Is every boy a leader?

[Hal_Crawford]

And Dick Cheney got blamed, and Don Rumsfeld got blamed and various generals and staffers got blamed and even some enlisted reservists at Abu Grahbe got blamed.

 

Truman had a sign on his desk that said "The Buck Stops Here". He got what leadership was about.

 

If the cook screws up the dinner, if the navigator gets the patrol lost, if the guy who was supposed to do cleanup doesn't do his job, it is the Patrol Leaders responsibility. It may not be entirely his fault, it may not be his fault at all but it is his responsibility to solve the problem. The PL who understands this is really a leader.

 

A leader knows or learns the strengths or weaknesses of those he leads. The president gets to choose his SecDef and his VP. He is responsible for their actions. The Patrol Leader does not necessarily get to pick who is in his patrol and he can't (and shouldn't) really have one permanent cook while another is relegated to permanent cleanup. But the good PL knows that Ron is not a good cook so he is ready to provide extra support or supervision the night that Ron is the cook. If John is a lousy navigator then he needs to get practice but the PL know that he better be extra alert to signs that the patrol has lost the trail and be ready to work with the navigator to get back on course. He makes sure that both guys have the opportunity to learn and improve. If Dick is perpetually lazy and bossy and will resist doing cleanup then the PL has to figure out how to get him to do his job when it is his turn.

 

I am impressed with a youth leader when he takes responsibility for his mistakes and the mistakes of those he leads; when he recognizes the successes of those he leads; when he recognizes the weaknesses of those he leads and tries to build those scouts abilities. I am impressed when a youth leader learns that you praise in public and correct in private. It is great if the Patrol Leader has mastered all the scout skills but he doesn't have to be the best at them in the patrol. If he recognizes that Tom is a better navigator or Phil is better at starting a fire (and he is not afraid to admit it) then he will know where to turn when the patrol is lost or the when a fire needs to be lit in the rain.

 

Personally I do not think that I was born a leader but I think in the end I have become a pretty good one. I didn't stay in scouts long enough to learn it there. As an adult I have had the privilege of working for a couple of very good leaders who taught me a lot. I also learned what not to do from a couple of really awful leaders. One of the things I think that helped was gaining the confidence to lead. I think that is something that scouting can provide and it worked wonders for my son who as an adult is an excellent leader.

 

Hal

 

 

 

[Nike]

I believe that everyone can lead to a certain extent. You will rise to the level of your incompetence, unfortunately that's pretty low for some people.

 

 

[evmori]

You certainly have a skewed view of reality xlpanel. Maybe not enough time in the real world & too much time behind the keyboard is to blame.

[xlpanel]

Lets look at some quotes

 

"And Dick Cheney got blamed" Yes he was a leader. The VP. His advisor though?

 

"Truman had a sign on his desk that said "The Buck Stops Here"." Who gave him that quote?

 

"If the cook screws up the dinner," - If the cookbook had a misprint and said 2 cup salt instead of 2 tsp, who is everyone gonna blame? The book or the cook?

 

"if the navigator gets the patrol lost, if the guy who was supposed to do cleanup doesn't do his job, it is the Patrol Leaders responsibility. It may not be entirely his fault, it may not be his fault at all" - The leader still gets blamed you just said... While the leader may blame the navigator, the Scoutmaster blames the patrol leader for arriving late.

 

 

And really, the brighest minds are the ones behind the candidates. Do you think Bush could run a successful campaign by himself? Never. It is the brilliant mind behind him that tells him how to act that gets the job done. Was Bush a leader? Or was he a figurehead for all his advisors to speak through?

 

Believe me, it is alot more fun to be the guy that makes a plan that will get a person in power, and carry that plan out perfectly, than to be the person who is put in power. Because both you and the person in power know it was YOU who won him the election.

[evmori]

I'm beginning to wonder who is driving your bus, xlpanel. This is very troll like.

