Every so often I read something from outside our field, and it strikes me immediately as being very relevant to volunteer engagement professionals. That happened when I read this short article by Seth Godin. I’ve copied it here for ease of reference, giving due credit to Seth as the originator and author:
Belief and knowledge
They’re different.
Knowledge changes all the time. When we engage with the world, when we encounter data or new experiences, our knowledge changes.
But belief is what we call the things that stick around, particularly and especially in the face of changes in knowledge.
While more knowledge can change belief, it usually doesn’t. Belief is a cultural phenomenon, created in conjunction with the people around us.
The easy way to discern the two: “What would you need to see or learn to change your mind about that?”
As volunteer engagement professionals, our knowledge changes all the time. We learn what volunteers want, or don’t want, and adapt our practice. And we’re good at adapting. Look at all the changes we’ve made during the pandemic, often at great speed. As just one example, we’re far more adept at using technology in our work than we were two years ago.
When it comes to beliefs, however, perhaps we have a problem.
For example:
- We continue to believe that this is an isolating profession, and that nobody in our organisation understands or appreciates what’s involved in our work.
- We continue to believe that volunteering isn’t taken seriously by our senior management, our sector leaders, our government officials and ministers, and that nobody will listen to us if we try to effect change.
- We continue to believe that all the paperwork and bureaucracy we have to put up with has to be there, no other options exist, and we couldn’t change things even if there were.
Seth Godin’s article suggests beliefs are hard to change. In our context, I’m not so sure.
Before Covid-19, we believed volunteers wouldn’t embrace technology. That belief has been proven wrong.
Our knowledge of using technology changed, and our beliefs followed, to the point where we now often think digital by default. A complete 180 degree shift in our beliefs in under two years (albeit in exceptional circumstances).
So, if our beliefs can change, what do we need to see or learn to change our minds, and challenge any limiting beliefs we are clinging too? To go back to the examples I used earlier:
- If we knew that it’s easy to network and connect with colleagues through bodies like the Heritage Volunteering Group and the Association of Volunteer Managers and the Association of Voluntary Service Managers, then would we change our beliefs about how isolating our profession is?
- If we knew that our leaders don’t ignore volunteering because they don’t care about it — it is more likely because they don’t know much about it, so-called benign neglect — would that change our beliefs about our ability to effect change by filling the gaps in their knowledge?
- If we knew that much of the bureaucracy we are comfortable with wasn’t used during the pandemic because volunteers were mobilised in different ways, and that this change doesn’t appear to have caused any crises, would we change our beliefs about how we go about risk management and safeguarding?
In conclusion, here are four questions for you:
- What limiting beliefs do you hold?
- What do you need to know to help change those limiting beliefs?
- Where can you find that knowledge?
- What will you commit to doing now to learn and make change happen?
As Seth often says, go make a ruckus.
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