Management best practices
You might not think of yourself as a ’manager’. But as a Group Scout Leader or Commissioner, you are.
Some people argue that using the word ‘manager’ makes Scouting seem more like work than a hobby. But this misses the point that good management in Scouting is about providing effective support and good leadership to our adult volunteers so that they can get the most out of their volunteering.
A good manager in Scouting provides other adults with an excellent Scouting experience. They support adults working directly with young people so that they are motivated, inspired and focused on providing first-class Scouting opportunities for young people. A good manager thanks our volunteers for all their hard work and helps make sure we keep them.
Scouting is about making life better, and this approach comes from the top.
Your role is to provide direction and to help people see the bigger picture by providing great leadership for the future.
What we’re doing
We believe that everyone in management positions in Scouting should adopt an approach that combines the skills of both leadership and management.
We’ve identified six key skill areas that make a good manager in Scouting and are focusing management support on these areas. These six areas (below) are based on the National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership produced by the Management Standards Centre.
The six aspects of good scouting leadership and management
A good manager in Scouting will create a vision for Scouting in their area and provide clear leadership to implement that vision. Read Tim Kidd's thoughts on good leadership and management in Scouting.
A good manager in Scouting will create a team spirit and work effectively with people in their area based on trust and the fundamentals of Scouting. Read Tim Kidd's thoughts on working with people.
A good manager in Scouting will ensure that goals are achieved, plans are seen through to completion and that good relationships are maintained with parents of young people in Scouting and the local community.
A good manager in Scouting will encourage people to think of creative ways to improve scouting in their area and then implement the appropriate improvements.
A good manager in Scouting will ensure that sufficient resources and information are available to help people in their area to provide excellent scouting.
A good manager in Scouting will use their time effectively and continue to learn and improve the skills that they bring to their role.
A Detailed Briefing on Leadership and Management in Scouting
Why is this work being carried out?
We have been concerned for some time about the need to improve the quality and skills of line management in Scouting and anecdotal evidence suggested that there were issues to address.
At the Operations sub-Committee annual conference in July 2008, attended by a wide range of Scouting volunteers and staff, the issue identified as the key blocker to the development of Scouting was considered to be the quality of management and leadership in Scouting.
As a result of this, Operations sub-Committee in April 2009 considered a paper summarising the issues. This paper introduced the concept of managerial leadership and tasked a small working group to consider the matter further with a view to developing an action plan and strategies which would begin to address the issues.
What is this work trying to achieve?
The Scout Association believes that volunteers in line management positions should adopt an approach to management that combines the traditional roles of leadership and management on the premise that managers should also be good leaders and provide direction and motivation to those they lead.
The long term goal of this work is to have (and maintain) an effective manager in every management position in Scouting.
To achieve this goal, the work plan is built on the following principles:
a) Scouting must support existing managers to improve leadership and management skills where possible;
b) Scouting must recruit into management positions only people who have or are able and willing to develop the required management and leadership skills;
c) Scouting’s senior volunteer management must show commitment to this strategy through its actions; and
d) Scouting must be prepared to reassign or retire volunteers in management positions who are unable to demonstrate or develop in a timely manner the required leadership and management skills.
On what is this work based?
At its core, the work on leadership and management is based on the 2008 National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership produced by the Management Standards Centre.
These standards were analysed to identify the items that were considered appropriate for volunteer managers in The Scout Association.
The National Occupational Standards comprise 74 units grouped into six areas. For Scouting’s purpose we use simply the six main areas as follows:
As an effective manager in Scouting you will create a vision for Scouting in your area and provide clear leadership to implement that vision.
As an effective manager in Scouting you will create a team spirit and work effectively with people in your area based on trust and the fundamentals of Scouting.
As an effective manager in Scouting you will ensure that goals are achieved, plans are seen through to completion and that good relationships are maintained with parents of young people in Scouting and the local community.
As an effective manager in Scouting you will encourage people to think of creative ways to improve Scouting in your area and then implement the appropriate improvements.
As an effective manager in Scouting you will ensure that sufficient resources and information are available to help people in your area to provide excellent Scouting.