[Eamonn]

Is every boy a leader?

I'm not really sure.

Is every adult a chef?

While I think just about anyone can cook, I believe that there are some really great chefs.

Does the same apply to /for leadership?

There are skills and techniques that can be taught or learned.

But like cooking something more is needed to become good or really good at it.

Many of us have been around the Lad that is the Ringleader, more often than not he uses his leadership skills to lead the people that follow down the wrong path.

While he might have leadership skills oozing out of every pore in his body, he might lack the ethical thinking to provide good leadership.

I'm supposed to be a good Chef??

The ACF has taken my money and has me listed as a Certified Executive Chef. But there are a lot of areas where I'm just not good. Chinese and Asian cooking is an area where I'm about lost. I'm aware of this and if I was asked to cook a top notch Chinese meal, I'd either have to admit that I couldn't do it or find someone who was good at this type of cooking.

While he or She might be the Chinese food expert, I might very well still be the leader. I'm thinking if it were done in my kitchen with my staff.. In fact if I were to just hand over everything to him or her, I think that I'd be less of a leader.

The BSA Lifeguard is not a bad example of leadership.

Of course it only shows one or maybe two styles of leadership - Directing/ Coaching.

This is of course the style that is needed in that situation.

But in a Patrol setting I would hope that a true leader would also be able to support and delegate.

Directing is very often the easy way out and makes life easy for the leader, but being supportive and delegating is better for the patrol members.

The Patrol Method is about the entire Patrol not just the P/L.

While I'm no longer a boy!

I could never have been an effective District Chairman if I hadn't been able to delegate and offer my support to the members of the District Committee.

Sure when new people came on board I coached them and at times did have to direct them, but my goal was always to get them to a point where they could get the job done with me in the back ground.

So, is every boy a leader?

I still don't know.

I believe that we can teach leadership skills and techniques, we can provide opportunities for boys to put into practice what they have been taught, I also believe that some boys will master it better than others.

The reasons for this?

I kinda think we are all given things that we are good at and there are things that no matter what we just struggle with.

I'm not mechanical and have a hard time changing the line on my weed whacker!

Eamonn.

[f_cbb]

Everyone can be forced to be a leader, but not everyone is one.

 

Leaders have energy surrounding them. Leaders can make you think anything is possible to achieve.

 

Some high school QB was in a state title game a couple of years ago. He came from the houston tx area. He wasn't feeling well the whole game. It was the 4th quarter with 20 seconds left. His team was down by 5 points. On 3rd & 10 from 35 Yard to Score, he threw incomplete and was almost intercepted on. He then was gonna start to run a hurry up to confuse the defense, but before he could get the ball snapped, he ran to the sidelien and threw up. While he was throwing up, he still had the mind presence to hold up the T so the team didn't take a delay of game penalty. After throwing up, he took a drink, put his helmet back on, jogged out onto the field and threw the game winning TD. He is a true leader.

 

Now back to our school, our starting QB during 2007, no one believed he could do anything, he had no huddle presence. As soon as we got behind, everyone expected us to lose. If we didn't score first, people would actually leave the stadium.

 

This last year, 2008, a new QB. He was highly regarded because he could pump up the team. He just had energy the other guy didn't. With him, we never believed we were out of a game. Once we were down 27-7 with 12 remaining in the fourth, and we won 28-27. Why? coach just told him to score. told him to run the O himself. He is a leaader, taking the whole team on his shoulders and carrying them for 21 points in 12 minutes. Now, you can say the D was a big part of it, but who was pumping up the D? The Same QB that could sprint back and forth at full speed for 12 minutes still had the leader juice to move and be excited on the sideline and pump the D. He exerts confidence when he scrambles. You can see it in the eyes. You can probably see that the laeder expects to succeed in the lies of any leader. When he goes one on one with a defender, or even me for that matter, I expect them to miss. Maybe a leader just has to expect success to succeed and thats all leaders do?

