Injecting Life Into the Unit Committee

[A J Mako]

I asked this in another thread, but it occurred to me that it wasn't the right question or the right topic.

Regardless of what program division you are in, or even what organization you are in, there are times when the job starts to look bigger than it really is. Whether it's chasing after paperwork, or trying to do too many things at once, or realizing the job isn't what you thought it was, people sometimes get discouraged. That's human nature. What do we do when the unit committee is experiencing one of those moments in toto?

Specifically, I'm looking for ideas on how to recharge the committee's batteries, inject life back into a committee overwhelmed by the job set before them and unwilling to take on more. I'm not looking for the blanket "recruit new committee members" because a discouraged or overwhelmed unit committee isn't going to make that easy.

For purposes of discussion, let's assume the committee has completed training, really do have the Scouts' best interests in mind, but have just gotten bogged down in minutiae and the usual pressures of the adult world.

[1st Mate]

I guess the question that has to be asked and answered first is...from what position are we addressing the problem? As an example, if I were the assistant scoutmaster of a troop whose committee needed energizing, I am not in a position to address that, as it is unrelated to my training and responsibilities. If on the other hand I am the charter organization representative then I am directly responsible for correcting the situation.

As the scoutmaster I am effected by the situation but I am but responsible for it's resolution. I have other specific responsibilities.

So from which unit position would you like the situation addressed?

[CommissionerTim]

The Scoutmaster and Asst.SM have the same responsibilities to the unit... if they feel they're not getting the support from the committee, then they need to communicate that to the CC and COR and even the UC... and keep communicating this to those I just mentioned until something gets done.

The SM and ASM don't need to be on the committee to energize it, but rather communicate their needs to the CC, COR and UC... because it is the CC, COR and UC responsibility to re-energize the committee.

[1st Mate]

Perhaps we need to agree on a standard vocabulary. Yes, everyone has a responsibility to the program, but that does not mean that everyone has the same responsibilities. The BSA goes to great length to make that clear, through different "Positions of Responsibility", Job Specific Training, separate handbooks, etc.

For instance there is nothing in the Den leader specific training that gives them any responsibility or skill in how to develop a pack committee. Each person has specific responsibilities and are trained to do a specific job.

The Unit Cmmissioners role in this scenario is different then the charter organization representative's or the Committee Chair's.

The brunt of the responsibility in this case falls to the committee chair. They were selected by the Charter Rep for the specific purpose of leading a functioning committee. If the committee is overworked then you have two choices, reduce the load or increase the horsepower.

There are a lot of things that have to be evaluated here and that is something that a well trained commissioner using the resources of the BSA could help with.

* Is the committee doing only the things they are supposed to be doing or are they overloaded because they are taken on things that are the responsibility of others?

* Is the committee following the BSA procedures or are they overloaded because they have strayed from the recommended methods.

* Is each person assigned a specific area of responsibility and have they received the training and resources needed to do that job.

* Is the committee meeting monthly or are the meeings spread further apart and multiple assignments piled on them sporadically?

* Is the committee lead correctly? Are decisions made in a timely fashion and are specific assignments given to individuals to carry out and report back to the chairman?

* What specific areas are overworked and why, what do those people recommend as a possible solution?

* Do those solutions agree with the methods of scouting?

The answer to these questions can help determine what steps need to be taken to resolve the problem.

[A J Mako]

I guess the question that has to be asked and answered first is...from what position are we addressing the problem?

I was going to set up a bunch of assumptions and hypotheticals, but then it occurred to me that doesn't answer my question. At least it ends up providing an answer that will only work in very few specific situations. I'm not asking how you would fix the problem. I'm asking how you would get the committee to stop, take a step back, and take a deep breath, so they'll actually be able to see the problem when you point it out to them.

As far as what position we're addressing the problem from, whatever position you are most comfortable with. The SM or a Den Leader may not have any responsibility for committee operations, but they should certainly be able to see when the committee is bogged down in the little details or overwhelmed for whatever reason. That has an impact on the Scouts, so they would certainly be justified in saying something or doing something.

[1st Mate]

Sure they can say something, Hopefully it will be to someone who is actually responsible for effecting change, the Committee Chairman.

I am unsure how we are supposed to suggest a solution without knowing the actually cause of the problem. Why do they have more work they they can handle? What caused them to get bogged down?

You can't get a real solution until you know the real problem You are giving us ambiguous symptoms. Solutions are based on specific cause.

[A J Mako]

I'm not asking how you would fix the problem. I'm asking how you would get the committee to stop, take a step back, and take a deep breath, so they'll actually be able to see the problem when you point it out to them.

