Like I have said before, Leaders are not born they are made. Some men seem to be born to greatness however, whether that is due to family bonds and position or the person is born with the attitude of greatness. Now what is that?
Well we see those people that seem to have plenty of attitude, positive or negative, but it manifests early in life. You would think that this person was destined to be great.
On the football field there are those player that seem to be natural in a certain position, in a Scout Troop there are those Scouts that have no problem standing in front of a group and leading. They seem comfortable in group situations and never shy away from leadership.

Some athletes achieve greatness with practice and dedication to skills, some Scouts achieve greatness or become leaders through practice and skills development. They may not have been comfortable, but as time goes by they develop that confidence and set of skills that allow them to dare to be great.

Our advancement program at times Thrust greatness upon the leader. Situations that we put our Scouts in to be successful help the Scout achieve greatness. Putting the Scout in a position that may be slightly uncomfortable, a situation to make tough decisions, a position to make a difference, a change, a positive impact on the troop or patrol. These all thrust the Scout into a position that he can achieve greatness.

Now we can debate the word greatness, and we can argue that we should not put our Scouts in that position, but if we don’t… someone else will, and at least in Scouting we can control the elements to a certain degree. We can focus the task and coach through the outcome, we can set the conditions to allow for success.

This weekend my Troop will be conducting Troop Junior Leader Training. Our Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and our most recent past Senior Patrol Leader will be thrust into greatness. They will be the trainers. They will be put in a position to make a difference, and impact on the Troop. Being the trainers they will be looked upon by the Adult leaders and the youth leaders alike to be an example of leadership… of greatness.

I am proud of them and all of our Scouts. They probably have not read Shakespeare, they more than likely have no desire to be great, and they certainly don’t ask for greatness, but the things they do, the positions they are thrust into, and the desire and willingness to lead make them great in my eyes.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”- John Quincy Adams.

Have a Great Scouting Day!