volunteerplaintalk

Category: leadership

  • Thanks to the volunteers who lied, stole and created havoc

    Photo by Samuel Wu00f6lfl on Pexels.com

    Do you ever gush, “Thank you to of all the wonderful volunteers who have inspired me, enriched my soul and taught me compassion?” Yeah, that’s my go-to line because I mean it and I bet you do, too. Besides, isn’t thanking what we volunteer managers do best? (well maybe next to being annoyingly humble)

    Volunteers shape us and teach us how to be better leaders. So, maybe we should also thank the volunteers who taught us the lessons that strengthen our characters. You know the ones. Their memories are seared into your psyche like the time you dropped your phone when you learned a trusted volunteer called a client “idiot.”  You slunk back to your office when the CEO told you a volunteer tried to sell his daughter’s beat up Chevy to a client’s son. You found a seat way in back and kept your mouth closed in meetings after a volunteer wrote that oddly kind, but wildly misguided letter to the editor, calling your staff “an army of swat unicorns who invade with guns shooting helping dust.”

    Mop-up lessons are hard when they occur

    You never intended a volunteer to try and convert a client’s family to their religious or political beliefs. These are the mop-up lessons. You mop up the mess, apologizing profusely, hoping no one thinks that all volunteers act this way, while explaining that you never gave volunteers permission to move in with a client or take out an ad in the local paper and alter the logo to make it look like it was smiling.

    But, honest mistakes aside, think about all the clients saved from unscrupulous volunteers because you learned a hard lesson. Think about all the necessary precautions you take because you were put through the wringer. Think about the watchful eye you developed because you were caught unaware.

    Mopping up after mistakes equips us with vigilance.

    Many years ago, volunteer Jacob lied to my face. Again and again. I believed him, not because he was charming and convincing, but because I wanted to believe him. I believed in the romantic notion that all people would set aside their personal agendas for the greater good. I lived in a faerie world in which all volunteers understood the mission and eagerly awaited my instructions so they could change the world.

    Jacob showed me that I had to be realistic if I truly wanted to do right by our clients. He showed me that healthy watchfulness did not diminish my job, but rather elevated it to a higher level of purposefulness.

    Matching volunteers to vulnerable clients takes more than kindness

    You’ve been through this. We struggle to explain all the carefully measured thought and actions required to match volunteers to clients and programs.  Faeries are lovely, but we live in the real world. In the real world, placing volunteers with vulnerable clients takes discerning judgement, careful pairing and keen watchfulness. 

    I’ve had volunteers who stole, volunteers who pushed an agenda, volunteers who wanted to take over and volunteers who were just mean. I’m still surprised by volunteers who talk a good game and then cause real harm. I’ve also had volunteers who messed up royally because they did something nice, but so misplaced that it caused real harm.

    So, I thank Jacob and the others for giving me a discerning nature, for strengthening my resolve to do right and for teaching me that compassion takes the courage to be a sentry.

    The volunteers who cause harm never intend to teach us anything. Their intent lies deep within their own needs.

    But every one of these volunteers teach us lessons that mold us into a better leader of volunteers. They teach us to trust, yet verify and to protect the vulnerable people we serve. A successful leader of volunteers must be strong. Conviction means doing what is right, even when it is hard. It means saying no with kindness.

    So, let’s silently thank them for those often painful lessons that shape us into stronger leaders.

    They never intended to teach us something valuable, but they did, so thanks, you guys.

    -Meridian

    This is updated from a 2017 post.

  • Hey #LoVols Reputation, Meet Our Self-Identity

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    So, what’s next for leaders of volunteers? #WeGetToRevampEveryVolunteerRoleSoVolunteersActuallyWantToVolunteerWithUsWhatAConcept!

    Ok, maybe we should take it one step at a time. To reframe volunteer engagement and impact, we first need listeners who become supporters who then become advocates for our vision.

    Tall order, right? It’s hard enough to get anyone to listen, much less champion the ideas we are advocating for. This is where reputation comes in.

