Imagine you are 13 and have just been elected patrol leader. What resources do you have to call on to do the job?
Well, maybe you've watched how all this works for a year or two and have at least some idea of what patrol leader does. It's likely that this is the first time you've had this kind of responsibility so you can't really fully appreciate what it means. Perhaps you've received some formal training; maybe it made sense at the time, maybe it didn't.
You my be a self-starter. Whether it is bravery or naivete (most likely a little bit of both) you jump in with both feet and get going. It's likely that you'll make some mistakes, you'll misunderstand something or just plain forget to do something you were expected to do.
You may be indecisive or afraid of looking bad in front of your peers and maybe this fear means you don't do anything at all. You try to be inconspicuous, don't say much and keep your head down.
If your troop leaders and adults are encouraging, non-judgemental l and kind you'll gain some confidence. If people react negatively you'll grow discouraged quickly.
By putting myself into this new patrol leader's shoes I see how important my attitude and reactions are to him; how important it is to encourage his efforts. I also begin to understand that negative responses and attitudes could make Scouts reluctant to take on leadership responsibility because they've seen how I've responded to others who did.
I was taking a college course in geography. The professor asked the class to explain what was meant by 'vegetation' when it described a given region. One of the students responded 'Is it the kind of vegetables they grow?'. Many of us in the class stifled a pretty big guffaw but the professor's expression remained unchanged and she said 'that's close, but it's not precisely what I was looking for.'
Had the professor laughed or belittled an honest answer the student may have never voluntarily responded again.
Learn to recognize initiative. Seize the opportunity to build on it.
Any effort a Scout shows in a leadership position; no matter how lackluster or otherwise imperfect it may appear merits a positive response.
It's a bit like rock climbing. Climbers learn to turn the smallest ledge, the least little opening into a handhold. We may have very little to build on.
Once we learn to recognize the smallest gesture of initiative on their part we need to respond with overwhelming, unalloyed encouragement. With our support they'll take successively bigger steps and soon become competent leaders.
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