Being at the head isn’t the same as leading
I wouldn’t say it’s happened a lot, but a few times when I’m being an effective volunteer and I’m addressing an issue, I’ve been asked to take an “executive” role, like chair or board member. It’s flattering, and given the old rules of power and hierarchy, I have an immediate gut reaction to say yes.
Thankfully, I’ve trained myself enough that I’m able not to blurt out the first thing that comes into my head. You see, I don’t want to run the movement, I want to help lead it.
Organizations come with responsibilities and obligations. Being the change-junky I am, I’m usually not too keen on helping out with all those old expectations and deliverables. There’s a bright, exciting future to be had, and the old stuff seems to be a distraction to the story. Now, I know that there are some old things that still need to be done… let’s call those the fundamentals. Things like budgeting, stakeholder communication or volunteer development, but there seems to be a steady supply of people to take on those roles. I’m really thankful those people exist. I want to play where there are no rules, no expectations. It’s people taking adequate care of the fundamentals that allow for others to explore innovations and growth.
So, back to the opportunity. What to do? The roles have offered influence, but only if you’re not too busy being distracted.
I’ve found it works well to be uflinchingly honest in what I’m capable of doing. I’ve found myself saying, “I really care about the outcomes and am passionate about the work this organization can do. I like the idea of a bigger platform, the access to resources, the ability to influence the thinking of others, but I’m not really interested in many of the conventional things being done. In fact, I’ll probably be frustrating to you as I don’t ‘pull my weight’ on some of this stuff. You can have me, but I’m not going to be very helpful for maintaining business as usual.”
Kinda sounds like my job interviews, huh?
What I’ve found is that there’s a HUGE appetite for this kind of truth telling. The response has been a ready acceptance for this kind of approach. The big hurdle here isn’t the people inviting me to join. The hurdle is in my head, and whether I’m going to embrace the discomfort of being something different than expected.
