Patrol Leaders' Council

BSA Troop 147-Holland, MI

One of the most significant (and least widely known) benefits of scouting is the leadership experience that young men are able to get. It is almost impossible to get anywhere near the degree of leadership experience typical in scouting outside of scouting before adulthood.

The patrol leaders' council (historically also known as troop leaders' council and court of honor) plans and runs the troop's program and activities and gives long-range direction with an annual planning conference that lays out the troop's calendar for the coming year. Composed of the troop's youth leaders, the patrol leaders' council also meets each month to fine-tune upcoming troop meetings and outings. They might also get together briefly after each troop meeting to review the plans for the next troop meeting and make any adjustments to ensure its success.

Meetings of the patrol leaders' council are conducted by the senior patrol leader. Patrol leaders and troop guides present the ideas and concerns of their patrols, then take the council's decisions to the rest of the troop members.

The Scoutmaster attends patrol leaders' council meetings as a coach and an informational resource. The Scoutmaster and troop committee retain veto power over decisions of the patrol leaders' council, but should need to exercise it only on rare occasions when the plans of the patrol leaders' council would violate BSA policy or could lead to a situation that might jeopardize the safety and well-being of troop members.

Troop Goals for 2007/2008

These are the over-arching goals set by the Patrol Leaders' Council at their most recent annual planning conference:

Have at least one patrol outing per patrol this year
Patrol Leaders make verbal contact with every scout in their patrol each week via in person, phone, etc.
Start and end weekly meetings on time.
Provide a scout coordinator for every outing and event

Position Descriptions

Senior Patrol Leader

Assistant Senior Patrol Leader

Troop Guide

Patrol Leader (here is more guidance on this position)

Den Chief (here is more guidance on this position)

Order of the A rrow Troop Representative (here is more guidance on this position)

Troop Bugler (here and here are more guidance on this position)

Troop Chaplain Aide (here and here are more guidance on this position)

PLC Meeting Agenda

Here is the agenda we are using to plan our troop meetings.

Leadership Training Materials

The following document was written to supplement the Patrol Leaders' Handbook and the Senior Patrol Leaders' Handbook. It contains pragmatic guidance on leadership that will benefit boy leaders immediately.
Patrol Leaders' Handbook Supplement
The following document is the complete staff guide for teaching the National Youth Leadership Training Course: Staff Guide.
The following web site is dedicated to teaching leadership skills to boy leaders: White Stag Leadership Development: Resources for Junior Leader Training
The following is a 300 page guide to teaching boy scouts leadership skills: Resources for Leadership

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