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Newsletter
Lead Article
Build ESPIRIT DE CORPS into
your program
We all understand that morale and attitudes affect
how much gets done in the volunteer place. Great morale is found in those
places where the volunteers enjoy coming to work, where they bring their best
thinking, do what is required without being directed, and feel they are making
a difference. The quality of the relationship between the volunteers and the
leadership team, between the team and the director all have to do with this
morale and is a key to building the Espirit De Corps in the organization. The
volunteer work environment, the rules and regulations, the flexibility of work
schedules and the fun and celebrations all add to this feeling of Espirit De
Corps. Sometimes, it is simply involving the volunteers in the decision-making,
insuring that all information gets into everyone's hands and empowering the
volunteers to "just do it!"
This kind of Espirit De Corps is found in
most start-up companies, those places where everyone is focused on a common
goal. It's found in athletic teams where they are moving toward the win. It's
found in the best military units where the leaders train the warriors and trust
them to get the job done. People want to have a sense of ownership, for that,
which they involve themselves in. If it's their baby, they will do almost
anything. Espirit De Corps or high morale is found in those places where the
volunteers can see the results of their hard work and they know that they are
making a difference. One key to this concept is that the leader needs to keep
all information flowing to the volunteers, they must know how they are doing.
Poor leaders consider information as power, and keep all power within their own
reach. Excellent leaders share all information and trust the volunteers to
respect any confidential information.
How do we get our volunteers to
begin to think and act like owners? What is it that owners do that non owners
don't do? Well, for one, owners tend to question things more, to question rules
that inhibit growth, question rules that don't serve the organizations
purpose.
Ownership is a state of mind. It's a sense of being fully
involved in your own business, it's caring about all the little details. It's
not worrying about being watched by the boss, they are the boss of their units.
There is a wil- lingness among owners to take action without being asked, they
are not spectators. Ownership is a very powerful incentive because it inspires
motivation and encourages loyalty. One key to developing a sense of ownership
is to look for people who have an entrepreneurial spirit. Our task, if that's
true, is to create an environment that nurtures this entrepreneurial spirit.
The environment we are discussing is one where our volunteers believe
that they can make a difference, and then are willing to act on that belief in
everything they do. When they see that their efforts are appreciated, their
self-esteem and dignity are enhanced. To know that our labor counts, is to know
that we count. When volunteers are involved, they care more, the more they
care, the more willing they are to assume leadership. Volunteers will assume
ownership if they know that the work they are doing is meaningful. Too often
the director gives work assignments to volunteers and fails to explain the
purpose of the assignment and why that particular job is meaningful. The
volunteer does the work, but fails to sense the purpose in the task and loses
motivation. I believe that every job assigned to a volunteer is meaningful. I
don't think any volunteer director would assign meaningless work to a
volunteer. But, I know that many times the volunteer has no idea why they are
doing this task and they do not think it has value. A volunteer is given the
task to take home papers from school to cut out for tomorrow's art project. The
volunteer is likely to think that this simple task is not important and is
certainly not going to help those students develop their minds. But when the
director explains that this assignment will free up the teacher's time to
prepare for that math lesson , the volunteer senses the value of their work.
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