Most Scouts want to lead, and they want to lead for a multitude of reasons. First they need leadership for the next rank. Then maybe they want to be the guy up front, although that usually does not come in the younger the boys. Then perhaps they think they can do better than the last guy. What ever the reason it is the job of the adult leaders to train the youth leaders in leadership.
Namely that Bosses never lead and Leaders never boss.
I have seen Scouts that love the power of the patch. They have the position, so they immediately assume they are the boss.
They can stand by and direct their patrol, never lifting a finger and imposing their will against “Lower Patrol members”. This Boss typically proves to be ineffective and rarely gets his patrol to do anything but gripe.
Bosses are by nature pushy and demanding. They do not understand the led and do not try to gain an understanding of what makes the led tick. The Boss does things, not to better the organization, but for self promotion and gain.
The Leader on the other hand understands that you have to provide Purpose, Direction, and Motivation to the group. That he is still a member of the Patrol and should lead by example. He understands that motivating a group based on the interest and direction of the Patrol is the best way to accomplish a task, and that when they work together, they can accomplish anything.
Leaders are not pushy.. they motivate.
Leaders are not Demanding…they provide purpose to the Patrol.
Leaders are not selfish…they put the Patrol ahead of themselves and do things for the good of the Patrols gain and promotion.
Leaders never Boss… and Boss’s never Lead. It is the difference between a high performance team, and a team that barely gets by.
