Volunteer? Who? Me?
Hey look....I know pretty much for a fact that I don't ooze "volunteer". I mean when I walk past people on the street, they tend not to go "O look, there goes a volunteer". In stark contrast when my wife Shelly walks down the street people look at her and see a halo above her head with the word "volunteer" in it....and if they looked closely they'd probably also see "sucker" in fine print :). Until recently I was pretty convinced that I was not genetically disposed to be a volunteer. Well...it's turning out a little differently.....
As I see it there are three classes of volunteers:
Class A : are the V-gods. A-Vs dedicate their time and energy to providing services directly to the consumer of the services. In the case of Chaya these might be the volunteers who work directly with victims and survivors with the Advocacy program
Class B : B-Vs work on behalf of the organization. They might be involved in helping raise funds or coordinate events or provide technical support.
Class C : C-Vs generally belong in the category of slave labor - ok maybe just a notch above. They might be in this category because they're married to a B-V or because some A-V or B-V has pictures of them....you know...in a comprising position.
Now anyone that knows anything about organizational dynamics knows that you've got to have the right mix of A-Vs, B-Vs and C-Vs to have an effective organization. Said another way....C-Vs are just as important to have as A-Vs. After all if you just have A-Vs then who's going to do all the grunt work anyway?
So you're asking where all of this is going....interesting that you ask....I have the same question. Hang on will ya?
I was actually wondering why people volunteer. When one has questions like this what does one do? Well, duh...one searches wikipedia of course. The fountain of all knowledge (NOT!) suggests that motivations for Vs include altruism, improved quality of life, sense of duty to the community, giving back, religious conviction, financial benefit or just socializing. It's a good thing I wasn't aware of this list earlier or I might have concluded that V and me don't intersect. My early connection with Chaya had nothing to do with the above. I started off as a C-V who happens to be married to a very empathetic and passionate B-V. I don't think I even really knew or paid attention to what Chaya did or was about. I just carried boxes or cleaned house before and after an auction meeting at our house or helped clean up at the end of the auction event. This was a comfortable relationship.....I could provide help but didn't really have to commit myself to it. Others committed themselves and I kinda tagged along. I got thanked and complimented along the way....got to eat good food at auction planning sessions at our house....no self-respecting south asian ever attends an event that doesn't serve food.....I mean, like, what's the point of working without a steady stream of food...
So then I carried on as a C-V for a few years....attended and helped with the auction....participated peripherally in some other Chaya eventss....watched Shelly get more deeply involved....got exposed to many other dedicated folks V'ing for Chaya....started to understand a bit more about why Chaya is important to our community....and then 2007 rolled around....and the auction planning began in earnest....and then I began receiving a billion auction update emails from Aaliyah.....most with large type multi-colored fonts....and then I started to have ideas about how to streamline things or approach things differently...AND THEN (my final 'and then'...promise) ....I figured I could offer up ideas OR I could get directly involved....I could commit....and in a moment of weakness I did...I became a B-V. One of my favorite quotes, attributed to W.H.Murray, "The Scottish Himalayan Expedition", hangs on my wall at work:
There is one elementary truth,
The ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:
That the moment one definitely commits oneself
Then Providence moves, too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
That would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
Raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents
And meetings and material assistance,
Which no man could have dreamt
Would have come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
I signed up to lead the Marketing and PR team because no one else had. Good thing I had the quote above....since I don't know squat about marketing or PR. But Providence did move and provided me with team members that did know a lot more than squat.
Now making the move from a C-V to a B-V is real work. You have to think for yourself. Not only that, you have to organize that thinking so you can communicate it to others. As a team lead you have to be persuasive....more importantly you have to learn to listen....and learn when to accept an idea even if you might have a better one. Now I'm used to leading in a work environment.....I do that everyday. It's natural to want to apply that leadership style in the V setting. Not necessarily a good idea. I had to learn to moderate my style. I remember the very first meeting I set up for the PR team.....we had the meeting at a conference room at my workplace. At times I forgot this was a Chaya meeting and not a work meeting. I caught myself trying to run it as if it was work. I had to remember that everyone was a V and had their day jobs and that I couldn't "impose" deadlines with the same ease that I might at work.....I couldn't expect the same kind of turnaround that I might expect from my team at work....yet at the same time I had to keep the pressure on and keep things moving. Tougher for me than you might imagine.
Make no mistake....B-V'ing is hard work. There's a lot of responsibility and you have to take it seriously. But there's no question it's meaningful and satisfying. It's important to note that my involvement with Chaya did not begin because I felt some deep commitment to Chaya's mission...remember I was just a C-V....but along the way as I've worked with folks who so passionately represent and work on behalf of Chaya, I'm starting to appreciate and understand the mission more...and it only serves to reinforce the rash..er...I mean thoughtful...decision to get more involved.
So hey you...yeah it's you I'm talking about....don't just sit there gawking at the screen....become a V. As Goethe said...BEGIN IT.
---Rajan
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