Promoting volunteer leadership
Abstract
Volunteers working as individuals can accomplish many things, but volunteers working together as a team, with effective leadership, can accomplish much more. The Seniors for Habitat initiative incorporated formal "volunteer leader" positions into the core elements of the demonstration project by emphasizing the importance of the volunteer leader's role in teambuilding. This practice was excerpted from the Seniors for Habitat Effective Practices Manual, May 2001.Issue
While some volunteers are born leaders, others need to be persuaded or helped in taking a leadership role.Action
The Seniors for Habitat (SFH) demonstration project incorporated formal "volunteer leader" positions into the core elements of SFH and emphasized the importance of the volunteer leader's role in teambuilding.
The projects discovered that finding volunteer leaders to help coordinate volunteers, organize activities, or foster a sense of team spirit was not always easy. There were some volunteers who naturally fell into leadership roles and simply needed to be asked to take on the formal role of volunteer leader. There were other individuals that were attracted by the responsibilities outlined in a particular volunteer leader job description and joined SFH for the express purpose of being a volunteer leader. In most cases, however, volunteer leaders emerged only after being encouraged and convinced of their worth as a volunteer.
Joe, for example, didn't want to be a volunteer leader on the construction site. He wasn't convinced that he knew much more than any of the other RSVP volunteers on the site and didn't want to assume any kind of responsibility for the actions of others. He also balked at the idea of committing himself to work 20 hours per week for Habitat For Humanity (HFH). The SFH coordinator and the HFH construction manager acknowledged Joe's concerns and did their best to address them. The most effective thing they did was to ask Joe to orient a few new volunteers to the site one day and demonstrate how to hang drywall the next. After a short while, Joe was regularly demonstrating construction techniques to less experienced volunteers and answering questions as they came up. The coordinators were extremely grateful for Joe's contributions on-site and took several opportunities to tell him so. Eventually, Joe realized that he did have a few things to share with other volunteers and could handle the added responsibilities of being a volunteer lead. With Joe on board, the SFH coordinator knew she had new strength in her volunteer team.
Whether a volunteer leader steps right up for the job or has to be coaxed and encouraged, the possibilities once they are on board are limitless.
Context
Beginning in the spring of 1999, eight RSVP chapters and eight Habitat for Humanity affiliates teamed up to explore the potential for an effective and mutually beneficial partnership between their organizations. They created an effective practices manual to document lessons learned from the Seniors for Habitat demonstration projects.Citation
Corporation for National and Community Service. Seniors for Habitat Effective Practices Manual. Washington, DC.: Corporation for National and Community Service, May 2001.Outcome
Volunteer leaders can help build the volunteer team and take on some of the responsibilities of coordinating and motivating volunteers. Volunteer leaders also can be some of the best recruiters for the program because they've become so invested in the program's mission.Posted On
September 14, 2001For More Information
Resources
From The Resource Center library:
Seniors for Habitat Effective Practices Manual
Item number: M1962