Bill Wittich | Speaker - Author

We all understand that morale and attitudes affect how much gets done in the volunteer place. Great morale is found in those places where the volunteers enjoy coming to work, where they bring their best thinking, do what is required without being directed, and feel they are making a difference. The quality of the relationship between the volunteers and the leadership team, between the team and the director all have to do with this morale and is a key to building the Espirit De Corps in the organization. The volunteer work environment, the rules and regulations, the flexibility of work schedules and the fun and celebrations all add to this feeling of Espirit De Corps. Sometimes, it is simply involving the volunteers in the decision-making, insuring that all information gets into everyone's hands and empowering the volunteers to "just do it!"

This kind of Espirit De Corps is found in most start-up companies, those places where everyone is focused on a common goal. It's found in athletic teams where they are moving toward the win. It's found in the best military units where the leaders train the warriors and trust them to get the job done. People want to have a sense of ownership, for that, which they involve themselves in. If it's their baby, they will do almost anything. Espirit De Corps or high morale is found in those places where the volunteers can see the results of their hard work and they know that they are making a difference. One key to this concept is that the leader needs to keep all information flowing to the volunteers, they must know how they are doing. Poor leaders consider information as power, and keep all power within their own reach. Excellent leaders share all information and trust the volunteers to respect any confidential information.
How do we get our volunteers to begin to think and act like owners? What is it that owners do that non owners don't do? Well, for one, owners tend to question things more, to question rules that inhibit growth, question rules that don't serve the organizations purpose.

Ownership is a state of mind. It's a sense of being fully involved in your own business, it's caring about all the little details. It's not worrying about being watched by the boss, they are the boss of their units. There is a willingness among owners to take action without being asked, they are not spectators. Ownership is a very powerful incentive because it inspires motivation and encourages loyalty. One key to developing a sense of ownership is to look for people who have an entrepreneurial spirit. Our task, if that's true, is to create an environment that nurtures this entrepreneurial spirit.

The environment we are discussing is one where our volunteers believe that they can make a difference, and then are willing to act on that belief in everything they do. When they see that their efforts are appreciated, their self-esteem and dignity are enhanced. To know that our labor counts, is to know that we count. When volunteers are involved, they care more, the more they care, the more willing they are to assume leadership. Volunteers will assume ownership if they know that the work they are doing is meaningful. Too often the director gives work assignments to volunteers and fails to explain the purpose of the assignment and why that particular job is meaningful. The volunteer does the work, but fails to sense the purpose in the task and loses motivation. I believe that every job assigned to a volunteer is meaningful. I don't think any volunteer director would assign meaningless work to a volunteer. But, I know that many times the volunteer has no idea why they are doing this task and they do not think it has value. A volunteer is given the task to take home papers from school to cut out for tomorrow's art project. The volunteer is likely to think that this simple task is not important and is certainly not going to help those students develop their minds. But when the director explains that this assignment will free up the teacher's time to prepare for that math lesson , the volunteer senses the value of their work.


	*Build ESPIRIT DE CORPS* into your program** We all understand that morale and attitudes affect how much gets done in the volunteer place. Great morale is found in those places where the volunteers enjoy coming to work, where they bring their best thinking, do what is required without being directed, and feel they are making a difference. The quality of the relationship between the volunteers and the leadership team, between the team and the director all have to do with this morale and is a key to building the Espirit De Corps in the organization. The volunteer work environment, the rules and regulations, the flexibility of work schedules and the fun and celebrations all add to this feeling of Espirit De Corps. Sometimes, it is simply involving the volunteers in the decision-making, insuring that all information gets into everyone's hands and empowering the volunteers to "just do it!" This kind of Espirit De Corps is found in most start-up companies, those places where everyone is focused on a common goal. It's found in athletic teams where they are moving toward the win. It's found in the best military units where the leaders train the warriors and trust them to get the job done. People want to have a sense of ownership, for that, which they involve themselves in. If it's their baby, they will do almost anything. Espirit De Corps or high morale is found in those places where the volunteers can see the results of their hard work and they know that they are making a difference. One key to this concept is that the leader needs to keep all information flowing to the volunteers, they must know how they are doing. Poor leaders consider information as power, and keep all power within their own reach. Excellent leaders share all information and trust the volunteers to respect any confidential information. How do we get our volunteers to begin to think and act like owners? What is it that owners do that non owners don't do? Well, for one, owners tend to question things more, to question rules that inhibit growth, question rules that don't serve the organizations purpose. Ownership is a state of mind. It's a sense of being fully involved in your own business, it's caring about all the little details. It's not worrying about being watched by the boss, they are the boss of their units. There is a willingness among owners to take action without being asked, they are not spectators. Ownership is a very powerful incentive because it inspires motivation and encourages loyalty. One key to developing a sense of ownership is to look for people who have an entrepreneurial spirit. Our task, if that's true, is to create an environment that nurtures this entrepreneurial spirit. The environment we are discussing is one where our volunteers believe that they can make a difference, and then are willing to act on that belief in everything they do. When they see that their efforts are appreciated, their self-esteem and dignity are enhanced. To know that our labor counts, is to know that we count. When volunteers are involved, they care more, the more they care, the more willing they are to assume leadership. Volunteers will assume ownership if they know that the work they are doing is meaningful. Too often the director gives work assignments to volunteers and fails to explain the purpose of the assignment and why that particular job is meaningful. The volunteer does the work, but fails to sense the purpose in the task and loses motivation. I believe that every job assigned to a volunteer is meaningful. I don't think any volunteer director would assign meaningless work to a volunteer. But, I know that many times the volunteer has no idea why they are doing this task and they do not think it has value. A volunteer is given the task to take home papers from school to cut out for tomorrow's art project. The volunteer is likely to think that this simple task is not important and is certainly not going to help those students develop their minds. But when the director explains that this assignment will free up the teacher's time to prepare for that math lesson , the volunteer senses the value of their work.