Volunteer management, volunteer recruitment, volunteer recognition and more...

The Most Important Leadership Quality in Volunteer Management

Now let's take a look at what can make or break any volunteer or membership program - THE LEADERSHIP!

Leadership can make or break a volunteer program

Successful volunteer and membership programs alway involve great leadership. A leader can make or break the program and the volunteering experience for others. But what is the most important quality a leader needs to have?

For GOLD Members the topic of leadership is covered in your packages available on '12 Winning Leadership Qualities' and 'Leadership and Attitudinal Competence'.

What is the most important quality a leader must have?

In research studies, when people have been asked to rank a list of leadership qualities - what quality do you think was consistently ranked number 1 as the most important quality a leader must have? Well, let's see what you think! From a short list of 10 qualities below, what would you rank as the most important leadership quality?

Go on, have a guess! Which one would you rank as number 1?

A leader needs to:

And the winner is...

The number 1 ranked and most important leadership quality was...honesty and the know how to develop trust (G). Although all the other leadership qualities are very important, without trust in the leadership - success in any organization or volunteer management program is limited.

Without this leadership quality you cannot build effective relationships

Trust is the most important factor in building effective relationships with other people. And it works both ways. In simple terms, trust needs to exist between both the leader and their team in order to develop relationships, which in turn helps them all reach their goals.

On the other side of the coin, besides learning to trust your team, you need to also be able to build their trust in you. People will not listen to you when they do not trust you. They must believe in you first before they will follow your leadership. It is the your leadership responsibility to develop that trust in you from those people around you.

Actions that result in destruction

Trust implies accountability (being responsible to other people or things), certainty (being confident and assured), and reliability (being able to be depended upon). Trust can only be developed over time. For have you ever heard the cliché, It takes a long time to build trust and only seconds to break it? Here are some actions that betray trust:

• breaking promises (always under-promise and over-deliver)

• saying one thing and doing another (you absolutely have to 'walk your talk')

• gossiping about others (you must be above any gossip)

Here's 4 ways to build trust

Remember that trust is the bond that makes the relationship between you (as a leader) and your people last. Build it strongly. So here are 4 ideas to build trust:

1. Be yourself

Always be yourself, there is no-one better qualified. When you let other people see the 'real you', they will not have problems accepting you and therefore be able to trust the 'real you'. Volunteers and others become aware very quickly when those in leadership are not being geniune.

2. Admit your mistakes

Admit when you make a mistake. Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, even you, the leader. Do not dwell on them too much. Get over them, but learn from them. Do not make

excuses. Do not blame others either. People will forgive you for occasional mistakes especially if they can see that you are learning and growing as a leader. In fact, knowing what your mistakes are and admitting them wholeheartedly is a way of showing courage and another reason for people to trust you. Forgive yourself and others for committing mistakes and move on from these mistakes. As John Wooden, an outstandingly successful sports coach explains, “The team that makes the most mistakes will probably win. The doer makes mistakes, and I want doers on my team, players who make things happen.”

3. Listen and make it a habit to ask respectful questions

Good leaders do not just do all the talking they very much also listen. Listen to what your people say…and what they don’t say. Be sensitive. Anticipate the feelings and needs of others. Remember also, that asking questions does not mean that you lack wisdom. Rather, it refers to gathering more information and knowledge from people who are more experienced than you are or have different strengths to you. Isn’t it a blessing to have other people share their insights with you? Your greatest power in leadership comes not from telling but from the respectful asking of questions.

For GOLD Members - you have nearly 200 questions that you can ask yourself, your team, your peers and your clients in your bonus book 'Ask or Tell: The Power of Asking vs The Force of Telling' available in your package on 'Leadership and Attitudinal Competence'.

4. Be open and mingle with your team

You have to accept the fact that you do not have to come up with all the answers. You are continuously learning from others. We need to not close our minds to new ideas and information that comes our way. So find ways to mingle with the people on your team whether they are colleagues, paid staff or volunteers. Connect with them and begin to know them as people rather than just as the current role they have now. It was Dale Carnegie who said, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people, then you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”

H.... is the best policy

Remember, always aim to be honest, open and genuine and this automatically develop trust in you from those around you. Although, there are many other important qualities in leadership, it is the ability of others to trust you as a leader that is the foundation upon which a successful volunteer program is built.

GOLD CLUB MEMBERSHIPS Ready to Learn and Lead? We've opened the doors and you can become our newest GOLD CLUB MEMBER today! This is truly the very best value online membership community you can join. But don't just take our word for it. Here's just one member's feedback on their latest package...   Dear Judy Just finishing listening to David [the expert on Leadership and Attitudinal Competence]. I would like to say how much I enjoyed it. His methods are simple really – if only we all operated this way – what a wonderful world we would have. Congratulations on producing a great resource. Jan Abey Volunteer Coordinator Clarence Community Volunteer Service   Here's what you'll receive as a Gold Club Member... Volunteer program management sessions Question and answer sessions Case studies from the field Interviews with experts Monthly audio-recordings of all sessions Monthly downloadable digital reports Monthly power point slide presentations Monthly quick action guides Surprise bonus gifts including extra downloadable books Discounts on all other information packages and workshops

Enjoy!

Judy

Dr Judy Esmond is a leading international expert on how to gain, sustain and retain volunteers and members. Join up and receive your FREE Silver Membership and a great FREE EBook and newsletter filled with 100s of ideas on volunteer recruitment, volunteer management, retention and volunteer recognition at www.morevolunteers.com

P.S. For those who have been asking. Yes! There are still some recognition gifts available.

Mini Thank You Cards YES THEY ARE IN STOCK 50 11 packets	502 Inspirational Quotes Book	Quote Magnets YES THEY ARE IN STOCK 50 4 packets

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