The Problem with Defining Leadership
The Problem with Defining Leadership Defining leadership is difficult. It's kind of like defining love, friendship, or goodness. And similarly, there are almost as many definitions as there are people you may ask. One major problem with defining leadership is the term can refer to a position or a person. The function of a person in charge of a group or company is typically called the leader. However, leadership also refers to the way in which a person oversees others. This second use of the word is what we're attempting to define. I've recently spent some time thinking through the ...
3 Reasons Church Leaders Don’t Start Great Volunteer Teams
Church Leaders and Volunteer Teams Great church leaders don’t always lead great volunteer teams. In fact, some hardly oversee any volunteer teams at all. These leaders may lead a team of temporary paid workers, or work nonstop making sure nothing falls through the cracks. I believe there are three main reasons church leaders don’t start and sustain great volunteer teams. Understanding these reasons can help unlock an army of volunteer talent your church may be missing. 3 Reasons Church Leaders Don’t Start Great Volunteer Teams 1. They don’t know how Has anyone ever taught you how to recruit, train, and ...
The Difference Between Leadership and Management
Understanding Management and Leadership Management and leadership are different in multiple ways. Understanding these differences makes a huge difference in how a volunteer administrator leads their volunteer team. John Kotter suggests, “management is about coping with complexity,” while, “leadership is about coping with change” (1995, p. 115). The idea being that managers focus on organizing the functions of an organization in order to decrease complexity while leaders look forward toward the future, inciting necessary change along the way. Hersey, Blanchard, and Johnson believe management is often associated with the skills of “planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling,” while leadership is associated ...
Leading Volunteers Through Change
Volunteer Change Management Leading volunteers through change is not easy. Those offering their time and talents to an organization tend to get used to how things are done and may not like any suggested change. Those leading volunteers may fear rocking the boat, where a suggested change may encourage a volunteer to rethink the time they spend with your organization overall. Below are 4 questions you can ask when considering change. The first two questions come from a technique called force field analysis by Kurt Lewin. This technique assumes every leadership situation contains driving and restraining forces. Driving forces represent ...
Are Volunteer Administrators Leaders?
Volunteer Administrators Amazing individuals oversee volunteers across the country every day. They consistently and creatively contribute to organizational missions through community partnerships and volunteers. They may work full-time, part-time, or are even unpaid. But are volunteer administrators leaders? Is their role valued within organizations as a leadership role? Volunteer Manager Research One of the most interesting articles I've read on this topic was published in 2016 by Nesbit, Rimes, Christensen, and Brudney. They interviewed 34 volunteer administrators from 20 different locations within a large library system. Their investigation focused on how individuals overseeing volunteers within a library viewed their role. ...
Understanding Volunteer Expectations
Understanding Volunteer Expectations When serving as a volunteer, have you ever said to yourself, "Oh no, what did I get myself into?" If so, you're not alone. Understanding volunteer exceptions is very important in order to retain volunteers during the on boarding process. In a 2016 research study Walker, Accadia, and Casta found that something called psychological contract breach is a contributing factor to volunteers quitting. The theory behind psychological contract breach believes that people form expectations (either stated or unstated) about how an organization will treat them in a certain role. When these expectations are not met, it's called ...