Welcome!

1. Welcome! Make yourself comfortable. We will start soon.

2. Commissioner Basic Training

3. Commissioner Pledge On my honor I will do my best, by example in my daily lifeto make the Scout Oath and Law a more vital forcefor good character and citizenship in the livesof the youth and leaders I serve. I will do my best to help secure, and help to make effective the finest possible leadership, for the units I serve. I will do my best, to help make the program of the units I serve,the best that can be given, rich in wholesome fun and adventure. In all that I do, I will strive to help my unitsattract into membership, every possible youthso that through their participation, those youth can help make America a finer, greater nationin a world community.

4. Introductions • Teaching Staff • Commissioner  Commissioner • Commissioner  Commissioner • Commissioner  District Executive • Commissioner • Admin Staff • TBD

5. Introductions • Name • Present job/Commissioner position in Scouting • Previous positions held • Tenure • Awards earned

6. District Commissioner and Assistant District Commissioner

8. History of Commissioner Service • Position of National Commissioner, first held by Daniel Carter Beard, created to provide some consistancy in uniforming, programming and field operation • First local council leaders were called Scout commissioners • During the early years of growth, commissioner service was the one unifying factor that made Scouting permanent • Initial paid professional staff developed from volunteer commissioner staff • Both paid executives and volunteer commissioners were the “administrators” of Scouting, establishing the partnership between volunteer and professional which continues to this day.

9. The Commissioner Concept • The only reason for having commissioners is to help units succeed • The commissioner is the liaison between the local council and Scouting units. • The commissioner's mission is to • Keep units operating at maximum efficiency, • Maintain regular contact with unit leaders, • Counsel leaders on where to find assistance, • Note weaknesses in programs, • And suggest remedies. • The commissioner is successful when units effectively deliver the ideals of Scouting to their members.

10. Expectations and Accountability ADCs achieve service responsibilities through their UCs with their back up and support

11. Accountability 101 – Where to Start Establish expectations Roles, Responsibilities & Expectations Position Descriptions

12. Annual Service Plan

13. Webelos to Scout Transition Facilitate communication Insure cooperation Respect feeder system

14. Recruiting Members Help with plans Assist with paper work Help unit sell program

15. Recharter Complete unit membership inventory Train unit leaders on both electronic and paper aspects of rechartering Monitor membership and charter forms for completeness and signatures Give all assistance needed On time is primary goal of staff

16. Annual Self-Assessment and Journey to Excellence (JTE) Visit unit leaders and help them conduct annual self-assessment Work with unit leaders to complete JTE annual quality goals Collected completed self-assessments and quality goals and turn in to DC and council

17. Journey To Excellence Performance Recognition Program • Growth • Quality • Sustainability

18. Journey To Excellence • Utilizes a balanced scorecard approach • Key performance indicators to measure outcomes versus process • Not only measures growth, but looks at the kind of experience the boys are having

19. Journey To Excellence Your Role in JTE as a Commissioner You’re not an Umpire You’re not a Judge or the police You are a friend, a mentor and a coach And maybe help a bit with scorekeeping 19

20. Journey To Excellence • JTE helps Units. It brings: • A framework for planning for the year • A method for evaluating the Unit • Assessment of how they’re doing in the key areas found in great Units • Guidance in areas where they might do better • Specific guidelines and standards of what is good performance • Early warning of potential problem areas • Recognition for good performance • Benchmarking to get ideas and tips from other good units

21. Journey To Excellence • Gives national standards • Advancement • Camping • Service projects • Training • Membership • Retention • Leadership • Budget • Bronze, Silver, and Gold award levels • And did the Unit show improvement? • Assessment made during charter renewal month

22. Journey to Excellence - Troop

23. Emphasis of Journey to Excellence Continuous Improvement is a Goal • Did the Unit do measurably better in key areas than last year? • OR are they already performing at a high level in those areas? Either way, the Unit can qualify for the standard

24. Emphasis of Journey to Excellence • Program and Participation in the Unit (Membership) are most important factors • Administrative factors are considered • Factors which are early indicators of Unit strength and health are identified and assessed

25. Journey To Excellence • Unit Changes in 2013 • New Explorer Post scorecard • ScoutStrongis now in the physical fitness criterion • Training changes now require 2/3 instead of all

26. National Strategic Plan Every eligible youth has an opportunity to be involved in a quality Scouting experience Every local council is fiscally sound The number of volunteers is dramatically increased at all levels of Scouting Chartered organizations and strategic alliances are identified and engaged Enough professionals are identified, developed, and retained at all levels