As an effective manager in Scouting you will use your time effectively and continue to learn and improve the skills that you bring to your role.
The areas are given in this order so that they start with the more aspirational items – but no one area is actually more important than another.
It's the complete collection of areas that defines good leadership and management in Scouting.
Each of these areas is then further defined for each of the main management roles in Scouting. For example, the definition for Group Scout Leaders is as follows:
As an effective Group Scout Leader you will:
- promote a co-operative culture of working in the Group – leading by example;
- create a vision for the future development of your Group;
- develop a plan for the Group, implement and regularly review it;
- provide leadership, inspiration and motivation for all adults working in the Group; and
- ensure that everyone in the Group follows the policies and rules of The Scout Association.
As an effective Group Scout Leader you will:
- develop good working relationships based on trust and Scout values with the adults in the Group and with others with whom you work in Scouting;
- ensure that suitable adults are recruited to work in appropriate roles in the Group;
- manage the adults in the Group – including allocation of tasks and undertaking reviews;
- support adults in the Group to develop by: completing formal training requirements, learning on the job, trying out new skills and addressing problems affecting performance;
- build a team spirit in the Group and support the development of the team as a whole;
- address conflict as it occurs within the Group and reduce the likelihood of conflict through good communications and other methods;
- run effective Leaders’ Meetings in the Group and participate fully in the Group Trustee Board and District meetings;
- ensure that adults in the Group keep to the standards of performance required and that the correct procedures are followed in consultation with the District Commissioner if serious problems occur;
- carry out effective reviews and re-assign or retire people if necessary; and
- build and maintain collaborative relationships with other, relevant,
organisations in your Group’s local area.
As an effective Group Scout Leader you will:
- satisfactorily complete projects in the Group for which you are responsible; and
- satisfactorily resolve problems and issues raised by adult and youth members of the Group and by parents or carers of youth members in the Group.
As an effective Group Scout Leader you will:
- encourage adults in your Group to think of new and creative ways to improve the Group;
- be enthusiastic about new ideas, give constructive feedback and encourage and support further work on good ideas;
- carry out plans to implement change, working together with all members of the Group; and
- recognise the contribution of others towards change and improvement.
As an effective Group Scout Leader you will:
- as part of the Trustee Board ensure the budget is managed for your Group;
- as part of the Trustee Board, ensure that there is an adequate income for the Group including the identification of other income sources such as grants;
- work with the Trustee Board and Leaders to ensure that the Group meeting place and equipment are safe and that people act in a responsible manner;
- work with the Section Leaders and the Trustee Board to ensure that the Group has sufficient physical resources to support the programme;
- work with adults and young people to minimise the negative impact and maximise the positive impact that the Group has on the environment;
- make decisions about all matters within the Group based on the best available information; and
- ensure that all adults in the Group have the right information provided in a timely manner and in the most effective way.
As an effective Group Scout Leader you will:
- agree with your District Commissioner realistic goals and targets for the development of your Scout Group that work towards The Scout Association’s strategic objectives;
- ask for and act on feedback about how you carry out your role;
- regularly check how you use your time and identify possible improvements so that you focus on agreed goals and priorities; and
- identify the skills and knowledge that you need to develop or improve and the steps you will follow to do so.
Work in support of leadership and management
There is an ongoing work plan to promote and support good leadership and management in Scouting. This work is broadly in the following areas:
1. Clearly define the functions required of a good manager in Scouting.
2. Encourage existing management volunteers, where possible, to increase skill levels and become effective managers. In doing this it is important to:
- perform effective reviews of managers against the leadership and management functions to identify areas for improvement;
- increase the leadership and management skill level in existing managers;
- retire or re-assign those managers for whom the current role is inappropriate; and
- recruit into management positions only those people with the required leadership and management skill levels or the ability and desire to attain the required skill levels.
3. Define and carry out a clear communications plan to ensure that the Movement at large understands this long term strategic view.
A detailed briefing on Leadership and Management in Scouting
For further information on the six key skill areas that make a good manager in Scouting please download the document.
Discover the six key skill areas