Who's pulling the Wagon?

In developing young men to be leaders, it is important to remember that the best leaders were and are good followers. In Scouting we call it Servant leadership. Leading a group of individuals working as a team to accomplish something.. even if that something is just plain fun and games.

We tend to focus on leadership a lot in Scouting and the Scouts are always looking for that opportunity to lead, weather it is for the next rank, or to show the other Scouts that they are capable of leading.

But sometimes you need to ask, Who's pulling the wagon? We all want to be in the leadership wagon, taking the leadership ride, but if we are all leading, who is following?

Sometimes it is ok to take the back seat, or get out front and pull the wagon and let someone else lead for a while. We see it in our Patrols.. a whole lot of chiefs, and no Indians, as we used to put it.

Being a good follower makes one a good leader. You can learn a lot from watching in the follower role. Watch success and learn from mistakes. Take it all in and try to do something different when its your turn to lead.

Pull the wagon once in a while. It is a refreshing view.

Happy Scouting!