Leadership Summit. Developing Strategic Leaders

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2 Leadership Summit Developing Strategic Leaders

3 Using Motivation and Engagement to Ensure Volunteer Success Francine Edwards, PhD

4 Session Overview: Understanding Behavioral Styles Maximizing Potential Through Motivation Top Causes for Disengagement How to Build a Volunteer-Centric Culture How to Be Responsive to Volunteer Needs

5 Food for thought Think of yourself as a volunteer. What does the following question mean to you? As good as they give?

6 Principles that underpin volunteering Volunteering encourages civic participation and demonstrates active citizenship Volunteering is an expression of the individual's freedom to choose Volunteering is unwaged and benefits from being a reciprocal gift relationship that meets the needs of organizations and volunteers Volunteering promotes inclusion and should be open to all Volunteering enables people and communities to influence and contribute to social change Volunteering works best when it is guided by good practice

7 MODULE 1: Understanding Behavioral Styles While behavioral traits and other individual differences are important, behavior is jointly determined by the person and the situation Certain situations bring out the best in people, and someone who is a poor performer in one job may turn into a star in a different role

8 The DiSC Behavioral Assessment: What is behavior? DiSC is a simple but useful model used to describe human behavior. 1. Behavior is defined as what do you say and what do you do. 2. Behavior is observable. 3. Behavior is situational 4. Behavior is our response to the environment 5. Behavior is different from personality which is relatively unchanging 6. Behavior can be coached we can learn to adapt our behavior to be more effective

9 The DiSC Behavioral Assessment The DiSC model discusses four specific reference points: Dominance: direct, strong-willed, and forceful Influence: sociable, talkative, and lively Steadiness: gentle, accommodating, and soft-hearted Conscientiousness: private, analytical, and logical

10 Management s Use of the DiSC Behavioral Assessment The DiSC assessment is important for managers because it will enable them to: Better orchestrate people to get work done Effectively diminish conflict Understand the dynamics of the styles (which allows you to give director and support volunteers)

11 EXERCISE: DiSC Personality Profile In order to understand those around us we must first understand ourselves. Instructions: 1. Choose the setting in which your responses will be made: Work, home, church, social, etc. 2. Carefully read the four phrases in each box below. Circle the number adjacent to the phrase MOST descriptive of you in the setting you have chosen. (The number is irrelevant at this point.) 3. Circle the number adjacent to the phrase that is LEAST descriptive of you in the setting you have chosen. (The number is irrelevant at this point.) 4. For each box, choose ONLY ONE Most" and ONLY ONE "Least" response. 5. This sheet should be completed within SEVEN MINUTES.

12 DiSC Behavioral Assessment

13 GROUP EXERCISE: DiSC Behavioral Shopping Spree For each question on the list, pick someone in this room who you think would respond affirmatively. If you get a positive response from a person, ask him or her to sign by the question, and then go to another question on the list that you think describes that person well. Continue until he or she disagrees. If someone disagrees with you, find someone else in the room who will agree that the question describes him or her. Your goal is to get as many signatures as possible.

14 MODULE 2: Maximizing Potential Through Motivation Human nature has been sold short... [we all have] a higher nature which includes the need for meaningful work, for responsibility, for creativeness, for being fair and just, for doing what is worthwhile and for preferring to do it well. -Abraham Maslow

15 Positive expectancy What is positive expectancy and how does it differ from simply having a positive attitude? Being merely positive is looking at a given set of circumstances and finding the good in the situations you are placed. Positive expectancy taps into a different kind of power. It takes a positive attitude to the next level. Positive expectancy is the idea of expecting the results that you want in life and believing that you will receive them.

16 Four guiding principles for motivating others Replace criticism with an environment of safety and respect Replace coercion with choice Replace a demand for compliance with an invitation that evokes commitment Replace crisis management with clear vision Simply put Replace ineffective leadership with effective coaching.

17 What motivates volunteers Three basic categories of motivation (paid or unpaid work) Additional categories of motivation (for volunteers) Achievement Desire to achieve excellence Affiliation Desired fit Power Desire for influence & control Altruistic For the good of community Instrumental Gain experience/new skills Obligation Debt to society

18 Keeping volunteers engaged VolunteerMatch.com provides the following key points for engaging Volunteers: Respect Holding regular meetings Be accessible Establish reliable go-betweens Be accurate and detailed Praise and recognize accomplishments Build community Be flexible Lead by example

19 MODULE 3: Top Causes for Disengagement Volunteer engagement is the number-one thing you can measure to help you determine whether your association is healthy or not. What does this mean?