 

Now, lets talk about the QB's Brother again for another leadership quality. A freshman playing varsity with us. Many people believed it was favoritism that got him on the team, and didn't like him for that, and wanted their friends moved up from JV over him. We can also talk about the QBs comeback skills and never being out of a game here, too. Down by 6 3 minutes to go in the game 7-13 the score, the QB threw a perfect pass that his bro caught perfectly and made a defender miss and burned two more for the winning TD. A leader also needs to be able to believe that he can do it, even if half the people in the stands believes he shouldnt even be on the field.

 

To me, being a leader on the Field, Well I play FS on D. To me being a leader is just doing my job and being proud of my team members. Just by doing my job and stuffing the LOS against the RB, or blowing up a screenout pass for a loss by reading the QBs eyes gives the team confidence. And thats what a leader does, builds others up to his level. After every play, I come back into the huddle clapping my hands, along with half of our D members. That, i beleive, gives our D unit a bigger bonus than most people could imagine. Something so simple doing so much. That is wht a laeder does.

 

On O, playing a WR/RB to me is supporting whoever the ball goes to, even If i don't get it. Its supporting our QB (not that he needs any lol) no matter what he does. Remember above when i said we were down 27-7. That was cause he fumbled 4 times in the first half inside our own red zone. Being a leader is doign the small tasks that hurt you, but benefit the team. Being an undersized back/wr on varsity, blocking is something I don't like but I do it for the team. a 5'10" 155 lb RB is great in the open field, I can cut alot faster than anyone else, but if I am in a back in zone protection it hurts me every time, but I do it for the team. Zone protection is basically where the RB stays back by the QB in the shotgun and acts just like another lineman. There it is my job to Take down lineman who weight almost twice as much as me. They can hurt me, but I do it and take it for the team so they can succeed. A team player is a leader.

 

A leader also sacrifices him self in other ways for the team. On onside kicks, guess who is the leadoff man for our team? If I get the ball on a onside, I will get it in the air, and will be plowed by 3 defenders as soon as I touch it. Thats dedication to the team. Also, WRs are possessive guys and always want the ball. As a leader at WR, you should always help the QB find the open man. don't be a ball hog. If you see the Z WR is getting open every time. Tell the QB to throw it to him. Don't keep it quite in the hope he will throw to you.

 

A leader is just basically a team player who has an energy about him that provides others something to use to get better.

[GoldWinger]

"While he was throwing up, he still had the mind presence to hold up the T so the team didn't take a delay of game penalty."

 

If high school football rules are like HS baseball or HS basketball rules, the clock stops for a sick or injured player and there is no penalty. If that's the case, your quick thinking leader wasted a time out.

(This message has been edited by Goldwinger)

[f_cbb]

When the player is on the field that is true. But if someone is throwing up off the field, or has a cramp off the field, the game doesn't stop.

 

And going back to your point about stopping the clock for injured players on the field, if they do that inside the LAST TWO MINUTES of any half, they will take a timeout away from the team with the injured player, if they have any.

 

So.... even if the QB decided to be sick on the field, and didn't call a time out, one still would have been called.

 

And if we accept what you say and IF THE OFFICIALS DID CALL AN INJURY TIMEOUT instaed of the QB calling it himself, he would not be allowed back in the game for the next play anyway. And 4 & 10 with the game on the line is not the time you want the backup in.

 

The Quick thinking QB saved the game on so many levels by

 

Getting off the field before he was sick. If he was sick on the field, he would automatically be banned from entering on the next play, causing the backup to have to go in

 

Calling a T on the sidelines to prvent 4th and 15.

 

He is a leader. Not to be rude or anythimg, but If I was on that team, I am very glad you were not the QB in that siutation.

[GoldWinger]

"When the player is on the field that is true. But if someone is throwing up off the field, or has a cramp off the field, the game doesn't stop."

