What's in a Word - Volunteer Manager

The impetus for writing this blog post came from the degree of interest I received in my most recent blog post, The A-Z of What Volunteers Want.  I thought that I would use a similar formula to write down some of the characteristics which a volunteer manager may exhibit.  There are many words to describe the many traits that a volunteer manager may have.  However to challenge myself, I have utilized a form of constrained writing to limit the choice of words that I use by writing my own list of characteristics of a volunteer manager in the form of an acrostic poem using the words Volunteer Manager.

Valued

Openness
Leadership
Uniqueness
Networking
Trust
Enthusiasm
Engagement
Resourcefulness

Maturity

Attitude (+ve)
Nice
Appreciation
Growth
Enterprising
Respect

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

I am sure that you have your own list of volunteer manager traits.
Be bold, be brave, be Creative.   Here’s your chance to – write your list!!!

You can also find this post on the I-Volunteer website.

If you would like to create your own word image like the one above go to the Wordie website and create your own.  Have Fun!!!

The A- Z of What Volunteers Want.

I was reflecting on my own volunteering experiences and decided to write down some of the reasons I enjoy volunteering.  To challenge myself and to be more creative I decided to make an alphabetical list of single words which describe my own impetus for volunteering and why I continue to enjoy volunteering. 

Appreciation

Belonging
Caring
Dedication
Enjoyment
Friendship
Guidance
Honesty
Involvement
Journey
Kindness
Leadership
Meaning
Nurture
Openness
People
Quality
Respect
Structure
Trust
Unity
Valued
Wisdom
X (a term used to indicate a person whose true name is unknown – many volunteers want anonymity)
Youthfulness
Zing (energy and enthusiasm)

Perhaps you can come up with a list of your own.  Be bold, be brave, be Creative.  You know you have your own list just bursting to come out.   So here’s your chance – write your list!!!

Creativity may be the key!

Have you ever woken up in the morning with a myriad of thoughts running through your head?  So many things to do, so little time.  Work things, family things, schedules, timetables, rosters, appointments, things to follow up on, places to go, things to buy and things to do.  These things can be so overwhelming at times that it can be difficult to focus on just one task and complete it.  My son suggested that I write a list which was amazingly cathartic as it allowed me to get everything onto paper and permitted me to clear my head and focus on one thing at a time.  Surprisingly, "making a list" is the first of "29 ways to stay creative" described in a blog post which I read recently.  See link below. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL19L7Zw9UpUhsYrOx-kP6RsKgzRXp7xmRBtkYnkOujrwb4_2EgxEo98Hk8asAV4LBt55vUcmHdHEOieAhU7vSpxblzyNoRzsPsD3bU_7BGi1eAXiuZxicterPaGOuAo8semZBZ1rQDxlY/s1600/29+Ways+to+Stay+Creatvie.jpg

Another dot point which resonated with me was "Allow yourself to make mistakes".  How often do we allow ourselves to be imobilized by the fear of making a mistake.  Mistakes are often a very quick way to learn.  In my own case many a creative idea has come from fixing a mistake and sometimes the result has been better than the original plan.  Yet another couple of dot points which made an impression on me, "Stop trying to be someone else's perfect" and "Surround yourself with creative people".  Dot point 21 "Break the Rules".  I am by no means condoning breaking the rules which guide and protect our society.  However I believe that the author is refering to the rules of artistic conformity such as "blue and gree should never be seen".  I often put blue and green together.  It is a great colour combination.  I purchased a home decorating book recently titled "Undecorate - the no-rules approach to interior design" by Christiane Lemieux.  I think what drew me to this book was that, rather than staying with one particular decorating style, the author suggests putting what you like together, forming an eclectic collection of things that you love.  I was very inspired by this list of 29 things and have printed it off and put it in my office.  I hope that you are inspired by this list.  If you would like a more visually creative version of this list see the youtube link below.

Thank You Speeches for Volunteers

About this time last year I wrote a guest post on DJ Cronin's Blog.  As we reflect on another year I feel that it is timely to repost this thank you message to volunteers. 

One of my favorite quotes is “To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world.”

You may never know the profound effect that you may have made on a person’s life. A kind word, a gentle touch or a listening ear can mean so much to someone who is sick, in pain or lonely. You generously give your gift of time to make contact, provide support and encouragement and perhaps provide humor to make someone’s day a bit more bearable because you have taken the time to care and to listen.

Change: Why does it scare us?

"The world we created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking".  Albert Einstein

“We do not decide our future.  We decide our habits and our habits determine our future”.  The Abundance Principle, Jeff D Strandridge and Tim Kellerman

"I cannot control what goes on outside but I can always control what goes on inside".   Wayne Dyer

 

Stephen Covey in his 90/10 Principle believes that 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.  He goes on to say that we really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.  We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic.  We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90% by your reaction to what happens to you.

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

Alexander Graham Bell (1847 – 1922)

"Until the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of change, people will choose to remain the same".  Anonymous.

Are we so scared of change that we are content to remain the same and yet are naïve enough to expect things to be different?  If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.  Do we embrace change when it comes, seeing it as an opportunity to grow, to try something new, to boldly go where no one has gone before or do we cling on to the past traditional ways of doing things,  lamenting being torn away from what is comfortable and familiar.  Are we scared to try something new because we fear failure or judgement by our peers?

The following quote resonated with me.

