GENERAL INFORMATION

Type: Elected by members of the patrol

Term: 6 months

Reports to: Senior Patrol Leader. If you're also the patrol leader for the Quail patrol (or sub patrol), you'll also work with the troop guide who is assigned to your patrol (or sub patrol). You must be a First Class Scout to run for this position.

Description: The Patrol Leader is the elected leader of his patrol. He represents his patrol on the Patrol Leader's Council.

Comments: The Patrol Leader may easily be the most important job in the troop. He has the closest contact with the patrol members and is in the perfect position to help and guide them. The Patrol Leaders, along with the Senior Patrol Leader and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader are the primary members of the Patrol Leaders' Council. This position can be used for Star, Life and Eagle advancement.


SPECIFIC LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

• Appoints the Assistant Patrol Leader.
• Represents the patrol on the Patrol Leader's Council.
• Plans and steers patrol meetings.
• Assigns each patrol member a job and helps them succeed.
• Helps Scouts advance.
• Acts as the chief recruiter of new Scouts.
• Keeps patrol members informed.
• Knows what his patrol members and other leaders can do.
• Sets the example.
• Enthusiastically wears the uniform correctly.
• Lives by the Scout Oath and Law.
• Shows Scout Sprit.

You have an important job to do. All over the world, the patrol leader's job is known as the toughest in Scouting. It's where all the action takes place. It will take a real team effort to be a good patrol.

We all know what a group is. Most guys are a part of many groups. Perhaps you're on a ball team at school or church. You might have a brother or sister who is in a debating club at school. Mom and Dad might belong to groups, too.

In Scouting, your troop is such a group. The patrol leaders' council is such a group. Many parent soften serve on the troop committee, and that's a similar group. Your Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters work together. So, you see, it really fits right in when we discuss your patrol as a group. You and the rest of the guys in your patrol have many things in common. Of course, you are all Scouts. You all like to go camping and hiking. Everyone in the patrol is working to get to that next rank. You even have certain values in common, values that you pledge whenever you recite the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

Do you know what else you have in common? You. Yes, you. You're the leader. So don't let the thought of being a leader get all out of whack. Because, you see, even the leader is part of the group.

If you approach being a patrol leader with a "can-do" attitude you'll be all right. Stop and think about it for a minute. A short while ago, you didn't know much about Scouts, did you? That didn't stop you from joining. Perhaps even without knowing it, you adopted the "can-do" attitude. You did what you knew how to do and decided to learn to do the new things you'd need to do. Keep that attitude, and you'll be well on your way to success as a patrol leader and anything else you choose to do in life.

Frequently the patrol leader's first job will be to appoint an assistant patrol leader. Often he makes the appointment the same night he's elected. That's okay. But you don't have to make a snap decision. Appointing your assistant is on of the most important decisions you'll make as patrol leader. It can wait until tomorrow or even next week. It is important that you appoint the right scout.

Ask yourself some of the same questions you asked when you voted for patrol leader.

Who's ready to be the assistant patrol leader? Look at the rank each Scout in your patrol has achieved. Rank isn't everything, but it can be a good indication of how dedicated a Scout is to Scouting. It is also and easy way to judge knowledge of basic Scouting skills.

Who will the other patrol members respect? This is another way of asking who they will pay attention to. One good indication of what other Scouts think is provided by the voting ballots from the patrol leader election. While they don't tell who voted for whom. They tell who got the highest total number of votes. It's a safe bet that this Scout will be able to get the patrols attention when you're not around.

As a patrol leader, you're a voting member of your troop's PLC. This is where you really get to represent the interests of your patrol.

Now in order to represent your patrol, you have to know what those interests are. Once you know what your patrol wants, you'll be in a great position to help the Patrol Leaders' Council plan troop activities.

The patrol leader also selects other members of the patrol to perform specific duties.

The

is someone who is going to take notes at each patrol meeting as a record of what goes on. You'll use it to remind everyone of what went on at the last meeting. He can collect the money to buy food for the next campout. He can give the money to the grubmaster, who will give him back the receipt and any money left over.

The

is the guy who's in charge of making the menu, buying the food and making sure that the patrol eats right.

You will need a

. He'll need to keep all the patrol gear in order and make sure the patrol shines when it's time to check the troop gear back in.

You might select a

. He'll be the guy that can lead the patrol in songs, yells, stunts, and campfire programs.

There will be other jobs for other members of the patrol. Some of the jobs will be long term some of them may only last as long as a campout. Sharing leadership. It gives everyone in your patrol a chance to feel that they too have an important role to play.

Leaders who try to do everything often end up not doing anything. They suffer what is called "burnout." They try so hard to do it all, to be everything to everybody, to remember every detail, that eventually they find they're not doing much of anything the way it should be done. This leads to a lack of enthusiasm about doing anything.

The patrol is the ideal place to gain a good understanding of how important it is to share leadership, because there are plenty of jobs to go around. Sharing leadership gives every scout a chance to "buy in." You already know that if a plan is partly your creation, you're going to do your best to make sure everything comes out right, aren't you? Well, when you share leadership, you use other people's skills, ideas, and enthusiasm. That's how they buy in. You can bet they're going to work extra hard at making sure everything comes out right.