One of my volunteers recently asked if I would give him some tips and advice on how to become more effective when networking with people and leaders in the business community. We met over coffee and had a great time while I shared with him what I’ve done over the years to develop many relationships with leaders in our community.
One of the challenges of leading volunteers that many nonprofit leaders face (myself included) is that volunteers have limited time. Below I’ve listed four rules that I believe many volunteers have for the time that they dedicate to organizations and projects.
In May I implemented a new principle with all volunteers who decide to dedicate their time to A Day of Hope. I always want to make sure I develop all my volunteers so that they have a great understanding and feel for what A Day of Hope has done in the past, and what we’re working towards in the future. I’ve also been looking for ways I can use our volunteers in areas that they can contribute and help the most. Areas where they can use their natural strengths and talents to help us feed as many families as possible.
While talking with one of my mentors, Steve Elliot last week, we were discussing the characteristics and qualities of great speakers. Steve made the comment, “Great speakers hook you early.”
When a tough decision needs to made, who do people look to make it?-They look for a leader. They look for someone to step up with courage and confidence to make the tough decision.
People are people first, period! When dealing with people we need to take time for the person first, and then take time for our request second. The old quote, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care” is still true today.
To honor Martin Luther King, I wanted to write something to highlight who he was and what he did as a leader. This is my personal account of what I’ve noticed from reading about him.
It doesn’t matter if you work for a nonprofit organization, Fortune 500 company, church, or a small business, you need to have a mission statement. A mission statement is what directs, guides, and motivates the employees and volunteers of your nonprofit to work hard and make a difference. My favorite way to write a mission statement is to include as many employees as possible and use individual words to create a mission statement.
I just finished Mark Sanborn’s book, You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader
I have a Golden Retriever dog that is fourteen years old named Fred (yes I picked that name). My dad brought him home as a puppy when I was only eight years old. Ever since then we have been best buds. I have taken care of him over the years such as feeding him, taking him to the vet, filling up his water bowl, and taking him on lots of walks and car rides.