Scouting, Volume 98, Number 2, March-April 2010 Page: 18
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# WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Leading the Leader
How do you work with an inexperienced
and uncommitted SPL? Scouters speak out.
Scoutmaster D.M.'s
troop elected a senior
patrol leader with little
experience or apparent
sense of responsibility.
He's looking for ways to
respect the boys' choice
without endangering
the troop's future.
SET SOME GOALS
Meet with the Scout and his
parents. Explain the compli-
ment the other Scouts have
paid him by electing him,
the importance of the senior
patrol leader position, and
the fun and benefits he will
gain. Make sure he under-
stands that your role is to
train, coach, and counsel him
during his term. Ask him
what goals he would like to
accomplish as SPL and help
him create a written plan to
NEXT QUESTION
accomplish his first goal.
The characteristics he
begins this new role with are
not as important as the ones
he will have when his term
is completed. Your positive,
helpful leadership will help
shape that result.
Skipper A.L.
NORMAL, ILL.
SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY
What an opportunity to build
a leader! Use past, success-
ful SPLs as mentors; a good
Scout is always willing to help
another Scout and his troop.
Also, remember that "boy run"
never means letting things fall
apart, so you need to monitor
more closely than usual.
Evaluate the consequences
of failures. If minor, sit back
and watch the results; minor
failures are greater teaching
tools than successes. If major,
talk to the boy. Explain what
USING NONTRADITIONAL COMMUNICATION
Phone calls, snail mail, and even e-mail seem
antiquated to many of our Scouts. We're exploring
nontraditional communication forms such as
Twitter, Facebook, and mass-calling systems, but
we need guidance. How do you manage such
systems, and what guidelines do you follow?
D.C.
NEWTOWN, CONN.
WE WANT YOUR SOLUTIONS! Send your answer to What Would You Do?, Scouting
Magazine, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079. Look for responses in a future issue of Scouting.
We also solicit new questions and pay $50 for each one used in this column. Submit responses or a
new question electronically, or view selected responses from past columns, at scoutingmagazine.org.
is wrong and why it is wrong,
and ask him what he thinks
can be done to correct it.
Scoutmaster D.W.
DETROIT, MICH.
HAVE A HEART-TO-HEART
Have a real heart-to-heart talk
with the newly elected Scout.
Outline your expectations
and ask him to examine his
heart. If he wants to fulfill this
leadership role, make him
accountable. You may have to
stay on him, but maybe this
will help him learn to be a
better leader. Also, a year with
a not-so-hot leader will make
the whole troop think about
making better choices in the
future.
Cubmaster K.K.
GALESBURG, ILL.
IS HE REALLY?
Perhaps your assessment of
the Scout is off. His fellow
Scouts elected him for some
reason. See if you can help
him discover that reason.
You may be amazed at his
response if you find even the
smallest reason to express
genuine faith and confidence
in the Scout.
Scoutmaster C.G.
KENNETT SQUARE, PA.
USEYOUR EDGE
Use the EDGE method.
Explain how he needs to
conduct himself to carry out
his role. Demonstrate how to
be a leader: conduct a portion
of the PLC meeting so he sees
how it's done, then guide him
as he covers the other items
on the agenda. Eventually,
hopefully, you'll enable him to
handle things with you just
watching.
This young man may not
be the best SPL you'll ever
have, but you can help him
become the best SPL he's ever
been. But always remember
that a boy-led troop shouldn't
be allowed to become a boy-
misled troop.
M.L.
SYLVAN I A, OHIO
18
SCOUTING * MARCH-APRIL 2010
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 98, Number 2, March-April 2010, periodical, March 2010; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth299169/m1/20/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.