Hot
Topic Archive
March
2004
Are
you a victim of the 'niceness syndrome' ?
by
Andy Fryar
I'd
have to say that volunteer program managers are amongst
the nicest people I know.
Let's
face it - they are constantly dealing with members
of the community who want to give their time for no
monetary return ~ so it stands to reason that simple
acts of politeness, courtesy and appreciation go a
long way.
Now
while there is certainly a place for 'nice' in the
leadership of volunteer programs, I am concerned by
the number of colleagues I meet in volunteer management
circles who appear to have few other dimension or
qualities to their leadership. That's not to say they
are bad volunteer managers, on the contrary their
programs are often the ones where you'll find some
of the happiest volunteers.
What
I am saying is that this style of management
as a stand-alone mode of operation is often short
sighted and non-progressive; where volunteer program
managers appear to lack the intestinal fortitude,
drive and the conviction to advocate effectively on
behalf of their volunteers, their departments and
their profession.
I'd
even go so far as to say I believe this to be a major
problem for the development of volunteer management
as a profession.
Let
me explain
Ever
heard the phrase 'terminal niceness'?
It's
a term that so very succinctly addresses the pitfalls
of our incessant need to be pleasant to everyone.
My
own phrase for this is the 'Niceness Syndrome' .
The
Niceness Syndrome is a condition that creates a volunteering
environment that typically looks like this:
Long standing volunteers feel well rewarded.
They receive plenty of 'pats on the back' and they
are generally not challenged with any new initiatives.
It's a comfortable place for this group and also
for the volunteer program manager who similarly
doesn't need to think too hard or be bothered with
external influences. They are not challenged and
they don't need to challenge the attitudes of others.
The same place is also one where little thought
is ever given to new legislative guidelines, changing
trends, strategic visions or program development.
The
end result of course, is a volunteer program that
is forever only half managed!
It's
a little bit like changing the tyres on your car every
few months but never once getting the engine serviced!
There
are a number of reasons this may occur. One of the
more prevalent of these relates to senior staff only
ever seeing and understanding the management of volunteer
resources in terms of the 'warm and fuzzy' surface
interaction that occurs with volunteers at the 'coal
face' of service provision.
In
the process they fail to understand the huge managerial
and legal requirements that often need to be met 'behind
the scenes', and consequently, more often than not,
they employ people strong in human interaction skills
but weak in the harder edged management abilities.
Consequently,
these same volunteer program managers when faced with
lacking resources, dwindling budgets and non-existent
support structures, tend to simply respond by smiling,
saying 'thank you' and then complaining to their colleagues
for weeks to come!
Don't
believe me?
Then
let's look at some of the more common problems I hear
about on a regular basis:
. Difficulties
with termination and discipline of volunteers . Program
dysfunction
. 'Renegade'
volunteers
. Lack
of support by senior management
. Lack
of resources available to volunteer programs
. Low
retention rates due to volunteers feeling under-utilised
Now
think about how these topics relate to the 'niceness
syndrome'. The solution to all these problems lies
within the 'hard edged' sphere of volunteer management
and all are perpetuated by an inability to deal with
issues in anything but a 'nice' and inoffensive manner.
Let
me offer another analogy - think of your volunteer
program as being like a computer.
At
one end (the 'nice' end) , you have your web browser.
It's
easy to work with and interprets all of the other
information being fed to it in a way that is easily
understood by the end user. You never need to worry
too much about the advanced circuitry or the amazing
technological wizardry that makes it tick. Even when
things go wrong, we tend to diagnose the problem at
that level (eg. the picture is all blurry).
I
believe that one half of our jobs - the 'nice' part
- is to ensure that our programs operate like a browser
for our volunteers. We need to create an environment
conducive to involving community participation in
the easiest way possible.
But
our jobs don't stop there!
Imagine
for a minute that you have called a computer technician
to investigate the blurry picture on your computer
screen. They arrive at your office, switch on your
monitor, see the distorted image, scratch their head
and say "the problem here is that you have a blurry
picture!" They then proceed to write you a bill and
go on their way!
Why
would this be a surprise? Well clearly because you'd
expect a computer expert to be able to look beyond
the obvious problem, diagnose the cause and give you
strategies to fix your equipment.
Sadly,
for those volunteer program managers who operate only
using 'nice leadership' the parallels with this example
are all too familiar. They hear of a problem, scratch
their heads and think it is all unrelated to the way
the overall volunteer program is managed. They remedy
the problem and not the cause.
The
truth is that regardless of whether we are talking
computers or volunteer management, the back end circuitry
IS important, as is the need for us to be able to
both understand and manipulate those more complicated
driving forces.
While
it may not be easy - and it most certainly won't be
comfortable, the need to take a stand on some of these
issues is critical to the long-term health of your
program.
Believe
me, once you've got some runs on the board, you'll
feel great about yourself and your program, and you
will gain the respect of others in your organisation
too.
Let
me end by stating that the opposite of this essay
is also true.
I've
seen volunteer programs that feel more like the military
than a community organisation - where it's all about
rules, regulations, program outcomes and order. Leaning
too far in this direction will also only ever lead
to an unhealthy volunteering environment.
What's
important is creating a healthy 'nice / hard edge'
mix - where the tougher issues are dealt with but
where volunteers continue to feel rewarded and valued.
So
let me ask you a few questions:
. Do
you believe the 'niceness syndrome' is as big a problem
as I am suggesting? What are your own observations?
. What
are some of the experiences (successes and barriers)
you have had in trying to develop a 'tougher' style
of management?
. What
does your own 'nice / hard edge' mix look like?
Let's
hear what you think.
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