I’m convinced that this really is a very special time for Scouting.  Never before has Scouting been more relevant or needed in society and we’ve never had quite the same chance to take advantage of this.  A little over ten years ago we were a declining and somewhat downhearted organisation. For a significant period we had seriously fallen behind the times.  Society had changed far quicker than Scouting had.  We were feeling tired, looking old fashioned and rapidly becoming irrelevant.  Young people in general were beginning to not really “get” Scouting and Scouting didn’t properly understand them – their needs, culture or aspirations. They, and our volunteers, left in droves.  In far too many places and in too many ways it felt remote and outdated.  Scouting had become preoccupied with itself.  Critically, the ‘method’ had overtaken the mission – our uniform felt more important than our ethos and our aim. 

Shared vision, common purpose and great leadership

Capable leadership, a bold vision and coherent strategy changed that considerably. Plans at all levels began pointing in the right direction towards our centenary and we acted robustly on the changes needed to become a growing, relevant, sound, focussed and diverse Movement. Our Chief Scout spoke consistently and with vision about “better Scouting for more young people”. This slogan took hold in our minds and remains there. Still it guides our sense of common purpose to develop Scouting.  However, if we really think about it, this ambition (being “better” for “more”) was actually relatively modest. But, it was probably right for turning around a shrinking organisation.

Why we must now go further

Today, we’re consistently growing, positive public perception is arguably at an all time high and, dare I say, we all feel prouder to be Scouts.  Whilst we’re not perfect, we are in exceptionally good shape.  None of this was easy or without contention, but we did it.  You did it.  Now we must do it again.  But what will inspire us this time?  The motivation back then was knowing that we had to turn Scouting around – we had to avoid terminal decline.  Now we’re growing, albeit at decreasing rate, and now we feel better about ourselves, why should we change?  Some will say, if it isn’t broken why fix it?  The easy answer to that is, if we don’t continue to change we will again lose pace with society and inevitably resume the descent we temporarily averted.  Moreover, if we strongly believe in the difference Scouting can make to young lives, we should surely and bravely aim even higher.  The question is, “how high”’?  After all, we Scouts like a challenge, don’t we? 

Good is the enemy of great

The motivation for our future vision must surely be ambition.  Rather than just “better” Scouting, surely we want consistently “outstanding” Scouting everywhere?  Rather than just “more”, surely we want to "grow significantly" so that far more young people benefit?

This is self-perpetuating because when we achieve great things and when we’re growing, we get a “buzz” and when we feel good we stay longer, others want to join us and we’re considerably more motivated. With far more of us, we can do far more for less and it’s more fun.  With outstanding Scouting experiences for far more young people we make a far bigger impact on their lives and on society.  Surely, that’s the kind of ambition we want for Scouting - to significantly grow outstanding Scouting, to be, not just good, but great!

Next time on the blog…

In my next blog entry I will say more about “being outstanding” and what this might mean for Scouting in the coming years.  In the meantime, I would love to hear about your achievements and examples of outstanding Scouting and your success stories of significant growth.  Please share them.