Supervision

Those who manage, lead, or work alongside volunteers often give advice to their teams, and may be surprised and perhaps frustrated when it's not acted upon. This can happen both in situations where volunteers have a lot of independence and authority to act on their own, but also when we try to encourage less experienced volunteers to make their own decisions.

In turn, volunteers may offer us helpful advice. Do we always receive it well? In this feature article, author Kirsty McDowell explores why understanding the ‘psychology of giving and receiving advice’ can help volunteer managers improve volunteer leadership practices and encourage people to act on their advice. 

Those who manage, lead, or work alongside volunteers often give advice to their teams, and may be surprised and perhaps frustrated when it's not acted upon. This can happen both in situations where volunteers have a lot of independence and authority to act on their own, but also when we try to encourage less experienced volunteers to make their own decisions.

In turn, volunteers may offer us helpful advice. Do we always receive it well? In this feature article, author Kirsty McDowell explores why understanding the ‘psychology of giving and receiving advice’ can help volunteer managers improve volunteer leadership practices and encourage people to act on their advice. 

When it comes to volunteer leadership, experienced volunteer manager Meridian Swift believes that two models dominate: reactive or proactive. But in this e-Volunteerism feature, Swift argues that it’s time to break the cycle of being a reactive volunteer manager – someone who waits for volunteer requests and then works hard to fulfill them – and ease into proactive volunteer management that anticipates needs and consistently networks with the decision-making staff.

“While reactive volunteer management will get the job done, proactive volunteer management frees us to take control and responsibility for volunteer services, to become creative, expand our circle of influence, have a hand in decision making and ultimately elevate ourselves within our organizations,” writes Swift. Through examples and additional insights, Swift outlines the way to proactive leadership for current and future volunteer leaders.

Think of how meaningful and useful it would be to peer inside the heart of every one of your volunteers – to understand what is important to them, what inspires them, what gets them excited, what taps into their passion, and what keeps them dedicated to your mission. Or you could gain insight into the factors that may diminish their enthusiasm or make them feel a little less jazzed about serving the cause. 

Sound like some crystal ball fantasy? It doesn’t have to be. Leaders in high-performing organizations are already doing this through what is called coaching, a form of leadership that sounds deceptively simple yet takes skill to do effectively and some practice to master.

In this feature article, author Barry Altland shows how dedicating time to engage in scheduled, ongoing, and meaningful conversations with longer-term volunteers reveals what is in their hearts that drives their choice to continue to serve. The key? Ask the right questions. Listen intently. Probe a little deeper than the occasional, casual hallway conversation allows. As Altland explains, this strategic, purposeful, and proactive time investment can and will make the difference in sustaining the engagement of more volunteers.       

Due to the nature of volunteering, this sector of society is not often associated with conflict. However, like the wider community, conflict within volunteer-involving organisations can be a persistent problem. Although most volunteers enjoy positive and fulfilling experiences and are generally satisfied with the volunteering process, research undertaken by Volunteering WA shows that around 10 per cent of volunteers have been involved in a conflict with an organisation where they have volunteered.

This feature article by Denise Bertilone, the Research & Project Officer at Volunteering WA, describes how conflict develops and focuses on conflict and conflict resolution within volunteer-involving organisations in Western Australia. It examines some of the sources and results, and features personalized accounts of volunteers’ experiences with conflict and its aftermath. It seeks to stimulate discussion on whether or not an independent redress mechanism is a necessity for the volunteering sector, and whether or not volunteer organizations should implement grievance policies and procedures.       

It’s a challenge that leaders of volunteers have always faced: how to retain productive volunteers. According to Volunteering in America 2008, one in three American volunteers dropped out in 2007, and this lack of retention can be costly. True, some turnover is expected and even projected. Oftentimes though, good volunteers are lost because of exceedingly preventable reasons. In addition to general retention issues, burnout is often cited as a reason for volunteer attrition. Volunteer resources managers would benefit from understanding the causes of burnout; ways to mitigate and prevent burnout; and how to identify burnout in their unpaid staff members.

This issue of Along the Web can help volunteer resources managers maintain a strong volunteer base. Written by Erick C. Lear, it begins with general information regarding volunteer retention, includes academic literature on the subject, and then offers specific suggestions and strategies for improving retention and preventing burnout among volunteers. Finally, threeunique self-tests are included to help volunteer managers identify those volunteers who may be at risk of burnout. 

How can an organization and its volunteers get more done for the people and the communities they serve? In this article, Graham Allcott, the former CEO of Student Volunteering England and the author of the new book called How to be a Productivity Ninja, combines his love of volunteering with his passion for productivity to discuss how productivity techniques can help organizations, volunteers and volunteer managers be more productive. One secret? According to Allcott, it’s learning the art of letting small but bad things happen. 

As the new editor of the Training Designs section, Sue Jones shares her perspective on the importance of training in volunteer management. In her first column for e-Volunteerism, she notes that training is not the same as learning, and that leaders of volunteers need to recognize all the opportunities to increase the skills and understanding of every volunteer. In fact, she makes the case that concern for learning is vital to each stage of a volunteer’s experience, from newcomer to veteran. After reading this Training Design, we predict you’ll look at training from a whole new viewpoint and become more intentional in daily training activities.