(83f) Managing Volunteers is a Little Like Herding Cats

Managing volunteers over whom you hold little or no direct authority can be very challenging and is essential in many not-for-profit organizations such as AIChE where the true size of the effective work force must greatly exceed the number of W-2 s and paid consultants in order to accomplish the mission of the organization. It requires many of the same management skills that are effective for managing in any organization but requires an even greater utilization of soft skills in order to continually motivate, recognize and reward the volunteers that are critical to expanding the staff’s internal organization. The cultivation and refinement of these skills are essential for the success of those working in the not-for-profit field but are also important to those who may be working as volunteers (and managing other volunteers) or those working in more traditional organizations but who at times find themselves required to lead peers over whom they have no clearly defined line of authority.

In this presentation, Dr. Cramer will outline similarities and differences in the management of volunteers and staffers and illustrate these using his own experiences in transitioning from an industrial consulting career to a not-for-profit.

Herding cats has sometimes been compared with managing chemical engineer volunteers. Both are intelligent (in their own way) and extremely independent.  As a manager your success and your organization’s success depends on finding the right path and keeping everyone on it…..more or less.