What Is A Commissioner?
Back to "Commissioner Service Page"
According to "The Language Of Scouting", a commissioner is a volunteer Scouter who works with packs, troops, and teams/crews to help the units succeed. The commissioned personnel of a council includes all professional Scouter's and all commissioners. The typical English dictionary definition is...
Commissioner: A person or persons entrusted with special duties and authority to act as agent; an appointment that confers rank or authority.
This is why all BSA commissioners receive a commissioning ceremony in which they are charged with their commission's duty and responsibility.
Commissioners are by definition leaders and as such, have the capacity to lead. However, our goal is to help others lead (i.e., to be successful leaders). In a sense, we are leading others to realizing their own confidence as a leader. As such, commissioners tend to take on the roles of friend, representative, doctor, teacher, and counselor. Perhaps the most descriptive term for a commissioner is facilitator (a combination of coach/mentor and enabler/empowerer). Of the many skills a commissioner must master, the process of information exchange is perhaps the most beneficial to everyone they work with and serve.
NOTE: Over the past few decades, the definition of leadership and the classic leader models have changed. However, the basic definition has not changed... Leadership is a process of getting things done or achieving certain goals through people. A good leader accomplishes this by respecting others and helping them learn and grow through their own Scouting experiences.