Evaluate, Review, Reflect

Even as our Scouts are looking at what they need to do, what they have done, and what they think they can do, we should be doing the same thing. Evaluating our performance, reviewing our goals, and reflecting on the difference between the two are important aspects of leadership, and of Scouting in general. Through the advancement method, we teach Scouts to set goals, do their best, evaluate their performance, and learn from their experiences. To be effective unit leaders, we must do the same thing.

Looking Back

At every opportunity, a Scouter needs to evaluate what he or she is doing. The Scoutmaster needs to evaluate how effective his Scoutmaster Conferences and Scoutmaster Minutes are. The Committee Chair needs to evaluate how good a job the unit committee is doing. Evaluation is the only way we can see where we are, compared to where we've been and where we want to go. Like a Scout, we set a goal for ourselves, work toward that goal, and occasionally look back to see how much progress we've made.

If you've ever tried hiking in deep snow, you'll have a pretty good idea how important evaluating our progress can be. You see, if we just start hiking through the snow, pretty soon we start thinking about how far we've gone, and how far we have to go. If we don't look back, chances are we'll think we've progressed farther than we have. The longer we go without looking back at our progress, the more discouraged we'll be when we finally do.

That doesn't mean we need to look back at our progress every couple steps. That can be equally discouraging because we won't be able to see much progress. The trick is to look back just often enough to reassure ourselves that we're making progress, and that our progress is in the right direction. The rest of the time, we need to keep one eye on where we're going, and one eye on where we want to be.

So, when we evaluate the job we're doing, we're basically making sure we're going in the right direction, looking at what adjustments need to be made, and estimating how far we have traveled. Our evaluation helps us review and reflect on what we're doing, just like evaluation helps a Scout understand what he's learned, and figure out what he needs to do.

Looking Forward

In almost everything we do, we spend most of our time looking forward, so you may ask why it's so important to talk about it here. Well, think about the last time you drove to work. Most of the time you spent looking at the road in front of you. Occasionally you checked your mirrors, and looked around at the traffic around you, but most of the time you were looking at where you were going. So, ask yourself, how many times have you made that trip. How many times have you found yourself pulling into the parking lot with only a vague memory of how you got there? That's what happens when we become to familiar with what we're doing or where we're going. We know the path so well, we hardly notice it as we travel.

In Scouting, and indeed in life, we need to review where we're going occasionally, just as a reminder. For many long-time Scouters, the job they do is very familiar. They've been there, and done that so many times they're hardly surprised. Reviewing the things we do helps us keep our eyes open. When we take the time to review our goals, If we're familiar with the path to our goal, like the route to our place of work, reviewing helps us look for detours that may crop up, or problems we may encounter. When we couple that with evaluating, we're better prepared to deal with sudden changes that need to be made. Reviewing is mentally going over the route or path, and helps us anticipate the things that might come up as we travel.

Looking In

Reflection is as important as, and sometimes more important than, evaluating and reviewing. Reflection is what helps a Scout learn to tie a bowline. Evaluation helps he see the mistakes he makes on his first couple tries. Reviewing helps him see what the end result of a bowline is supposed to be like. Reflection helps him make the leap between what he's done, and where he wants to go. The same is true in everything we do, including our jobs in Scouting.

Like that Tenderfoot, a Scouter is taught how to do his or her job, does the job for a while, and then reflects on the experience. That reflection helps the Scouter learn how to apply his or her knowledge of the job using his or her personal abilities. Through reflection, we learn what we're good at, and what we're not so good at. That helps us be better adult leaders, because it focuses our attention on the things we need to improve.

If we don't reflect on what we've done, or are doing, we can't learn from the experience until it's too late. Reflection should be a natural part of what we do as leaders, just as reviewing and evaluating should be. It's what we want our Scouts to do.

Tying It All Up In Knots

A normal program year in a Scouting unit provides plenty of opportunities for evaluation, review, and reflecting. We, as Scouters, should take full advantage of these opportunities to ensure we are doing the best we can for our Scouts. We also need to encourage our Scouts to evaluate, review, and reflect on not only their advancement goals, but also their jobs as leaders, and their life "outside" Scouting.

Teach your Scouts that complaining about a problem doesn't make it go away. We should evaluate the situation to figure out why the problem occurred. We should review the situation to see how the problem affected our goals. And, we should reflect on the situation to see what can be learned from the problem. But, remind them that problems are not the only things that should be evaluated, reviewed, and reflected. The things we do that are successful, or go off without a hitch, can also teach us a thing or two.