 

Hmmmm . . . I don't officiate football but I doubt if you're reading that right. Maybe a certified football official would care to chime in.

 

"Not to be rude or anythimg, but If I was on that team, I am very glad you were not the QB in that siutation."

 

Hmmmmm . . . that is pretty rude but I wouldn't have been puking on the sidelines.

[f_cbb]

They do not stop for a hurt player on the sidline lol. That is where they take the player on the field who has a cramp.

 

http://www.nflteamhistory.com/nfl_rules/two_minute_warning.html

 

And you can look at this link for NFL rules on injry time outs in the final two minutes.

 

Numba 2 on the list basically agrees with what I said. They take a TO in the final two minutes for injury if you have one, Will give you one if you have NO TOs left.

 

The only thing that is not on there is that the player has to sit out a play if he was injured and they stopped the game for him.

 

A certified offical is gonna agree with me. When was the last time you played organized football with refs?

 

And you probably wouldn't have been throwing up on the sideline if you were in, But you probably wouldn't have been throwing the winning TD, either.

[GoldWinger]

Hmmmm. . . didn't know that you played NFL football. Show me a link for NFHS football rules.

 

"And you probably wouldn't have been throwing up on the sideline if you were in,"

 

Hmmmm . . . isn't that what I said?

 

 

 

[f_cbb]

Well, here is the basic rulebook for my state football. It basically lists what has been changed from the NCAA rules, which are used. Changes basically are (Gametime is 48 minutes instead of 60) (OOB KOs are taken at 35 not 40) etc.

 

http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/manuals/football/pg12_21_rule_changes.pdf

 

Page 74 of the NCAA rules states thus

 

"Injury Timeout

ARTICLE 5. a. In the event of an injured player(s):

1. The referee may charge himself a timeout provided the player(s) for

whom the timeout is taken is removed from the game for at least one

down."

 

http://www.ncaapublications.com/Uploads/PDF/Football_Rulesadc982b5-03fb-4e27-828c-c2d26b95e6c1.pdf

 

Again, players who get injured off field are not given on field injury timeouts. Their being injured off field has no impact on the game continuing whatsoever, so there is no need to stop the clock.

 

And also, please read the whole sentence of what I said...

 

I said that you probably wouldn't have been throwing up on the sideline, but you also probably wouldn't have been throwing the winning TD in a state title game, would you?

 

And if we do blind statistics on the measure, (let me put on my math jacket) I have been in at least 40 FB games, and probably see 60 pro football games a year, and probably 25 college game sa year. I remember that I have never seen anyone throw up on the sideline in the past 5 years, which means I have seen no one throw up in 475 games, personally. BUT, lets throw in the game that someone did throw up in. 1 Player throws up in 476 games.

 

Now, we average the # of people on each team, and about 30 people travel for HS, and about 50 travel for college/pro.

 

Let us just assume that 44 people traveled with teams average. SO 88 players in 476 games = 41888 players I have seen in games. I have heard about one in 41888 throwing up. This is equal to about 130,000 player hours I have seen. I certainly agree that YOU probably would not be the one throwing up in the game. All for one throw up.

 

ACTUALLY, the odds of you throwing the winning TD are greater, and we know how long those are.(This message has been edited by f_cbb)

[GoldWinger]

Where's the bit about a player being off the field? Sorry, I'm not reading all 260+ pages of the NCAA rule book.

 

However, I will stand corrected on the spending a time out to stay in the game. I'm still don't buy calling a time out as evidence of leadership skills any more than leadership is demonstrated when a basketball player calls a time out in mid-air while flying out of bounds. Pressence of mind, yes. Leadership, no. Inspiring, perhaps but still not leadership.

[GoldWinger]

"ACTUALLY, the odds of you throwing the winning TD are greater, and we know how long those are."

 

Since you're trying to drag probablity and statistics (not math) into the discussion, you have no data to support that contention.