Jerry Johnson Chief Seattle Council PaTC Session V53

Stages of Unsuccessful Crews  Wild Enthusiasm  Disillusionment  Total Confusion  Search for the Guilty  Punishment of the Innocent  Promotion of the Non-participants Where is your crew???

Visionary Leadership A crucial factor in building and leading teams is creating a vision, a clear, concrete picture of intended results that is shared by the entire team. If it’s powerful enough, a vision can chart a course, inspire the commitment, and create the momentum needed to make that picture a reality. - John Graham from “Outdoor Leadership, Technique, Common Sense & Self Confidence”

Obstacles  Short time span to work with Venturers, typically 2-3 years  Many activities competing for Venturers’ time Venturing is just one small part of their lives  No program institutional memory  Opposition from other Scouters  Minimal district and council support

Get Your Ducks In A Row First  Dedicated male/female advisors  Crew committee  Equipment  Treasury  Meeting location

Train Your Crew Officers Conduct a Crew Officers’ Seminar as soon as possible after officers are elected Have each crew officer develop his/her job description Have crew officers develop your job description Get agreement on expectations – yours and theirs – Time commitment – Job responsibilities – Communications

Train Your Crew Officers  Begin developing your crew’s vision Mission statement Program activities  Assign each crew officer a task and a negotiated completion date  Give each crew officer an adult mentor  Hold monthly Crew Officer meetings Work with Crew President to develop written agenda ahead of time Have Crew President run the meetings to check on progress and critique past activities

Build Your Crew  Establish a consistent meeting date, location, and time  Keep the communications open  Use youth members to coordinate with other youth members  Give each crew member a “Brain Book” Roster Calendar Activity announcements Bylaws  Hold a Crew Program Planning Weekend within the first six months

Crew Program Planning Weekend  Go over the plan for the weekend with your crew officers and have them run as much of it as possible  Pick a special place where weather will not be an issue  Use the Venturing advancement requirements to build your crew’s program  Provide a structure for your youth to do the program planning process Venturers do not think sequentially very well - “teens don’t do plans”

Program Planning Exercise

Crew Program Planning Weekend  Be sure to include time in your program year for Ethical controversies Boards of Review Parents/Awards nights Open Houses Youth Protection Training Service Project Crew elections and Crew Officers Seminar Annual Program Planning Weekend Venturing Leadership Skills Training course Summer high adventure trek

Crew Program Planning Weekend  Make sure there is lots of food!!  Have a variety of fun activities; i.e. day hike, evening movie with popcorn and sodas or ice cream sundaes to break up the hard work  Refine the crew’s mission statement  Develop crew bylaws and include youth developed expectations for Coed behavior Uniform wear

Crew Program Planning Weekend  Create an atmosphere of trust – right from the beginning  Keep things moving  Watch who is talking and who is not  Begin work in drafting individual Personal Growth Agreements  Conduct an ethical controversy

After The Weekend  Based on the weekend’s input, flesh out the program details When, where, how much will it cost, acquiring consultants as required  Assign activity chairs with adult mentors Provide activity chairs with a step by step event planning guide Keep good records so what works can be used again  Publish or perish – “A plan not written is only a wish”

Program Hints That Work Try using intense weekend training sessions – Provides captive audience and sufficient time to train – Use normal crew meeting to go over administrative requirements Plan multi-crew training and activities – Helps eliminate “we are the only ones doing Venturing syndrome” – Provides synergy that adds enthusiasm and excitement to your own crew’s program

Program Hints That Work  Think “outside the box” There is no rule that you have to meet each week or that every meeting must conform to a formal structure A meeting can be a dinner out together, a movie, a talk at an outdoor sports store, a game of putt putt golf, a night at a bowling alley or a full fledged meeting Remember, the program is what keeps them coming back each week!!!!!

5 Simple Rules For Crew Longevity 1.Recruit 2.Recruit 3.Recruit 4.Recruit 5.Recruit

Recruiting Techniques That Work  Crews are very fragile organizations Maximum youth retention is 2-3 years At Venturing age, parents no longer come with their kids, so don’t forget to recruit adults  Target rising 9 th and 10 th grade students  Be visible at district and council events Staff camporee stations Attend district roundtables Demonstrate a skill at district or council adult leader training Man a Scouting for Food collection area

Recruiting Techniques That Work Use your chartered organization’s newsletter Hold “Everyone Bring A Friend” crew activities Set up a table for “Back to School” night Develop a crew flyer and display it at local outdoor sports shops Run a crew “First Nighter” Establish an affiliated troop relationship

Advice For Advisors  Leave your troop scouting experience with its emphasis on uniform and advancement at the door Venturing is not “Advanced Boy Scouting With Girls”  Let youth members lead; be there to guide and offer advice  Remember the 3 Ds of management Define the task Delegate it Disappear  Allow youth members to fail; mistakes can sometimes be the best teacher

Advice For Advisors  Let the crew members set the rule for uniform wear and behavior through the Bylaws  Teach your Venturers the interpersonal skills they need and then trust them  Coach by asking questions  Be clear with your own expectations  Reward the positive

 Walk your talk  Be understanding of the teenage years and their search for autonomy  Show mutual respect as a team member  Keep it simple, make it fun (KISMIF)  Remember, perpetual optimism can work wonders, even in the worst situations! Advice For Advisors

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision – Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, President Emeritus, University of Notre Dame Effective leaders … convey an unwavering firmness and consistency in their actions, aligned with the picture of the future they paint. The result? Clarity of purpose, credibility of leadership, and integrity in organization – Colin Powell’s Lessons in Leadership