Train Them, Trust Them, Let Them Lead

Leadership is a skill like any other, it takes time to grow. That’s easy to say, but when we are looking for leaders for our own organizations, we often envision an individual who is establish, poised for success, and has every item on an imagined (and often impossible) personality checklist. Our associations take our time and passion and who wants to hand that over to someone underprepared with possibly a different vision of the future? Turning the keys over to someone new is never easy, but training, trusting, and allowing future leaders to take control is paramount to creating an association that lives long past the founders.

Train Them

Imagine walking into a situation with no instructions, no rules, no timelines. Are you likely to find fulfillment and success? Absolutely not! Yet, this is often the scenario volunteers face as they step into a new role. They can, of course, look to their predecessors, but building out guiderails encourages more buy in from a newcomer and allows them to walk forward with confidence. Onboarding is essential and can be done easily with just a few steps:

1. Job Description: Every position should have a job description. Taking this step seriously prevents misunderstandings. WHAT does this position do? WHO do they report to and who reports to them? WHEN is this individual required to be a meetings, complete reports, or finish the task? Clearly state metrics of success so leaders can self-evaluate and adjust as they become more comfortable in their role.
2. Share the mission: Why is this organization important and what is the overall direction the board wants to see? Volunteers have their own value statement when choosing to give their time and aligning vision early helps new individuals see the larger picture while still leaving room for innovation.
3. Come Alongside: A smooth offboarding and onboarding happen simultaneously. The former leader demonstrates how the task has been done and allows the newcomer to watch how they run a meeting or shows them documentation related to the task. They allow questions without judgement and try to assess gaps in knowledge that only they can fill from their experience. The new volunteer should know where they can go for further advice and mentorship.

Trust Them

Fear is the biggest detractor from success. Fear from established leadership on whether a new volunteer can fulfill a task and fear from a fresh leader on whether they are fulfilling their obligations.

Micro-volunteerism is a powerful tool to build out the skills you want to see in a volunteer. Not only do small tasks help build your volunteer base, but they allow you to see how an individual will react to challenging situations. As they handle small tasks, they become ready for more important charges and trust is built between the individual and the organization.

Support and affirmation is cherished by anyone in a new situation and taking the time to recognize volunteers is important regardless of longevity in a role. But it is particularly important to helping grow confidence in new leaders. As stated above, volunteers should have clearly communicated metrics of success to strive towards. Timely feedback should be given frequently with helpful criticism being given in private and copious praise given in public. A volunteer who knows they are on the right track will step forward in certainty and will give more of their talents to an organization that believes in them!

Let Them Lead

The hardest part of turning over the reigns to a new leader is stepping back and letting them make decisions. But if you have prepared them properly, set guidelines and expectations for success, and provided a support system should they need it, you can and should let them lead as they see fit.

Not all decisions are critical ones. Allowing space for different tactics and practices allows your volunteer to take ownership of the position. Remember those guiderails we set out earlier? As long as they are operating within stated goals and objectives, a new volunteer should be given the bandwidth to “do things their own way.” They should even be given space to fail. A small “failure” leads to growth and often prevents larger struggles. Established leaders should always keep an eye on crucial processes and outcomes, but allowing some minor struggles and variation in practices allows your volunteers to become true leaders.

Finally, changes implemented by a new volunteer should be welcomed. You chose them for this task and you have trained them for success. Embracing new ideas from new people keeps your association agile and more likely to withstand the changing tides of society.