27. District and Council Commissioner service Unit Commissioner recruiting UC unit visits District Committee Increase membership in committee Functioning Key-3 Council – Youth-serving Executives Council – Endowment committee

28. Lead by example If your actions demonstrate you aren’t accountable …..You just set the real standard “Walk the talk” Encourage continuous, open dialog between “senior leaders” and “front line leaders” Visit your “units” (Service Areas, Districts) at roundtables, meetings, CAMPOREES, summer camp, etc. Talk to the “troops” (those not wearing silver/gold tabs) Be responsive

29. Hold people accountable You get what you measure Performance Tasks and Action Items Periodic performance evaluations and feedback Obtain commitments What do your meetings focus on? Your agenda documents what is important Meeting agenda triage Sometimes you can’t cover every topic

30. Be Human – be compassionate This is a volunteer position Motivational factors are not the same as a paid position Ask don’t tell More critical than when paid Lead by coaching and mentoring – not by driving Friendship and camaraderie Shared goals and objectives; a feeling of caring Success Breeds Success Establish a climate that publically recognizes success District Award of Merit & Silver Beaver nominations

31. If All Else Fails…… When (not if or where) necessary, action is taken to improve performance Up to and including “FIRING” those that refuse to be accountable We don’t really fire volunteers. We reassign them to positions “More consistent with their available time, desires & strengths.” But you have to be able to “pull the trigger” However, be careful of: “Paralysis by analysis” “Buck-fever” Second chances work Reassignment

32. Four “Secrets” to Accountability Establish Expectations Obtain Commitments Measure Performance Reward Success Accountability is valuable to ensure the quality of the program at all levels, from top to bottom. In large organizations SELF POLICING accountability should be quasi-MANDATORY.

33. Determine the status of each unit and district Consider the personnel already in place Unit Service Assessment

34. What tools are available? Self-Assessment Tools Journey to Excellence UVTS Council Reports

35. UVTS - Purpose • Evaluate the unit’s progress toward achieving the JTE goals • Review the unit’s goals, successes, and vision for the coming year • Identify any areas of improvement--leadership, program, and membership • Determine any specific actions needing to be taken to assist with unit improvements and determine who will follow up on those actions. • Schedule any necessary follow-up to monitor progress

36. UVTS – Who Uses All commissioners can access Unit Visit Tracking System; however, your view within the site and the actions you can perform there depend upon your commissioner role. Commissioners can view, add, and edit visit information and they can view their most recent five visits in the Recent Visits frame on the Home page.

37. UVTS – Who Uses • Commissioners can add visit information about the units within the council organizational structure to which they are assigned. • Unit commissioners can view the visits made by commissioners in their district. • District commissioners can view the visits made by commissioners in their district. • Council commissioners can view the visits made by the commissioners in their council.

38. UVTS - When • After any unit visit or interaction by a commissioner • Annually to review strengths and areas of improvement to help provide direction for needed support, preferably six months prior to the annual charter renewal • As needed when a problem arises • When Unit Leadership changes

39. UVTS - Electronic Evaluation Tool • Documents the status of every unit • Allows for a variety of “visit types” • Tagged to key performance measures • Planning • Program • Leadership • Tone • Attendance • NOW Quick and Easy to use • Downloads to excel for a variety of trending purposes

40. UVTS - Electronic Evaluation Tool • Easy way to keep track of units across District • Useful tool for DC/ADC/UC communications • Useful tool for UC turnover • Built in capability to trend performance measures or a unit • Easier way to populate the monthly report for unit visits • Single source of useful data like unit tenure • UVTS required measure under J2E • The future…………opportunity to automate Unit Health Reports etc.

41. UVTS Accessed via myscouting.org

42. Input Screen #1

43. Input Screen #2

44. Input Screen #3

45. Adding a Focus

46. District Totals Report

47. Commissioner’s Roles • Friend • Representative • Unit "doctor" • Teacher • Counselor

48. Council Mission • Voluntary association of citizens & chartered organization representatives • Promotes Scouting within a geographical area • Guides & supports districts to • Make Scouting available to youth • Provide adequate funds • Maintain standards and policies • Serve organizations using the Scouting programs

49. District Mission • Ensures growth & success of Scouting units within the district's territory • Works through chartered organizations and community groups to organize and support successful units

50. Commissioner Overview There are three Types of Commissioners Administrative Commissioners Unit Commissioners Roundtable Commissioners