You can't get a real solution until you know the real problem You are giving us ambiguous symptoms. Solutions are based on specific cause.

You're walking along the trail with your troop. You encounter a man stuck in a hole. Do you really need to know what made the hole, or how he got into the hole, to help him out of the hole? And if he doesn't realize he's in a hole, do you really need to know those things in order to convince him he's in a hole?

The above is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I asked what I thought was a simple question intended to generate some discussion, and so far most of the discussion has been debating the question. Tell me you've never seen a unit committee do that. There are a million different ways a unit committee can get discouraged or bogged down. Most of the time it just sort of sneaks up on them, and sometimes they can be discouraged and bogged down without realizing it. And there are those few times when, not only don't they realize it, they refuse to believe it.

Like the guy in the hole, they need help, but you don't need to know how they got in the hole or what created the hole to help them out of it. Maybe they're so focused on trying to get where they're going they don't see where they are. In that case what we, as fellow travelers who aren't in the hole, need to do is get them to stop trying to get where they're going for a moment and look at where they are. Usually we find, once we get them to stop and look around, the problem becomes obvious to them and they aren't so discouraged or lifeless any more. That is what I'm interested in.

[1st Mate]

How deep is he hole, Can I reach him by simply extending my hand or do I need a rope? How long a rope. How big is the man? How strong a rope will I need? Is the man conscious or will someone need to go down and get him? Is the man hurt? Is it even safe to move him without professional help?


It might be easy for you to decide these things because you can see the problem, but when you simple post a vague and undescriptive scenario that "a man is in a hole how do I get him out" you leave too many unananswered questions for us to tell you what to do.

Your a doctor and a person comes to you with a chest pain. How do you trest it?

Without more details you can't. How old a person? the cause of chest pain in a 6 year old is likely different than a 60 year old. What kind or pain, when did it start? What were they doing when it started? What sort of pain, sharp or dull, continuous or sporadic? Where on the chest? How long has it been going on? What other symptoms do they have?

You need to get past the symptoms to the cause before you decide the treatment.

Here is my suggestion, Find a trained commissioner who understands the program to come observe, evaluate and determine the problem if you cannot. Then prescribe an action. OR find CR in your scouting community who had a similar problem ad resolved it and try what they did.

Without a better explanation as to what is causing the problem anything else would merely be a shot in the dark.

[A J Mako]

Contrary to popular belief, the commissioner's job isn't to find and fix problems. They aren't the BSA's version of a mechanic or a doctor. The commissioner's job is to mentor, to guide other Scout leaders. Their job is to help other Scout leaders recognize and solve their own problems. This is what I'm getting at. An outside observer, like a commissioner, might recognize there is a problem and even know how to fix it long before anyone else, but the commissioner doesn't just barge into the committee meeting and start fixing the problem. The first thing he has to do is convince the committee that there is a problem. Then he can address the specifics of the problem and help them find a solution.

Currently the problem is, I'm trying to get ideas on how to go about the first step of the process (convincing someone there is a problem) and you want to do step three (brainstorming solutions). It's like sitting down with a group of Scouts to help them plan a hike. I want to start with step one, the plan, they want to start hiking. As a Scoutmaster my job would be to convince them that the hike will go much better if they plan it first. Personally, I've found Scouts are far less stubborn than adults in that regard.

In deference to your statements in other threads about filling this forum with a bunch of negativity and describing things that are wrong, I tried to get an answer without getting bogged down in the nitty, gritty, dirty details. I asked a general question realizing not every answer would be useful to me, but understanding those answers might be useful to someone else. And at the moment I'm feeling a bit bogged down and discouraged because at every turn you've insisted on getting the nitty, gritty, dirty details.

So, maybe the problem I'm having, the one I need an answer for, is that I have a group of Scouters who are in a rut or they're digging themselves into a hole. Maybe it's just two guys going back and forth without really listening to what each is saying, and everybody else sitting back enjoying the show. Maybe one guy thinks if the answer isn't in the book the question wasn't meant to be asked. Maybe it's just that the whole group is locked into over-thinking everything they do and consequently make no decisions, or decide only that they'll decide later. Maybe they're just a group of people who have fallen into the habit of a routine and they're just not inspired. Maybe they do the job just the way they're supposed to but there's a lack of enthusiasm that could lead to real problems down the road. Maybe it's just, for a hundred different reasons combined, the committee has run out of steam.

