM in front of the group he says I should have addressed him in private 1st. Not goin to happen cause I cant get any talk in the meetings. All the same trained or no trained it is always a few folks running the show, I was in human services for quite a while and sat in well over a thousand meetings and that is the rule not the exception.

[Wood_Owl]

^ That is a crying shame. Sounds like either the committee chair is weak, or worse the chair prevents communication. In either case, the chair needs to be replaced to restore order. If you wish to fix the committee I recommend you take over as Chair.

According to procedure, file a grievance with your Chartered Organization Rep detailing the reason why the CC needs to be replaced.

...Or do they simply need to be trained?

I can't say as I don't know the persons involved. But even sports teams have rules of conduct for a reason, no?