I Don’t Matter to You
Posted on July 15th, 2009 by Cynthia D'Amour
(Am I wrong?)
You asked me to serve on your committee.
- Pretty high visi-posure.
- Important work.
- Required my special skills.
I attended first meeting two months ago.
- Process explained.
- Assignments made.
- And then nothing.
I feel like I’m in a black hole.
- No communication.
- No support.
- No clue if I’m on the right track.
Deadline is looming.
- My enthusiasm has waned.
- Unreturned emails leave me wanting.
- Does my contribution really matter?
Maybe I only dreamed I was part of your team?
Makes me think of chapter leaders…do your volunteers feel like they matter to you?
Filed under: Keeping members, Savvy Leadership
If I had a nickel for every time this sad state of affairs has happened to me and the organizations I’ve worked work with, I could retire comfortably to an exotic island.
It’s one thing when this happens in for-profit organizations where people get paid whether or not their skills and commitment are used well. But for volunteer organizations, this spells disaster.
Lots of good intentions never see the light of day because people are comfortable espousing great ideas but not following through. Accountability quickly falls through the cracks. Ideas are cheap. It’s execution that really counts, on everyone’s part.
It’s leadership’s responsibility to lay out clear parameters for effective communication and accountability for results. It’s an old cliche but still worth mentioning: Leaders need to walk the talk, not sometimes but all the time. Anything less is a waste of resources, especially valuable talent.
Hi Pam!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I totally agree with you.
The challenge is how do we get committee leaders and board chairs to embrace the important role they play?
I’ve heard from a lot of people, some still in pain, say they can totally relate to this story.
Perhaps the easiest way for chapters to get more volunteers is to take care of the ones they have. What a novel concept.