For those who know me, I used to be a commissioner, and to have a family in positions of power is just plain bad business. I would always encourage units to fill leadership positions with people who are not related. The "positions of power" to me, are the CC, the CM, the COR and the treasurer. Having a husband as one, and the wife as another are just bad ideas…but that is me.

I have seen the fallout of that, and it's not good. If the family moves or leaves the unit, then there are 2 high profile positions that need to be filled. If there is a conflict with the married couple, then a unit can get polarized. Or, some of the other parents in the unit will call it the "Smith's pack" and not want to step up to take on a leadership role, or think that the "Smith's" are power hungry.

I pose the question…

Is this a good idea, and what do you think about hubby/wife combos in the Power Positions? I understand that sometimes, it is a necessary evil, due to unit size or location…but in general, do you think it's a good idea or bad idea?

Sometimes it's a more effective leadership on a short term basis, because theoretically there's decent communication between a husband and wife, but I wholly agree that in the long run, it's better to diversify your group for all the reasons you mentioned.

Diversity is healthy regardless – you wouldn't want the same personality type in every position.  You also don't want an entire unit to be made up of the same family youth-wise.  A crew of 10 kids is a decent sized crew, but not if six of those kids are all from the same family!  If that family can't attend, an event would likely get cancelled.

That being said, how does a unit avoid getting backed into that sort of corner?  Especially if you're in a rural area?  I can see playing "musical positions" to keep a decent balance if you've got 60 families in your unit, but what happens when you've only got 12?