Leading a voluntary organisation successfully

By Murphy Lum

Two months ago, I was invited to deliver a talk in an international convention organised by the world’s largest referral organisation, which happened last week in Kuala Lumpur.

I started interviewing the key players of this organisation as soon as I agreed to speak three months ago and found out some very eye-opening yet common leadership challenges faced by chapters of business owners of various sizes, industries and experiences.

Many experienced leadership advocates have pointed out that learning how to lead a voluntary organisation effectively is the best way to embark in one’s leadership journey.

The rational is that members of voluntary organisations serve on a volunteer basis and technically, they don’t report to anyone with positional authority. As such it takes a lot more skills, patience and dedication to influence these members to follow the leader’s aspirations.

While the intensity of the challenges faced by voluntary organisation may not be as intense as their profitable counterpart, they come from the same source and that is, from the decisions and actions taken by people who run them.

The Top Six Leadership Challenges Of Voluntary Organisations

Although the scope of this survey is limited to this organisation, it is widely believed that it applies just as much in other voluntary organisations and even profitable organisations to some extent.

This survey has also found many great leaders who had led their respective chapters to greater heights. Some have taken over from a strong predecessor and taken it to another level of greatness, while others have resuscitated a weak chapter and turned it around.

Just like the 80-20 rule, for every 20 great leaders, there will be 80 average leaders with plenty of rooms for improvement. Over a period of time, part of the 20 great leaders will retire and some of the 80 average leaders would take over and this article is to prepare those who are ready to take over as future great leaders of their voluntary organisation.

1. My Way Leadership

It seems that there are too many individuals leading voluntary organisations. There are too much emphasis on individual preference, individual agenda and individual glory. Individualistic leaders like to be seen as the saviours of their voluntary organisation, or as an instrumental force, solely responsible for the success of their organisation, and as such they are too eager to prove something in the earliest possible moment so long as it satisfies the individualistic need.

Chances are they would end up doing every nitty-gritty thing by themselves, even to the extent of disengaging some committed members along the way.

Usually, one term of service lasts between six to twelve months and larger and longer-term plans normally takes more than one term to fully realise its benefits. When these plans are not shared by the other EXCO members, as well as the ordinary members, ownership of such plans will be left to a handful of leaders, who may have to worker harder to implement those plans. When a new term looms, chances are they will be a change of guard with leaders all prepared with their own “better” plans, ready to discard the old and replaced with the new in the name of change!

Hence, many leaders either feel frustrated or they rather choose to play it safe by doing just enough to last the term and pass on the baton unscathed.

2. Ability to Lead

In the international best-selling book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, authored by John C Maxwell, the first law is known as the Law of the Lid. This law states that there is a lid on a person’s leadership ability and this lid determines his/her level of effectiveness. Therefore, for a leader, his/her leadership ability determines the effectiveness of his/her organisation.

When one takes over the helm at the start of a new term, his/her leadership ability will be tested by the composite experience of his/her leadership team and members. That’s because some of the members runs a larger company and had more leadership experience than the person heading the voluntary organisation. Such diversity, indeed, calls for a higher level of leadership ability compared to a leader in a commercial organisation because leaders of voluntary organisation do not have positional authority to demand members to follow orders.

Despite such challenges, voluntary organisations offer the best platform to raise one’s lid to lead; as it is filled with plenty of lid lifting opportunities but unfortunately only a handful view it as opportunities, while the rest tend to look at it as unnecessary and unworthy challenges.

3. Willingness to take responsibility

One of the greatest reasons for that is the willingness of the leader to take 100% responsibility of their actions in the midst of challenging times. They may begin the term enthusiastically and as the term of office progresses, challenges of all sorts emerge and suppress their willingness to be responsible for the welfare of their voluntary organisation. The subtle thing of it all is that we are judging everybody all the time.

When the going gets tough, these leaders, who lack responsibility get going; leaving the organisation and its committed members in doldrums. Decisions and actions made have repercussions and when leaders hold on to the perception that it won’t affect their future endeavours very much, they would be quick to abandon ship. But little do they know that the consequence of their decisions and actions will catch up with them sooner or later!

There have been countless incidences where commercial opportunities were referred to a leader based on his performance in running the voluntary organisation and the opposite is also equally true. How we do anything is how we do everything!

4. Succession challenges

This is the ultimate challenge of all challenges. For the reason stated above, average leaders are too busy paying too much attention on achieving personal goals and aspirations that it never occurred to them that grooming future leaders is part of their responsibility. Every day, these leaders focus on getting things done from the “I” and “me” standpoint, instead of the “we” and “us” standpoint.

As a result, they either have to extend their term of office, bring in a care-taker EXCO, be left with no leadership team, or worse, be succeeded by an ‘unpopular’ or ‘rejected’ leader. Whichever way one looks at it, it spells bad news for the voluntary organisation as a whole.

5. Influence over persuasion

In the realm of volunteer leadership, the difference between influence and persuasion seem to be more profound compared to positional leadership.

Average leaders persuade others to do things while great leaders are so much more influential that people do things willingly for their leaders. That is because persuasion is usually conveyed by the WORDS we use; while influence is emanated via the thing we DO that impresses others enough to want to follow suit. In order to influence effectively, we must be clear with our beliefs and core values in such a way that it guides our actions regardless of whether it benefits us or not. Such influence will no doubt have a greater impact in our lives and others.

Average leaders tend to prefer persuasion as the words they use camouflages their weaknesses effectively. Some of these leaders camouflage them so well that they started to belief in the fallacy and the falsehood they live in.

6. Skills and knowledge to lead

Voluntary organisation is one of the best platforms anyone could find to improve their skills and knowledge, in particular leadership. This is where the concept of learning by doing is widely accepted and practised. This coupled with the lifelong learning attitude will surely bring any initiated soul who is prepared to invest their time and effort in it, very far in their career and/or business ventures!

In reality, the majority look upon voluntary organisation merely as a place to foster fellowship and search for short-term instant gratification. Due to their existing lid, they underestimate themselves in achieving a lot more than their present track record.

In the following issue, read more about how you can work Murphy’s Principles into your organisation, as well as leadership style.

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