We’ve got the power

Long-term readers will know I am a fan of Seth Godin, writer, marketer and inspirational thought leader. In the past, I have riffed off Seth’s writing for this blog (see “Belief And Knowledge” and “What Is Excellence?” for example) and I’m doing that again here, thanks to an article published on his blog back in January 2024, simply titled, “Unaware”. Here it is:

”If you don’t realize that you have power, you might not be able to exercise it. The power to speak up, to participate, to invent, to lead, to encourage, to vote, to connect, to organize, to march, to write, to say ‘no’ or to say ‘yes’. It’s tempting to imagine we have less power than we do. It lets us off the hook. For now.”

Very often that’s us, isn’t it?

We Volunteer Engagement Professionals either don’t realise we have power — or don’t believe we do — and so we don’t exercise it. We may not speak up, invest, lead etc. We buy into the belief that because we don’t have a seat at the table, we have little or no power, little or no agency.

If that’s part of our self-belief and self-talk, then we have two responses.

Response one

Listen to it and believe it. We’re in an isolating profession. We’re the only one who does what we do at our organisation. We can’t affect change. Nobody would understand.

We maybe take comfort in our powerless narrative so we don’t have to face up to the bigger challenges of our role — sitting back in our comfort zone rather than trying to change the status quo. We just need to keep our heads down and do the best we can for our volunteers.

At its worst, we adopt a victim mentality — that all the issues we face, problems we encounter, and challenges that obstruct us, are someone else’s fault, and we are powerless to address and overcome them.

Response two

We hear the voice telling us we have no power, no influence, and we choose to ignore that voice and do something about it.

We look for ‘teachable moments’ to educate others about the power and potential of volunteering.

We challenge stereotypes and prejudice that cast volunteers in a negative light.

We tell stories and share meaningful data that demonstrates the multiple impacts of volunteers.

We keep going because we know that volunteering has the potential to change the world.

I know I have been firmly in the first response category, especially early on in my career. I’ve played the victim card. I’ve kept my head down. I’ve even left jobs because of that mindset, hoping that the grass is indeed greener in different pastures. Honestly, it’s sometimes the easier option.

Now I’m more often in the second response category. That doesn’t mean I’m never frustrated, or annoyed, or demotivated by events. But it does mean I choose my reactions to those events, and focus on the power, the influence, and the agency I do have, to try to make change happen.

So today, no long lectures or philosophical navel-gazing about our profession. I’m keeping this simple.

Ask yourself, which response category do you sit in today? Number One or number two.

If it’s response category one, then what can you do to realise and seize the power you have, to become aware of it and take action? What support might you need in making a change? Who can you reach out to for that support? If you’re stuck, please let me know.

If you’re in response category two, then I have three simple asks of you.

1. Find another Volunteer Manager in response category one and offer to mentor them.
   
2. Write about your journey from response category one to response category two. Share how you’ve seized and exercised the power you realised you have, and what change you’ve enabled as a result.
   
3. Publish what you write. Share it on LinkedIn. Send it to me as a guest post for this blog. Write it up for Engage. Those of us who are aware of our power and use it to try to make change happen, have a responsibility to help those who don’t to act.
   

So, come on. Don’t delay. Before today is over, decide which category you are in and set yourself a goal to act accordingly.

Let’s work together to acknowledge our power, and exercise it effectively to realise our vision for volunteering.

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