Over
the next three posts I am going to share with you 12 essential qualifications
for local officers lifted straight from Orders and Regulations for Local
Officers. Here are the first four.
(BTW: Most of these principles apply to CO’s and just
about any other kind of leader. The
names of the titles change and the responsibility may be different, but that’s
about the only difference.)
Qualification #1: The Local Officer is able to take on
responsibility
She
will have the capacity to take on responsibility for a particularly section or
role in the corps. Ideally she will have
had some area of responsibility in other areas of her life, perhaps as a
supervisor, teacher or parent. Taking on
responsibility means being able to carry out the four functions of management;
planning, leadership, organising and control.
It may be that this position is a stretch for the local officer (in fact
all the better if it is – it will enable her to grow), but it should be within
her grasp.
Qualification #2: The Local Officer is able to advise and
assist the Corps Officer
After
settling in to the position, the local officer will be expected to be an
advisor and assistant to the corps officer.
He should be able to give guidance to the CO about the best course of
action for his own specialist area of work and for the corps generally. From
the CO’s point of view, the best kind of local officer is one who forms a team
with his colleague local officers to closely support the CO in understanding
the needs of the corps, planning and decision-making. He will become one of a trusted team of
confidants who together will own the responsibility for taking the corps forward.
Qualification #3: The Local officer is able
to work in the corps and work in
regular employment
This is
not to say that a stay-at-home-mum or a retiree cannot be a local officer. Rather it is meant to imply that local
officership is a service to God, not a paid position. The old saying, “If you want to get a job
done, ask a busy person” tends to be true of most good local officers. Their zest for life is evident in the corps
and in other areas of their life.
(Warning: Work / Life balance can
be an issue – more on that in a future post.)
Qualification #4: The Local Officer is a Godly, loyal and
devoted Salvationist
I once
had a conversation with some Salvationists who shared with me the pain of being
associated with local officers who did not have this qualification.
In
their corps two of the local officers were both egocentric and selfish people,
who sought glory for themselves. In
fact, just under the surface, a lifelong competition for attention had raged
between them. One day this competitiveness
burst into the open when they had a loud and fierce argument in front of many
members of the corps. Both acted in an
ungodly and disloyal way, but neither would back down, apologise or even admit
they had acted inappropriately. Over
the ensuing weeks, they dragged more and more people into the conflict until
the whole corps was divided into two factions.
Further, the other local officers and the corps officer did not act to
bring the warring factions to resolution.
Within a few months the corps crashed from a regular attendance of
several hundred to about forty.
I
cannot say it strongly enough, local officers must be Godly, loyal and
devoted Salvationists.
Some questions to ponder:
- Can you be certain you would never act in the way
the egocentric local officers did?
- If you were the Corps Sergeant Major or Corps
Officer in this situation what would you do?
- If you were the corps officer of local officers who
were not Godly, loyal and devoted, what would you do to bring them up to
standard?
- Do you know any corps officers who do not meet these
qualifications? If you were their Divisional Commander
what would you do?
- If you are a corps officer who has some local officers who are like those described in “Qualification 4” above, you have a problem. What are you going to do to judiciously and carefully address it?
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