Becoming Assistant Patrol Leader
I have talked a lot about how much I learned about being a leader in my Scouting experience, but I have always focused on the larger experiences I had. The reality was that I was behind many of my peers in camping experience and rank, so it was a little while into the program before I gained a leadership position. Some other guys my age and I were assigned to start a new Patrol for our incoming Scouts. These new Scouts were two years younger than us, and the group included my brother, so I was excited to help out. I was assigned to be the Assistant Patrol Leader, essentially be the right-hand-man for the Patrol Leader as they guided the new Scouts.
On the first camping trip it was very clear to me how the Patrol Leader and another older boy in the Patrol were only helping because they were forced to to gain rank advancement. They got irritated too easily by the young Scouts goofing off or asking questions to adjust to the program. I saw this translate into some agitation from the young Scouts, as they felt they were not being taken seriously and were not allowed to have any fun. I stepped up to become a mediator, I would listen to their concerns and questions and try to help them in their adjustment or learning in any way I could. When something needed to be done, I corralled them and politely requested their assistance, explaining the task and the importance of our teamwork.
While I felt everything I was doing was inherent, this first camping trip taught me the importance of respect for a leader. The problem I saw in my Patrol Leader, and many other Scout leaders, was that they did not respect others, especially younger Scouts. They would not care about their issues, ridicule them, and would boss them around. It was the antithesis of the Patrol method, and went against several points of the Scout Law that is integral to the organization. It was this behavior that kept me from being as involved with the organization in my first two years, and why I fell behind in progress from my peers.
I think seeing this void of goodwill between the older Scouts and newer Scouts made me want to create a change. Or maybe I saw it as a duty of the position that was given to me? Regardless, I knew the respect I gave to the new Scouts was the right thing to do. I kept it up throughout my Scouting career, and it helped me work with others so we could change our Troop for the better.
I took this lesson with me wherever I went, from working with Parks & Rec. all the way to my leadership roles in college. It has become a core belief of mine, as I swear to it as being the key to becoming a successful leader. A strong foundation of a leader and member relationship should be built upon mutual respect if anyone in an organization is to grow and any goals are to be met. That is why I try to foster an environment of respect whenever I become involved in a new group or team. It is something I have seen work countless times, and it’s just the right thing to do, so I think I’ll stick with it for a good while longer.