“To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the approval of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to give of one’s self, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived . . . This is to have succeeded.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

International Volunteer Managers Day

Happy International Volunteer Managers Day to all of the volunteer managers and coordinators who play an important role in the effective engagement of volunteers.  I would encourage you to visit the IVMD website and consider ways which you could support and celebrate IVMD.

http://www.volunteermanagersday.org/

Shamelessly Self-promote Volunteer Programs

The following post is a response to the Energize October 2011 Hot Topic by Susan J. Ellis “What Leaders of Volunteers Can DO to Gain Executive Attention”.

Thank you for your hot topic Susan.  It provides valuable insight in how we can gain attention for our sector.  I would like to perhaps extend your first point to include – Shamelessly Self-promote!

In the very competitive promotions industry, "shamelessly self-promote" was the catch cry of the printing franchise of our home based printing business.  While my career may have changed, I have continued this mantra as I feel it works for any industry including the volunteer management sector.

Volunteer Management is about having well designed and managed volunteer programs, which utilize the skills, abilities, intellect, passion and time of volunteers, to address community needs or value adding to an existing service.  However, as you suggest Susan, there may be some people within an organisation or in the general public who may be unaware of the extent of the volunteer programs and the role which volunteers play within an organisation.

Make it Fun!

Have you ever heard people lamenting that it’s Monday or saying “Thank god it’s Friday”.

No matter how much we love our jobs there will always be moments when we can’t wait for the weekend.  Moments of frustration over plans gone wrong with too many interruptions can sometimes wear us down.

I read a book a while back called “The Fish Omnibus” by Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., Harry Paul and John Christensen.  This is a compilation of several books based on “The Fish Philosophy”.  It is not a book about fishing; however it is a book about a Fish Market in Seattle in the U.S.A. – “The Pike Place Fish Market”.  The Pike Place Fish Market has been written about, been featured in videos and is known in training circles throughout the world.  Why did a fish market become internationally significant?  They revolutionised how they treat customers and in doing so made their own workplace fun.

Change Your Way of Thinking.

My inspiration for writing blogs often comes from either personal experience or from something that I have read.  My most recent post was inspired by a debate on International Womens day in 2010.  I found it on Youtube, used excerpts and posted the links.  One of the speakers had quoted “The Power Of Nice”, a book written by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval.  I have since borrowed this book from the library and have had difficulty putting it down.  It is brilliant!!!  Unfortunately in my enthusiasm to share this book with my work colleagues I left it at work.  I was all set to read more and become totally absorbed in the many examples of how being nice can have a profound effect in ways that would seem unimaginable but that is for another blog post, another day. 

 Instead I picked up a book which I had started to read a while ago entitled “The Idea Factory – A guide to more creative thinking and writing” by Valerie Parv.  Valerie speaks of the tendency in Thailand where the value of an endeavour is judged by how much “sanuk” it contains, which roughly translated, means fun.   So when did we start forgetting to have fun?  Did we have fun in the first place?  Who said life had to be boring and unfun?  Valerie goes on to describe the parts of the brain, the left brain which is the editor and the critic and the part that remains in charge most of the time and the right brain which is the creative side or the fun side.   It is the creative side which comes up with alternate ideas, thinking outside the box so to speak. 

Often a problem can be solved by looking at it from a different perspective to come up with a different or creative solution.  Consider the Post-it Note, born from the collaborative, creative thinking of two chemists, Dr Spence Silver and Art Fry, who turned a failed adhesive into one of the most commonly used stationery items around.  Creative people use ideas, which come from the right brain and put them into action, which is a left brain function.  So how do you know if you are a creative person?  Dr Denis Waitley suggests some characteristics which identify the creative person.

·        Optimism about the future

·        Discontent with the status quo

·        Curiosity and skill in observation

·        The ability to daydream and fantasise

·        An adventurous outlook and interest in many subjects

·        The ability to recognise and break bad habits

·        Independent thinking

So are you creative?  Would you like to be?  My challenge to you is to step away from the traditional, critical framework of thinking where we become bogged down by definitions and rigidity.  Rather, use your creative right brain to develop unique solutions.  Brainstorm with colleagues and make it fun.  You’ll be amazed what you can come up with.

Thank you for reading my blog post.

I would love to hear your creative solutions. 

So share them with the world.  Write a comment!!!

The Power of Nice in Volunteer Management

Linda Kaplan Thaler in her book, “The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness”, co-authored by Robin Koval, suggests that “nice has an image problem.” She goes on to say “Somewhere along the way, using the word nice became something you said when you had nothing else to say.”

How right you are Linda and how often do we, as volunteer managers, hear that word in reference to our roles.  In fact the other day, a colleague and I were discussing how our roles are often characterized by people, outside the volunteer management sector, by comments of “how nice!” While we cringe at the saccharine, somewhat patronising description of our jobs, we both agreed that there was nothing wrong with being nice.  In fact it was essential and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Blogs, Blogs and more blogs on Volunteer Management!!!

In Susan J. Ellis’ September Hot Topic Addressing Volunteerism Issues in the Blogosphere http://www.energizeinc.com/  she speaks of all of the wonderful information available on the blogosphere and explains the best way of utilizing this media via twitter and RSS feeds without getting information overload.  The internet has opened up opportunities to communicate on a global level.  We now have access to a plethora of information, all at our fingertips.  We can also connect and have discussions with volunteer management colleagues on the other side of the world.

I started a blog over a year ago on matters related to parenting teenagers.  For me this was a sort of therapy and hopefully was of assistance to other parents also going through the challenges of dealing with wayward teenagers.  With the experience gained from designing a blog, writing posts, placing comments and following stats I felt that I was ready to start another blog; this time on matters relating to volunteer management http://wendy-moore.blogspot.com/. The purpose of this blog was to support, encourage and inspire people in the field of volunteer management, through sharing information and ideas to take our sector and boldly go where no one has gone before.