The leadership training we should all undergo!

We're all busy, and the idea of taking on more may seem unrealistic. Just keeping up with messages from the school feels like a part-time job, and then the local scout group is asking if you could help sell cookies, and the sports club needs someone to coach their youth team. But the notion of taking on volunteer work just doesn't align with your perspective and busy calendar.

Perhaps you should reconsider. Because it's precisely in these voluntary associations that you can acquire some of the leadership skills that the job market demands from adept leaders.

Here are my observations on the leadership skills one develops as a volunteer in a local club:

1. Creating Purpose: In a voluntary organization, I've never heard anyone talk about a lack of purpose. We know exactly why we're there, and we're there because there's a purpose we can relate to, that makes sense, and that we want to support. Does your company have such a clear purpose?

2. Developing People: The task in a voluntary association is often to help others grow, improve, and experience success. Once you've tried it, you know it provides an enormous personal sense of satisfaction and joy. We should certainly be able to recreate that feeling by developing our own employees.

3. Establishing Belonging: Community feeling is a thing that need to be consciously worked on. To retain volunteer efforts, you must ensure recognition for what each individual contributes to the community.

4. Gaining New Perspectives: In a voluntary organization, you encounter people you wouldn't otherwise surround yourself with. They may not have a background like yours or a self-esteem that has made them leaders. But trust me, you quickly discover that they have entirely different and fantastic qualities to contribute. Honestly, you also quickly see which human skills you might need to cultivate more in yourself.

5. Handling Diversity: In a voluntary organization, it's a diverse group of enthusiasts with opinions and attitudes. It's a study in being able to accommodate everyone and ensure that everyone can bring something to the table. And you have to do this while not really having authority over them, as they are volunteers and can simply leave. Believe me, you learn a lot from that as a leader.

6. Dilemma Leadership: In a voluntary organization, there's never enough money or volunteers. It creates a lot of dilemmas that need to be addressed. So here, you certainly learn dilemma leadership because if the choice is between two mediocre solutions, which one do you choose, and how do you get volunteers to be passionate about a mediocre solution?

Take a quick look at the headings again. Don't we agree that these are skills we could all improve on and benefit from?

So, carve out a few hours each week and contribute your help to a voluntary organization. It's frustrating, fun, and absolutely enlightening as a leader.

Best regards,

Boardmember of Rosenholm Riding Club