    And who will listen to us if our reputation paints us as:

    • meek and mild
    • having fun
    • doing easy stuff
    • always apologizing
    • always running around putting out fires
    • reactive versus proactive
    • unable to fill requests
    • babbling on and on about how wonderful the volunteers are
    • in charge of the fluff
    • not involved in the nitty gritty planning work
    • going along to get along

    Being known as proactive vs. reactive

    Taking control of the conversation surrounding your volunteer program begins by taking control of your reputation as the leader of volunteers. Look at it like this: Let’s say you go to a bank to open an account. Two bankers are working that day and as you wait, you listen to them talk to clients.

    A tale of two bankers, or who the heck would you trust with your money?

    One banker is animated, showing her client the various accounts available. She points to stats, but doesn’t rattle off numbers. She explains how each statistic impacts the client’s vision for financial success. She offers multiple paths to success so the client can grow their investments. She explains in detail how each account functions, their positives and their challenges and yet assures the client that with her expert guidance, financial success will come.

    Photo by Frans Van Heerden on Pexels.com

    The other banker looks harried. He fumbles through a stack of papers, dropping them on the floor and apologizes for the lack of available options. He grabs a board he obviously made himself that displays the various colors the client can choose for a checkbook cover and points to the blue one, saying “this color is really pretty, don’t you think? “

    Who would you pick? (and if you picked the banker who spent his time showing checkbook cover colors, you’re most definitely a volunteer manager who has spent a lot of time “rescuing people,” am I right?)

    Perceptions are created in the first few minutes.

    And to make matters worse, once a perception is established, people then look for signs that reinforce the perception. (We all do it BTW, which is why I always gave this one pompous marketing executive the incomplete copy of a report-cause I figured he’d never read it and I always waited for him to ask where the rest of the report was, but he never did) So, if you’re perceived as being in charge of fluff, people will notice anything that reinforces that perception. Boom, you now have a reputation because people talk.

    Establish the reputation you deserve

    Start by doing small things that produce big reputation results.

    • Speak up in meetings in an advocating way-most of us get caught off guard in situations so create a few well-crafted opening statements and memorize them. For example, “Volunteers have contributed a lot to that program and here’s how,” or “This is a great opportunity for our volunteers to contribute, let me show you how,” or “Just a reminder that our volunteers are involved in that initiative and so far, they’ve…” Opening statements make it soooooo much easier to quell any jitters about speaking up. And you know what? Pretty soon, when you open your mouth to speak, others will chime in, “yeah, we know, volunteers are contributing because….” But that’s great, because the phrases will cement themselves and your professional reputation improves.
    • explain how volunteers are having fun because you are working at making a welcoming environment for volunteers. Say, “because we don’t pay our volunteers, their reward for a job well done includes having an enjoyable atmosphere in which to work. That’s why I work hard to create fun around them.”
    • explain the work involved in engaging volunteers (see Not So Fast, Captain Obvious for more on explaining volunteer engagement)
    • NEVER, EVER apologize because a volunteer can’t fulfill an assignment (see Volunteer Managers are better than These 3 Phrases for more about re-framing apologies)
    • flip the perception which means emphasize the positive versus reacting to the negative. When staff say, “I have a last minute request, so not sure if you can get someone,” instead of saying, “I’ll try,” say “Most volunteers are willing to do last minute requests because they want to help us reach our goals.”
    • offer solutions with this caveat: we can do more with me at the planning table
    • stop going along to get along to be liked. Instead aim to be respected as a professional. Being respected has little similarity to being liked. Liked is for your friends, family, dog, hamster, hairdresser, maybe the guy who rotates your tires cause he’ll throw an oil change in for free. Respected is the professional’s goal. Respected means you accomplish stuff and do the hard things without complaint. It means you are fair, mission focused and strong.

    Know it or not, YOU are the face of your volunteer program and the perceptions of how your program is run, lies with you. It can feel overwhelming, but once you take control of the perceptions, you emerge with the reputation as… a leader of volunteers.

    I’m not saying it’s easy and I’m not saying it’s instantaneous. But it is doable.

    And besides, when have you, volunteer professionals ever backed down from a challenge? (Uh huh, thought so)

    -Meridian