These are people who are so focused on getting where they are going they can't see where they are. Or, they are people who have lost their focus and are just sort of wandering around in the woods bumping into trees. In other words, they are human beings doing what human beings sometimes do. It might be one shared problem; it might be ten different individual problems. There might not even be a true problem yet! It doesn't matter, we're a long way from solving problems and I'm just making this up as I go along. All that matters is the whole group has to stop and take a look around, maybe even take a deep breath, and see where they are before they dig themselves into a deeper hole, before they get themselves lost further or start mucking up the works. That is what I want to get ideas on how to do.

So, before I go out and buy a SuperSoaker and fill it with icy cold water; before I start grabbing people by the shirt and slapping them around a bit; before I bust down the door and start making a real mess of things; it might be nice to know there are kinder, gentler, friendlier, more courteous and effective ways to knock heads together and wake people up. There's no rush, I was just curious--thinking ahead--trying to be prepared for the worst.

[1st Mate]

If you read any of the commissioner training guides, they are described as a family doctor, their primary role is to diagnose symptoms and head them off before they effect the health of the unit. Guiding and coaching are the recommended leadership styles, family doctor is the role model.

Who needs to be convinced of the problem? Overworked and demoralized committee members don't know they are overworked and demoralized?

You are sharing symptoms. please share a specific cause as to why they are are overburdened as you mentioned.

[A J Mako]

Just forget I asked:(

[A J Mako]

If you read any of the commissioner training guides, they are described as a family doctor, their primary role is to diagnose symptoms and head them off before they effect the health of the unit. Guiding and coaching are the recommended leadership styles, family doctor is the role model.

That is a role. When I read the commissioner guides, this is what I find:

There is only one council service to a unit that is constant--and that is the friendly personal help given by the unit commissioner. This person must be available to offer advice, program suggestions, and to support unit leaders.

The only reason for having commissioners is to help units succeed. ...

The concept for today's commissioner service focuses on the unit. The commissioner's specific mission is to keep units operating a maximum efficiency so that they can deliver a good program to a growing membership.

Today's commissioners are results-oriented rather than procedures-oriented. They are successful in their mission when units continue to operate, units regularly accept new boys, and untis effectively deliver the ideals of Scouting to their members.

Commissioners are also involved in carrying program to the unit, but their main concern is to develop strength within the unit operation.

In other words, the concept calls for commissioners to develop program capability in a unit. They are neither program specialists nor production experts, although they are concerned and knowledgeable in both fields. Their activity is focused, not on program or production, but on the unit.

And most importantly:

A commissioner plays several roles, including friend, representative, unit "doctor," teacher, and counselor.

As unit "doctor" their primary role isn't to diagnose symptoms, it's to keep the body of the unit functioning properly in order to prevent things from becoming problems. If you eat 12 McDonald's hamburgers a day for a month it will be a while before any symptoms arise that suggest a problem. Your doctor might not even find any symptoms until the problem is well under way. Your spouse, a friend, a teacher, even you nutritionist will probably figure out you're headed for trouble a lot sooner.

But this is what the Commissioner Fieldbook for Unit Service actually says about being a doctor:

The commissioner is a unit "doctor." (Me: I wonder why they keep putting it in quotes when they don't put any of the other roles in quotes) In your role as "doctor," you know that prevention is better than a cure, so you try to see that your units make good "health practices" a way of life. When problems arise, and they will even in the best unit, act quickly. Observe symptoms, diagnose the real ailment, prescribe a remedy, and follow up on the patient.

My question goes directly to this:

The commissioner is a counselor. As a Scouting counselor, you will help units solve their own problems. Counseling is the best role for you when unit leaders don't recognize a problem and where solutions are not clear-cut. Everyone needs counseling from time to time, even experienced leaders.

Now, excuse me, but if it wasn't possible for a committee to not know there was a problem, why would the BSA suggest that a commissioner's role was to help them see problems they don't recognize.

A commissioner who only plays the role of "doctor" isn't doing the job, thank you very much. And a counselor who insists there can't be anything to discuss unless there are concrete symptoms to a recognizeable problem isn't much help either.

So, again, forget I asked... I guess I'll just have to figure it out on my own.:(

[Nuts4Scouts]

A J, Have you considered simply inviting the CC out for a "cuppa" and having a nice heart-to-heart talk? And, if it is not a unit where you are the COR, include the COR in the invite too.

Taking it away from a Scout environment might make it easier to talk to these folks.

[1st Mate]

The commissioner is there to help the unit succeed just as the Guide tells you AJ, but like any counselor or doctor they need information. Nuts makes another good suggestion, but it is basically the same thing I have been saying, you need more information. Take a committee member to coffee and ask then why they feel overwhelmed. You will not find a solution until you discover the cause.