Usually there’s a lot of work involved in making it look easy…

I remember being a Wood Badge participant like it was yesterday. I arrived at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship early. I was so excited to be there. My friend Ken was also a participant so I already had a friend there…

Everything was so cool! Gilwell Hall (the barn) was decked out in all things scouting – posters, flags, pictures... Staffers were dressed in the complete uniform and looked really sharp. The patrol areas were arranged. My Troop Guide, Scott was waiting to greet me with a friendly smile and a warm personality. I set up my tent (it was the second time I had done so – first time was in my living room as a practice) and met my fellow patrol mates as they arrived… The whole atmosphere of the entire two weekends was focused on us, the participants. In my mind as I drove away, I wondered if the barn was set up so nicely all the time if it was reserved just for Wood Badge and Scout training…

As a staffer, I found out the truth. That it took a full day to just get the site ready and that staff actually begin preparing for the course up to six months ahead of time – preparing presentations, planning for logistics, organizing every detail. The goal is in fact to be so prepared that the focus is on ensuring that the participants have an experience like no other – in Scouting or elsewhere. For new staffers, becoming entrenched in the syllabus along with the logistical preparations is key. The holes are filled in for those gaps that didn’t necessarily get connected when they were participants in planning for making those connections for the next wave of participants.

I was talking with my friend Chip, who consequently is the Course Director for our very next Wood Badge course in March, about one of the great results of staffing the course. Staffers become even better leaders. The old adage “if you want to really learn something, teach it” is true. As a participant, I know there were nuggets of wisdom that I missed and didn’t understand until I had the syllabus in hand as a staffer. Each new staffer receives a thick 3-ring binder that details each day of the course. Every presentation and activity has a Learning Objective, Materials needed, and a Delivery Method.

Staffers are not participants, but the value they receive in the hard work of preparation (and it is hard work), is an even better understanding of the leadership values taught. I’m certain, that they return to their packs, troops, crews, teams, and ships, districts, etc., and are even more ready to make a difference in the lives of the youth and fellow volunteers they serve.

And they make it look easy.