Leadership skills

In most football teams the captain is the team leader. Why is that? Is there something magic about the position? Does he automatically become the leader --- the guy who makes the team go --- when he is named captain by the coach? No, there's more to it than that. Lots more. Usually he is named captain because he's already a leader. He's already the kind of guy the other players like to follow. And if the coach is wrong about him, he probably won't stay captain very long. If he can't lead the team, he won't have much value even if he can hit a receiver at 40 yards. Because every successful team must have a leader. That goes for your Scouting team, too --- your patrol and your troop. In fact, if the patrol and troop are to succeed, you need several leaders. Guys like yourself who want to try "leading" in Scouting. One of the aims of your local Leadership Training Camp is to show you how to become a better leader. Let's begin by being honest about it. You are not going to find 5 or 10 simple rules to follow to become a good leader. If leadership were as easy as that, almost everyone would be a good leader. And you know that most people are not. There are no rules for leadership. But there are certain skills that every good leader seems to have. You learned about them at your Leadership Training Camp and have practiced some of them in your troop at home. Some of these skills you may already have even without knowing it. That's the funny thing about leadership --- a good leader doesn't necessarily know how he does it. He just does what comes naturally and the others follow him. Although he may not know it, he has mastered the skills of leadership. This doesn't mean we guarantee that you'll be elected society president next year. But we do guarantee that you can make yourself a much better leader in just a few weeks or months.

What Affects Leadership?

Leadership is not magic that comes out of a leader's head. It's skill. The leader learns how to get the job done and still keep the group together. Does this mean that the leader does the same things in every situation? No. Here's why. Leadership differs with the leader, the group, and the situation. Leaders ‑‑ like other people are all different. No leader can take over another leader's job and do it the same way.

Groups are different, too. A great football coach might have difficulty leading an orchestra. A good sergeant might be a poor Scoutmaster. So when a leader changes groups, he changes the way he leads.

Situations differ, too. The same leader with the same group must change with conditions. A fellow leading a group discussion needs to change his style of leadership when a fire breaks out. As a Scout leader, you probably can't lead the group in the rain the same as you do in the sunshine. An effective leader, then, must be alert at all times to the reaction of the members of the group; the conditions in which he may find himself; and be aware of his own abilities and reactions.

Leadership Develops Picture a long scale like a yardstick. On the low end, there are no leader‑ship skills. On the other end, there is a complete set of leadership skills. Everyone is somewhere between those ends! Where do you find yourself at this time? Unknowingly, you may be further up the scale than you realize. As a staff member you'll now have the opportunity to find out.

How Will You Know You are Improving?

You learn leadership best by working with groups. That is something like learning swimming best by getting into the water. Yet you can't keep track of your progress without a guide. You must know and understand what you are trying to learn. This means you have to know what the skills of leadership are.