Leadership development is one the methods of Scouting, directly helping a Scout learn how to develop, nurture, and guide a team to accomplish a goal. Scouting is one of the finest examples of leadership training for our youth and once you are working on the ranks of Star, Life and Eagle, leadership becomes not only a requirement, but a cornerstone of your progress.

For the ranks of Star and Life you must hold a position of responsibility, or carry out a Scoutmaster approved leadership project to help the troop. Unlike the position of responsibility, there is no time frame for the length of a leadership project; however, it is expected that the leadership skills shown by a scout doing a project are the equivalent of those shown by someone who has served in a position for several months. A leadership project can not be used to replace the position of responsibility requirement for the rank of Eagle Scout.

What follows are the guidelines for what Troop 279 would like to see for a leadership project.

 

Scope

The intent of the leadership project is not to be compared to an Eagle Scout project. If a scout brings an acceptable leadership project idea to the Scoutmaster which could be considered similar in size and scope to that of an Eagle project, the scout will be cautioned; however, the scout will not be discouraged. We will not hold back a scout who wants to provide a lasting and large impact to their troop!

A leadership project must benefit the troop in some manner. This can be a direct benefit, or it can be something a little less direct. An example of an indirect benefit might be a community based service project. This benefits the community, but it also benefits the troop in that it raises the awareness of the troop within the community, which can be seen as recruiting and provides an opportunity for service hours for scouts within the troop.

Before a leadership project can begin it must be approved by the Scoutmaster.

 

Steps for a Leadership Project

In order to complete a leadership project you must do the following things:

1. Write a proposal and get approval for the leadership project from the Scoutmaster.
   • You can have your own idea, or if you can’t think of anything, talk with the Scoutmaster. There are always projects and tasks that the troop needs done.
   • Write up a short proposal for the project. This doesn’t not have to be anything elaborate. Touch on the highlights of the project, what impact you see it having on the troop, and why you think it shows leadership. Just a few paragraphs is fine.
   • You and the Scoutmaster should agree on expected outcomes for the project, or criteria in which means the project was successful.
   • You may be assigned a project coach to help you out.
      
2. Once you have approval, plan and carry out the project.
   • This portion of the project will usually require you to think through your plan, organize your tasks and communicate with others that you will be leading.
   • It will help a lot if you take notes of your plans and communicate often with those you are working with.
   • If you have questions, or get stuck, please reach out to your project coach, the other Youth Leadership or Scoutmasters for guidance. You have access to a lot of experience and we are here to help you succeed.
      
3. Complete an after-project report.
   • Write up a report detailing the outcome of the project. Include a brief description of how your project was organized, how you thought it went and what you learned from leading it. You should also include a list of all those that helped you on the project and how many hours each helper spent on the project.
     • What do you think went well?
     • What didn’t go according to plan, and how did you fix it?
     • Who was involved or helped, and how many hours did they help?
     • How do you feel you showed leadership in this project?
        
4. Request the requirement be signed off by the Scoutmaster.
   • Once you complete you project and turn in your project report you should meet with the Scoutmaster to have them sign off the requirement. An Assistant Scoutmaster can sign off on the project if they are designated to do so by the Scoutmaster.
   • In order for the requirement to be signed off the Scoutmaster must be able to see the leadership skills you have performed as part of the project. Understand that if you do not actually lead, or put forth effort to do your best for the project, the requirement will not be signed off and you may may have to perform another leadership project, or wait for an open role of responsibility to complete the requirement.
      

Note the requirement for a leadership project is simply that it must be approved by the Scoutmaster, and must benefit the troop. If for some reason a scout is unable to write out the project proposal, or after project report, the Scoutmaster can replace those steps with a discussion with the scout covering the same information at their discretion. The purpose for requesting the steps of writing out the proposal and report is so that scout will be more inclined to think through the project before them, as well as give them have a deeper understanding to what they have accomplished. It will also help prepare them for the greater amount of paperwork required for an Eagle Scout project.