Condo Media - August 2013 - 42
by Julie Adamen
VOLUNTEERS
The Painful Death of Volunteerism
Why It’s Happening, What to do About it
M
any communities, if not most
communities, suffer from
a shortage of volunteers.
People are busier than ever,
and their time is precious. After a full
day’s work, it seems like a real waste of
that precious time to spend it
at a sleep-inducing board or
committee meeting, away
from family. The net
result is that the available population of
volunteers diminishes and boards
soon discover
they can’t find
anyone to
replace retiring board members. The
result: Communities end up being managed by a small group of the same folks
for a very long time.
Why are we so often unable to procure new volunteers, or fail
to retain the ones we have?
Unfortunately, lost volunteerism can almost
always be traced
back to the board
of directors that
does not endeavor
to nurture the
volunteers, place
them in the
right position,
listen to their
contributions,
or acknowledge their
Volunteer s?
42
Condo Media • August 2013
input. Volunteers receive their remuneration through satisfaction of process
participation. No satisfaction means no
participation. Let’s talk about a few ways
that volunteerism gets killed:
Ignoring Volunteer Input. The input
of any volunteer — board member
or committee member — is just that:
input. That input does not have to be
agreed with or followed, but it must be
acknowledged. Many boards are under
the false belief that acknowledging the
input of volunteers means 1) the board
agrees with the input and 2) the idea
must be implemented. Nothing could
be farther from the truth.
Micromanaging. Often at a loss on
how to operate within the community
association structure, the board will
try to keep a hand in everything in an
attempt to understand or keep track of
what’s going on. Unfortunately, this
usually leads to 1) not really knowing what’s going on at any one time
because there is too much of which
to keep track, and 2) dreaded micromanagement. Focused on detail in a
misguided attempt at control — or a
misguided attempt to feed an ego —
micromanagers will stop volunteerism
in its tracks every time.
Lack of Follow Up. When you
become a board member, you must
answer emails, return phone calls, and
make personal visits in a timely manner.
Not doing so makes volunteers feel as
if their input is worth little to nothing.
Like it or not, if you are on a board of
directors, especially if you are the president, you are going to be the de facto
leader of the community.
Condo Media - August 2013
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - August 2013
Condo Media - August 2013
Contents
From the CED’s Desk
Editorial Board
CAI News
CAI Regional News
Asked & Answered
On the Rise
Vendor Spotlight
Homeowner’s Corner
Legal
Volunteers
Operations
Legislative Update
Industry Perspective
Classified Service Directory
Advertisers Index
Condo Media - August 2013 - Condo Media - August 2013
Condo Media - August 2013 - Cover2
Condo Media - August 2013 - Contents
Condo Media - August 2013 - From the CED’s Desk
Condo Media - August 2013 - 3
Condo Media - August 2013 - Editorial Board
Condo Media - August 2013 - 5
Condo Media - August 2013 - CAI News
Condo Media - August 2013 - 7
Condo Media - August 2013 - 8
Condo Media - August 2013 - 9
Condo Media - August 2013 - 10
Condo Media - August 2013 - 11
Condo Media - August 2013 - 12
Condo Media - August 2013 - 13
Condo Media - August 2013 - 14
Condo Media - August 2013 - 15
Condo Media - August 2013 - 16
Condo Media - August 2013 - 17
Condo Media - August 2013 - 18
Condo Media - August 2013 - 19
Condo Media - August 2013 - 20
Condo Media - August 2013 - 21
Condo Media - August 2013 - CAI Regional News
Condo Media - August 2013 - 23
Condo Media - August 2013 - 24
Condo Media - August 2013 - 25
Condo Media - August 2013 - Asked & Answered
Condo Media - August 2013 - 27
Condo Media - August 2013 - On the Rise
Condo Media - August 2013 - 29
Condo Media - August 2013 - 30
Condo Media - August 2013 - 31
Condo Media - August 2013 - 32
Condo Media - August 2013 - 33
Condo Media - August 2013 - 34
Condo Media - August 2013 - 35
Condo Media - August 2013 - Vendor Spotlight
Condo Media - August 2013 - 37
Condo Media - August 2013 - Homeowner’s Corner
Condo Media - August 2013 - 39
Condo Media - August 2013 - Legal
Condo Media - August 2013 - 41
Condo Media - August 2013 - Volunteers
Condo Media - August 2013 - 43
Condo Media - August 2013 - Operations
Condo Media - August 2013 - 45
Condo Media - August 2013 - Legislative Update
Condo Media - August 2013 - 47
Condo Media - August 2013 - Industry Perspective
Condo Media - August 2013 - 49
Condo Media - August 2013 - Classified Service Directory
Condo Media - August 2013 - Advertisers Index
Condo Media - August 2013 - 52
Condo Media - August 2013 - 53
Condo Media - August 2013 - 54
Condo Media - August 2013 - 55
Condo Media - August 2013 - 56
Condo Media - August 2013 - Cover3
Condo Media - August 2013 - Cover4
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