Hot
Topic Archive
December
2003
Is
professionalism strangling progress?
by
Andy Fryar
Besides
volunteerism, one of my greatest passions is surf
fishing. It's an activity I am happy to travel many
thousands of kilometres to pursue and one I undertake
whenever the opportunity makes itself available.
My
most recent expedition saw me travel almost 2500 kilometres
to fish a remote location called 'Yalata' - an aboriginal
community located in the Great Australian Bight, on
the edge of Australia's Nullabor Plain.
The
remote location meant no phone coverage, TV, newspapers,
people or distractions of any kind. Just us fishermen,
the fish (yes there were fish) and a lot of time to
think!
While
travelling to Yalata, I came across the following
quote:
"That
which seems the height of absurdity in one generation,
often becomes the height of wisdom in the next."
John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873)
Sitting
on the beach, I began to consider how this quote reflects
a powerful truth for volunteering. Volunteers are
more often than not the first to champion significant
issues and activities considered 'crazy' by the majority
of society when initially raised as being an issue
warranting action.
Even
in the harsh Australian outback, I was able to reflect
on some of these very issues:
- The rights of Australia's
indigenous populations to be able to vote and wrestle
back traditional ownership and management of their
lands was largely the result of volunteer advocates
working with those communities to lobby both the
Australian Government and mainstream society.
- The efforts of environmental
volunteers to lobby for the restriction of access
to many coastal zones in order to protect our unique
marine habitats. I can still remember from my childhood,
the waters of the Great Australian Bight being used
extensively for whaling. Today tourists come to
watch the whales in those same waters!
- The now common practice
of releasing alive the majority of any fishing catch
was laughed at only a few short years ago, when
first suggested by volunteer groups and later fishing
identities. Today it is seen by most fishers to
be a sensible solution to sustaining long-term wild
fish stocks.
Further
afield, consider the pioneering role of volunteers
in movements such as the AIDS epidemic, the women's
rights movement, the acceptance of the gay and lesbian
lobby, the welfare and safety of children, the protection
of animals and most of the major aid programs in any
third world country.
When
put together, all these pieces certainly begin to
make one impressive jigsaw!
I've
heard American volunteering expert Susan
J Ellis refer more than once to this group of
people as the 'lunatic fringe'. Those pioneering volunteers
who identify a cause as being both important and worthy
of urgent attention, usually at a time where mainstream
society consider their involvement as an over reaction
to a very insignificant problem.
In
brief, Ellis argues that over time, the cutting-edge
issues highlighted by some of these groups do get
taken up by both a broader cross-section of society
and eventually government. They get taken up not only
as a result of the advocacy efforts of the 'lunatic
fringe' but also because the problems identified by
the volunteers do in fact grow and become a significant
societal problem. It is usually at this point that
resources are made available and structures put in
place in order to find a solution to what has often,
by this time, evolved into a major issue.
The
main point I'd like to draw from this example is the
fact that volunteers, by nature, do come up with some
really great ideas, and they certainly don't need
to be issues as large as the AIDS epidemic to be important!
Volunteers
can identify problems at an early stage and will often
suggest innovative and alternate ways that we might
better operate our volunteer programs at a local level.
For instance, who better to give you new ideas about
your community bus routes than volunteer bus drivers?
Surely they have insights to share that you don't
have when consulting your street directory from the
comfort of you desk!
As
Volunteer Program Managers, we need to be aware of
this great strength within our ranks and be constantly
thinking of ways we can draw the very best out of
our volunteer teams.
However,
as volunteer management continues to become more 'professional'
and our jobs become increasingly 'tied down' with
having to meet an ever growing list of legislative
guidelines and other 'red tape' measures, I fear we
run the risk of shooting down the 'lunatic fringe'
within our own ranks.
For
instance:
- How many times have volunteers
in your program come to you with a great new initiative
which you immediately say can't be done because
of this policy or that guideline?
- Have you already (perhaps
unwittingly) created an environment where volunteers
are seen and not heard. Where they don't have the
chance to suggest or express new ideas or be a part
of finding solutions to problems?
- Just how much do you run
your volunteer program to a 'formula'?
- How much room does your
program allow for new initiatives to happen spontaneously
as needs arise?
Now
I am not for one minute suggesting that we take our
policy and procedure manuals and throw them out the
nearest window. What I would suggest however, is that
we need to be careful we don't get too caught up in
our own self-importance, especially as our work continues
to evolve as a profession.
We
need to remember that our roles are about more than
just being the employee, whose job it is to ensure
all the appropriate 'boxes' that allow volunteer involvement
to happen in a safe and legal way are ticked/checked.
Volunteer
managers should instead see themselves as conduits
exploring ways of making new, exciting and dynamic
ideas come to life, and let's face it new ideas can
only ever come to life if we are receptive to new
(and at times 'lunatic') suggestions!
So
the next time a volunteer comes to you with a crazy
idea, don't immediately file it in the 'too hard'
basket. Instead, try and remember that you may in
fact be gaining an insight into a standard and better
way of operating in the future!
So
let's hear what you think?
- Do you agree that
some in our profession have fallen into the 'rut'
of becoming people 'processors' instead of people
'builders'?
- Can you suggest
ways that volunteers can be encouraged to offer
new ideas and criticisms in a safe and supported
environment?
- What are the barriers
that prohibit spontaneity - and what can we do about
them?
- Do you have eprsonal
experiences you would like to share that relate
to this hot topic?
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