Hot
Topic Archive
October
2005
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Coping
for success
By
OzVPM Director Andy
Fryar
The
more I have the opportunity to meet with Volunteer
Program Managers from a wide range of settings and
backgrounds, the more I appreciate just how much our
profession continues to grow and evolve.
Volunteering
is changing, and as a result so too are volunteer
management practices. Our jobs today are more often
dictated by increased levels of paperwork, the necessity
to meet legislative requirements and greater amounts
of both accountability and reporting, than they are
coordinating and supporting the direct efforts of
volunteers. In short, we seem to have far more balls
in the air today than ever before.
Compound
this with other common problems experienced in our
sector such as a lack of top level support, few resources
and the incredible number of managers undertaking
multiple jobs, and it is clear to see that the picture
being painted is not always one of sunshine and roses!
With
all of these factors in play comes the inevitable
situation whereby volunteer program managers have
to do more with less - and with this arises greater
levels of both stress and anxiety. Is this perhaps
one of the reasons we have such a high turnover of
personnel in this field?
Sadly,
for many of us, our jobs become nothing more than
a vicious cycle of 'busy work', allowing little time
for personal space, or at the very least, the opportunity
to plan a way of escaping the cycle in which they
find themselves.
So
what are some of the ways volunteer program managers
can overcome this cycle of stress and find ways to
succeed under the pressure being applied by modern
day volunteerism?
Let
me suggest a few.
Take
care of yourself .first
We
are of little use to others if we are not able to
think clearly under pressure or to cope with the workload
our jobs might bring. Being fit and healthy is an
important element to ensuring we feel in control of
our situation. A regular exercise regime, a good diet
and ensuring that you receive adequate sleep each
night are easy steps to maintaining your peace of
mind.
Have
a life outside of work
The
natural temptation when faced with an increasingly
busy workload is to work both longer and harder in
order to clear the 'to do' list on your desk, so having
interests outside of work are critical to ensuring
that your work life doesn't become your only life!
Holiday time with your family, playing sport, taking
up a hobby or undertaking volunteer work yourself
in another agency are all great ways to ensure balance
in your life.
Practice
what you preach
It's
amazing how few managers utilise volunteers in the
direct support of their position. Entrusting volunteer
team members with roles such as interviewing, orientating,
supporting and training new volunteers is a great
way to find those few extra hours each week to recharge
the batteries and think strategically.
Study
time management strategies
The
have been voluminous amounts of information written
about the many different aspects of time management.
Prudent volunteer managers will make the time to research
some of these and implement at least a few simple
strategies.
Understand
the power of one
A
critical element in taking back control is to understand
the power of a single minute, and how the accumulated
effect of saving single minutes, through the rearrangement
of work practices, can pave a way forward in developing
coping mechanisms. For instance, if we can rearrange
our work practices to save just one minute an hour,
we can free up an accumulated amount of four working
days a year in which we can be doing other things.
Find
a mentor
Take
the time to seek out and find yourself a mentor. It's
unlikely someone will come knocking on your door with
the offer, so it's up to you to identify someone you
think would be appropriate, someone whose opinion
you trust and someone who you believe will tell it
to you straight. Then all you need to do is ask them!
Network
Meeting
with other volunteer program managers - either in
your own city, or across the world via the internet
is a great strategy for retaining your sanity! Not
only will you find it therapeutic to speak to others
in the same field, you'll also be encouraged to know
you are not the only person experiencing the frustrations
you are faced with.
Say
NO!
It's
a small word but probably the most important one you'll
ever need to learn to speak. By nature many volunteer
managers want to help in any way they can. In itself
this is a great quality, but if the result is increased
stress for you and your team, then you need to take
control. After all if all your supervisors or clients
ever hear is 'yes', what indication do they have that
your not coping?
Be
pro-active!
Whatever
methods you put into place it is important to understand
these are critical for the wellbeing of both your
program and your own state of mind. If you do nothing
- then nothing will change, so it is important to
put into play at least one small strategy should you
find yourself trapped in a situation where everything
feels out of control.
Why
a hot topic?
Finally,
some of you may be asking 'why is this a hot topic?',
and I'd like to suggest two reasons.
Firstly,
it is not getting any better ! As a general rule,
the increased utilisation and focus on volunteering
over recent years has not had a corresponding increase
in the amount of staffing or resources allocated to
volunteer department. The pessimist in me says it
won't get any better any time soon either, so therefore
it is critical we ourselves start to develop strategies
to work differently.
The
second reason I think this topic is worthy of hot
topic status is because many volunteer program managers
today seem to have reached a point where they now
accept these incredibly busy and unrealistic work
schedules as the norm!
In
summary
This
essay has offered several simple suggestions about
ways volunteer program managers can better take control
in those situations where they feel overwhelmed by
their circumstances.
While
we hope these ideas might be helpful to many of you,
it is by no means definitive, so why not share your
own successes and coping strategies with other readers?
- Do you agree managers
are working under more pressure than ever before?
- What coping mechanisms
have you tried that worked?
- What have you tried
that didn't work?
- Feel free to share
your story
It's
not too late to...
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- 04 OzVPM.
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