About Wood Badge

Who is Wood Badge For?

Wood Badge is designed to meet the advanced leadership needs of ALL Scouters:

• Cubmasters and Den Leaders

• Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters

• Venturing Crew Advisors and Associate Advisors

• Skippers

• Post Advisors

• Committee Chairs and Committee members

• Registered adults in other Scouting positions

• Scouters serving at the District and Council levels and professional Scouters can also achieve greater effectiveness through Wood Badge.  

These leadership skills are also transferrable to your business, family, and personal life to make you a more effective leader in everything you do.

Why Should I Attend?

By taking Wood Badge, Scouters will acquire valuable leadership tools such as listening, communicating, conflict management, project planning and leading change. Participants will better learn to understand and appreciate diversity and differences in our society. They will learn skills that will help them become a better Scout leader as well as help them in all aspects of their life (work, family, personal, etc.). Units with trained leaders are able to deliver an improved program and a more meaningful experience for the youth Scouting serves.

Brief History of Wood Badge

The first Wood Badge course was held in 1919 at Gilwell Park in England.  The course was created by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement, in an effort to provide Scout Leaders practical training in the outdoors.  The first Wood Badge course held in the United States was in 1948 and focused on Scout skills for adult leaders in Troops.  In 1972, the course was modified to focus on 11 leadership competencies taught in business schools during the time.  The format of the course was based on the White Stag Junior Leadership Training out of Monterey, CA and was still only for Boy Scout leaders.  Later on, some specialized courses were created for Cub Scout Leaders and Explorer Leaders.  In 2002, the BSA introduced another major revision, Wood Badge for the 21st Century, which was modeled after the Order of the Arrow's National Leadership Seminar.  It was built on the latest leadership concepts and since its focus was on leadership skills, it was opened up to ALL BSA volunteer leaders (Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturing, and Exploring).  In 2020, the newest Wood Badge curriculum was introduced that focuses on 5 central themes and 14 leadership competencies that are currently being used in corporate America, academic circles, and successful organizations throughout the country.