Leaders

Essentials of Scout Leadership

The 1938 Handbook for Scoutmasters identified 10 essentials for what it called "Scoutmastership." Here is a slightly updated -- and still quite relevant -- version of the list:

• A belief in youth that will make you want to invest yourself and your time on their behalf.

• A zeal focused on one point: the young person's happiness through the formative years.

• An immense faith in Scouting as the program that will best serve to mold our youth into fine adults.

• A realization that to the youth Scouting is a game -- and to you a game with a purpose: character building and citizenship training.

• A knowledge that to the youth you serve, you are Scouting.

• A steadfastness of purpose to carry out the planned program with energy, perseverance, patience and good humor.

• A willingness to submerge yourself and make youth leaders lead and grow through an effective application of the patrol method.

• A desire to advance in Scout leadership by making use of training offered and material available on the subject.

• A readiness to work hand in hand with the home, religious institution, chartered organization, school, local council and National Council for the good of the individual youth and community as a whole.

• A love of the outdoors in all its phases and a vision of the hand that created it.