What
Makes a Good Volunteer Leader?
Leaders set the tone for each committee
or task force and, through their personal style and level of commitment,
determine a group’s ability to
achieve its goals. Here you will find useful tools and techniques to help you
lead your group to succeed from the start.
Because leading a successful group requires
commitment and dedication to advancing the mission and goals of ASPEN, be
sure that you and your team understand ASPEN’s mission and vision as well as the Society’s strategic initiatives. You will also need a clear understanding of your charge
[link to charge list].
There are many different types of
leadership and it is wise to keep in mind that there is no single correct way
to lead. While some people are born leaders, most of us learn to be good
leaders. According to HR World, an online resource for Human Resources professionals, good
leaders possess or develop the following 10 traits:
- Vision: A
clear and vivid picture of where to go.
- Integrity:
The integration of outward actions and inner values.
- Dedication:
Devoting the time and energy necessary to accomplishing the tasks at hand.
- Magnanimity:
Making sure that credit for success is spread as widely as possible.
- Humility:
Recognizing that leaders are no better or worse than the other members of
the team.
- Openness:
Being open to new ideas, even if they don’t conform to the usual way of
thinking.
- Creativity:
The ability to think differently and to get outside the box that
constrains solutions.
- Fairness:
Dealing with others consistently and justly.
- Assertiveness:
The ability to state clearly what is expected of others in order to
prevent misunderstandings.
- Sense of humor:
Using humor to both diffuse tension and energize others.
Apart from their skills and
expertise, every volunteer leader contributes their own personal style to the
organization. Remember: The messages you send to those around you, both
intended and unintended, can have a significant impact on your success. This is
why it is essential to ask yourself the following questions as you develop your
own personal leadership style and role:
What
does leadership mean to you?
- Do you believe you must bring a vision to the job?
If so, how can you use it to motivate others?
- Are you a person who prefers to lead by developing a
consensus among your team?
- Do you prefer to avoid conflict with your team, or do
you know how to use conflict to benefit the team and its goals?
How
do you plan to use your leadership?
- Will you work to create a strong group that succeeds
with you as the chair or do you see yourself using your talents and
skills to attract others to a leadership position?
- Will you focus on establishing the group so that once
it has become viable and sustaining, those who follow can grow it larger?
- Will you keep your career duties and goals separate
from your group leadership role or will you seek to use one of your
roles to help you succeed with the other?
What
will you do to cultivate and mentor new leaders and those who will succeed you
in your role as a volunteer leader?
- Do you prefer to work with leaders in other
organizations from whom you can learn and network?
- Do you enjoy being a mentor to young professionals as
they assist you to help them develop in their careers?
- Will you reach out to those who represent the next generation of leaders to demonstrate to them how they can rise to positions of influence and responsibility or will you prefer to let others on your team focus on that area of leadership? Will you develop your own plan to cultivate and mentor new leaders?
Succession planning
It is critical that volunteer leaders
remember that in order for their efforts to be sustainable, new leaders must be
recruited, welcomed, and prepared to take on leadership roles.
As a leader, one of your roles is to
motivate committee members to become actively involved in the group and bring
fresh ideas and inspiration. Planning for new leadership (sometimes referred to
as succession planning) should be written into your leadership position
roles and included in your annual plan as an objective and task.