4 Principles to Follow for Successful Encore Volunteer Management

This blog post is primarily for two groups of folks: 1) encore volunteers, that is, volunteers who are engaged in service activities after having spent much of their work lives doing something else and 2) managers of encore volunteers who need to very specifically understand what encores have to offer and how they need to be managed differently. Encore volunteers are often 50+ and come to the table with 20-25 years of experience in a workplace to bring to your volunteer organization. In case you missed it, you may want to check out the related post from last week, “10 Transition Steps to Move into Successful Encore Volunteering.”

Encore volunteers, your previous work experience has provided you with much knowledge about how to work with others, how to accomplish goals, and how to help an organization succeed. Volunteer managers, realize that your encore team members have special contributions to make, and assign them tasks and leadership roles accordingly. (See Chapter 8 in “Volunteering”.)

To repeat just a bit from our last post, we feel that you encores have a special place in the “Volunteer Paradigm” because of the decades of experience and wisdom you can contribute to this encore assignment. You have the benefit of hindsight. You have the advantage of having been there and seen how it all works (or does not), often times repeatedly. You have lived it and can now make better choices and behavioral decisions based on what worked, what didn’t, and what you liked and disliked about staff and management, based on your ability to know the difference between health and dysfunction.

We suggest you follow these 4 principles to get yourself off to a great start with the day-to-day management of yourself and/or other encore volunteers:

1.      You cannot manage volunteers as you do paid employees. This point is especially important for those of you who managed paid employees during your own careers. Volunteers are not there to feed their families. They are present to feel useful and purposeful and if they do not feel this way, they will head down the road rather quickly and find other opportunities. Just the other day a friend said to me “I would have gone back and given more of my time and business resources if only they (a non-profit service organization) were a bit more enthusiastic and grateful. It is sad—but this happens so so often. He will probably not go back.

2.      With your age comes increased responsibility. Encore volunteers, you should have had much experience with the learning of responsibility. Perhaps you got good at it—perhaps not. In either case—you are still keenly aware of what is / should be required. It is now time for you to put this to great use in your volunteer organizations. Use your gray hair to your advantage and as a sign of your wisdom, no matter how much you might still be learning! People need healthy role models. Whether you are planning a Grand Prix event, building a house, or throwing sandbags, lead by example. Be calm, be slow to react, let your hard work without whining show others how to be. Become a mentor to your younger team members.

This increased responsibility also means that you should keep on learning. Read about leadership—there are many wonderful articles, blogs, and books on this topic. The books we would recommend are biographies—see the leadership in practice vs. on paper and in theory. Be mindful of negative thoughts and criticisms. Show people with different outlooks how they can work together towards a common goal. Remember that you do not have to be the “boss” to be a leader.

3.      Volunteering is not about a second career or a great money-making venture.  There is no shortage of encore-phase, money-making second career sales folks and books disguised as altruistic next steps. Be careful in what you chase. There is also a lot of very good material written about the “encore” time of our lives, a time when our mortality sneaks up on us and becomes much clearer, whether we like it not. (See “Falling Upward”.)

Some companies in the marketplace take advantage of this melancholy and pitch us an endless array of products and services—and organizations to donate money to create our legacy. We suggest you create your legacy through service. True gracious and soulful encore volunteering should be more than a monetary exchange, especially if you expect to find some purpose. It is about giving of yourself, and you need to remain keenly aware of this.  It will keep you humble and of better service.

4.      If you want to go back to work for pay, then have at it. But if you are looking to leave the “race,” then leave it. Don’t get stuck in between unknowingly. Avoid jumping right back into the fray of schedules, deadlines, paychecks, subordinates, bosses, and annual evaluations. Once you take pay, non-profit and for-profit organizations aren’t really that much different. You raise revenues, pay bills, sell a product or service folks want to buy, and then repeat. And often many people find that being the paid employee at the cause-based non-profit organization may even be way more stressful than for-profit efforts. You have added tight budgets, small staffs, and volunteers to your participation and management responsibilities! Be careful of this trap. It might not give you the relief and purpose you seek. On the other hand, if you want a big challenge, then go back to regular work during a second career and do the difficult task of non-profit work for pay. The point is, know where you are at personally and you will be not get surprised and be just fine.

In summary, encore volunteers, you do not need to have had previous leadership and management experience to be a great role model for management and leadership. Anyone can learn, and anyone can teach. So get after it and learn and teach yourself and others how to be healthy and productive inside of your volunteer-based organization. Encores, you are the very foundation of successful volunteer service world wide. Bring it on, give back, fill up your life and be of good service.

Do you want to learn more? Download our free e-book, “Volunteering”, and see Chapter 8.