Keyboard Roundtable participants
from Australia, Canada, Rumania, the United Kingdom, and the United States
discuss what an "entrepreneurial volunteer" really is (a pioneer
or someone who doesn't like rules? a blessing or a nightmare?) and
how a volunteer program manager can welcome and support out-of-the-box
participants. Here's an excerpt from one of Abby Dyson's (UK) comments:
One area of discussion that I'm
particularly interested in exploring, and finding solutions where there
are obstacles, relates to that first group of volunteers that Rob identified
which is, in my opinion, very similar to the final group that Linda refers
to.
These are people who, for various reasons, are put off by the rules
and bureaucracies that exist. One set of reasons may relate to a lack of
understanding, time and/or willingness to navigate existing systems.
Alternatively, perhaps as in the case of Linda's expected experience
as well as Ioana's volunteer, there are people with a clear understanding
of what they have to offer and/or want to achieve (often they don't have
both) and an expectation that the organisations they work with will be
able to accommodate them.
The first set of reasons will, I think, happily
be tackled by Volunteering Managers seeking to, as Adaire says, "institute
good volunteer management principles and practices" which will
strip away the bad rules that may have developed over time as well
as effectively communicate the need for good and necessary rules.
The
second set of challenges are, I think, less likely to be embraced
as the solutions are less clear, more challenging and time-consuming.