20 Why volunteers leave Sometimes it can be difficult to keep volunteers engaged and committed. There are ways that you can ensure that volunteer turnover is low, but the key is to understand and recognize signs of disengagement. Lack of personal attention Not acknowledging volunteers/no rewards Not enough team-building time Limited resources spent on volunteers Unclear expectations Lack of engagement

21 Exploring the things we value in a working environment Working conditions The work itself Management procedures Relationships with colleagues

22 Providing training A few reasons why organizations should consider training: Unusual or highly-skilled volunteer roles may be difficult to fill unless relevant training is provided. Many people volunteer in order to learn and develop new skills and knowledge, thus they welcome training. Training helps ensure that everyone can meet organizational standards of work. Funders may expect or demand training for workers involved in the projects they fund. Volunteers may need training in particular organizational procedures. Training is an important element in risk management and meeting regulations i.e. health and safety, data protection. Training demonstrates the value placed on the voluntary work being done and the volunteers who do it. Training is vital in the development of quality in an organization. Training demonstrates the organization's commitment to providing a high-quality service to staff, funders, service-users and the wider community.

23 A volunteer code of practice A code of practice is a set of guidelines that lay out how you expect volunteers involved with your organization to behave in their volunteer roles Along with the volunteer role description, it makes clear each volunteer s role and defines the limits of their work and responsibilities. The code of practice should also make clear the consequences of contravening the standards set. Putting these standards in writing makes them explicit and gives them weight, so that everyone is aware of what is and is not acceptable.

24 MODULE 4: How to Build a Volunteer-Centric Culture Think about the last time you volunteered (or didn t volunteer!) What did you like, what didn t you like? Were they organized? Did you feel appreciated? Discuss pros and cons

25 An organization of appreciation Organizations that do volunteer management well actually meet the needs of their volunteers Treat volunteers as if they were your most valuable asset Design reward programs that influence people to develop their own potential Pay attention to the work environment is it working (equipment, furniture, working conditions, etc.) Encourage managers to work for their employees (be the type of manager that is committed to developing talent)

26 The foundation of a volunteer-centric culture 1. Find ways to measure, communicate and acknowledge the dollar value that volunteers provide to your organization. This hard data is also critical to the decision-making process of investing more time and money into developing volunteer talent. 2. Create a new volunteer packet and/or networking event to encourage a welcoming and inclusive volunteer culture. 3. Adopt a volunteer philosophy statement on the value volunteers bring to the organization and the role they play. 4. Develop an organizational climate that places decision-making and awareness of changing volunteer conditions at the center of executive decisions. 5. Review volunteer policies and procedures. Without compromising risk management, determine if organizational safeguards can be put into place without overwhelming volunteers.

27 MODULE 5: How to Be Responsive to Volunteer Needs It s easier to retain existing volunteers, rather than recruit new ones. A study commissioned by the UPS Foundation (2012) found that twofifths of volunteers stopped volunteering for an organization at some time because of one or more poor volunteer management practices. Be responsive to the needs of those volunteering for you.

28 Support and supervision Support has been defined as The interest, understanding and care which is provided for volunteers, which keeps them going all the time and additionally in times of crisis and enables them to satisfy their needs and those of the organization. Supervision, on the other hand, is described as, A way of monitoring a volunteer s performance to help them benefit from their placement, to make sure they are carrying out tasks appropriately, encourage problem-solving and provide guidance.

29 Support and supervision (continued) The functions of support activities are to: focus on the person set up an environment where volunteers can express themselves combat isolation which sometimes accompanies volunteer roles help resolve problems help a volunteer feel good about what they are doing and show that they are valued The functions of supervision are: monitoring work and work performance evaluating work and work performance clarifying priorities identifying training needs discussing the volunteering task and responsibilities; improving confidence and competence in doing the work recognizing and dealing with problems

30 Supporting the person Eight broad types of support: Offering advice Giving information Direct action Training Changing systems Personal support Facilitating mutual support Supervisory support

31 How you provide support Eight broad types of support: One-to-one vs. group support Ideally good to combine both Manager/supervisor vs. peers Volunteers can be encouraged to support each other Takes some burden off manager In person vs. at a distance Remember that communication is vital regardless of which format Choose forms of communication that work best for both parties Scheduled vs. on demand Encourage volunteers to seek your support and be flexible in providing it

32 Avoid overload and volunteer burnout Be upfront in the recruiting process Implement effective project management Communicate better Interchange responsibilities Create better (more inviting) volunteer positions Keep volunteers integrated not overwhelmed

33 To sum it all up Organizations that invest in volunteers and high standards of recruiting, training and supporting volunteers will be able to prove to funders, stakeholders, volunteers and service users that the contribution of volunteers is valued and that they are wellmanaged. This is no simple task to motivate and engage volunteers. It takes resources and an expressed commitment to supporting the involvement of volunteers. Motivating and engaging volunteers is a two-way process that benefits volunteers and the organization.

34 QUESTIONS?