{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Tim Kidd, UK Chief Commissioner","standfirst":"I\u2019m coming to the end of my five years as UK Chief Commissioner. It\u2019s been a privilege and an honour to hold this role, though at times it\u2019s been a bit scary too.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/1350/tim-kidd.jpg","width":600,"height":340,"altText":"","caption":"UK Chief Commissioner, Tim Kidd chatting to a young Scout","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EThere are exciting times ahead as Carl Hankinson takes on the role of UK Chief Commissioner with huge energy and vision. Together with his UK Leadership Team, he\u2019ll lead our movement as Scouts recovers from the pandemic and continues to create fabulous adventures for young people.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs many people do when it\u2019s time to move on, I\u2019ve been reflecting on my experiences. There are some key points that I think are important and that I\u2019ll carry with me into the future.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWe do better as part of a team.\u003C/strong\u003E I understand that I don\u2019t know all the answers \u2013\u00A0and that there are some things that I\u2019m just not good at! That\u2019s where the team is really important.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve enjoyed the outstanding support of my Team UK colleagues, in particular, Graeme and Kester (Deputy UK Chief Commissioners), who are also stepping down in September. They\u2019ve been unwavering in their focus on how we help the movement and have kept me on track, gently (but firmly) pointing out when I might be doing something silly.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStaff and volunteers work so well together.\u003C/strong\u003E We\u2019re lucky to have such brilliant staff who, just like the volunteers, serve our movement. We each bring strengths to Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELots of the staff\u2019s work isn\u2019t noticed, but without the close working of staff and volunteers, Scouts simply wouldn\u2019t be able to run. I\u2019ve been bolstered and supported by many staff members as we\u2019ve tackled some difficult challenges together. Scouts\u2019 staff have my gratitude and my deep respect.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYou can\u2019t please everyone\u003C/strong\u003E. There are always decisions to be made, and as everyone knows, it\u2019s not always easy to make them. With a movement of our size, there will always be different views.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy sense is that sometimes we could express our differences of opinion in a gentler way. I\u2019ve had some very strongly worded messages over the past five years that seem to lose sight of the fact that we\u2019re all human beings trying our best. It makes me even more determined that we should live by our Promise and our Scout values.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe most difficult circumstances can bring out the best in people\u003C/strong\u003E. I couldn\u2019t reflect on my time at Scouts without mentioning the pandemic. Everyone in Scouts has faced some astonishing challenges over the past 18 months \u2013 young people and adults alike. My heart soars when I think about the way we changed from face-to-face meetings to online sessions within a week.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was a big challenge. We all had to dig deep to find strength and ideas that worked. And our Scouts family did just that in spades! I joined hundreds of section meetings, AGMs, and award ceremonies and witnessed fantastic work.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy deepest thanks to everyone in our great movement, whatever you do. For us adults, being part of Scouts is a great privilege, for young people it is a right \u2013 a right that we must fight and stand up for. We need to be prepared to adapt what we do so that Scouts remains relevant for years to come.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are changes ahead of us, and I\u2019m sure that Carl and his UK Leadership Team are well placed to lead us through.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEnjoy your Scouting!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith best wishes,\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETim.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"03 August 2021","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Welcoming our new UK Chief Commissioner and Chair of the Board of Trustees","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/january/welcome-to-our-new-uk-chief-commissioner-and-our-new-chair-of-the-board-of-trustees/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"The road ahead","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/november/the-road-ahead/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"UK Chief Commissioner","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/about-us/our-people/uk-chief-commissioner/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Team UK","url":"/volunteer/uk-scouts-volunteering/uk-leadership-team/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Board of Trustees","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/about-us/our-people/board-of-trustees/","newWindow":false}],"id":50878,"nodeName":"Five years went so quickly","title":"Five years went so quickly","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/1350/tim-kidd.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1daefdf4123ed70","caption":"Tim-Kidd.jpg","type":"jpg","size":58495,"width":600,"height":340,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Five years went so quickly","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"UK Chief Commissioner, Tim Kidd, reflects on his five years in the role","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDg3OCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/august/five-years-went-so-quickly/"}