Maryanne Ross, CFPIM, CIRM, CSCP, District Manager, APICS Mid-Atlantic District

Sharon Rice, Executive Director, APICS Foundation

Leverage the Natural Strengths of Your Volunteer Leaders

Leverage the Natural Strengths of Your Volunteer Leaders

Great leaders focus on bringing out the best in their team members.

This session will explore how to engage volunteers and members based on their strengths and develop their hidden talents.Lessons learned by the presenters and concepts gleaned from the book StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath will be applied.

Leverage the Natural Strengths of Your Volunteer Leaders• Today, we will discuss how you can

– attract volunteers and leverage their strengths to build a stronger leadership team for the organization

– create an environment where all members are given the opportunity to contribute.

Leverage the Natural Strengths of Your Volunteer Leaders• Our goal is to help you

– create meaningful relationships within your organization

– build stronger volunteer teams– address succession issues that result from a

shallow bench of volunteer leaders– be more successful as an APICS partner.

But first … Why are you a volunteer leader?• It is such a pleasure to meet with other professionals and

work with volunteers who have different perspectives, personalities, and experiences.

• It is gratifying to help others take on new challenges and grow.• It is fun working in a relaxed and supportive community.• The productive work of an APICS leader is rewarding in and of

itself.• It is a great feeling when we have a successful event (PDM,

class, conference).• I learn new things from other people all the time.• I feel like my contributions are welcomed and respected.

Why is it difficult to recruit new leaders?

• People do not have the time.• Volunteering isn’t a priority for people these

days.• People haven’t formed a close enough

connection to our organization to make this kind of commitment.

• We don’t make enough “space” for new people.

Believe this:People want to participate.

– Introverts as much as extroverts– Working people as well as retired people– Young professionals as much as experienced

professionals– Women as much as men– People of every culture in every country

Why People Volunteer

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Slide 9

Why People VolunteerThe Potential Volunteer

Type of Volunteer Assignment

Unmet Need That May Be Fulfilled

Has gifts that are unused

Opportunities to apply unused gifts

Self-actualization

Feels unrecognized or undervalued in other settings

Opportunities to be rewarded, openly recognized, and spotlighted

Esteem

Feels lonely Opportunities that allow meeting and getting to know other people

Love

Is fearful of losing job Chances to build new skills, gain new experiences, or expand resume

Safety

Needs a job Ability to develop new skills and have others recognize talents

Physiological

As APICS Leaders • We all have the responsibility to

– develop new APICS volunteers– recognize their individual talents, abilities, and

strengths– maximize the opportunities for individuals to

contribute using these strengths– build high-functioning leadership teams

Strengths-Based ApproachTom Rath on the motivations of the Gallup scientists exploring what is right with people:

“We were tired of living in a world that revolved around fixing our weaknesses. Society’s relentless focus on people’s shortcomings had turned into a global obsession. What’s more, we had discovered that people have several times more potential for growth when they invest energy in developing their strengths instead of correcting their deficiencies.”

Chances of Individuals Being Engaged…

Organization’s Leadership Does Not Focus on Strengths

Organization’s Leadership Focuses on Strengths

9%

73%

Strength-Based Leadership• As leaders, you face the challenge of building an effective

network of workers, be they volunteers or employees.• Determining the strengths you have and the strengths

you need is critical to your satisfaction and your success as a leader.

• Therefore you need to use your strengths to– plan for what the organization needs– engage people so that they discover what they have to offer– encourage all potential volunteers to act upon their strengths.

What Strong Teams Have in Common…

• Conflict doesn’t destroy strong teams because strong teams focus on results.

• Strong teams prioritize what’s best for the organization and then move forward.

• Members of strong teams are as committed to their personal lives as they are to their work.

• Strong teams embrace diversity.• Strong teams are magnets for talent.

Key Terms to Understand• Skills are your basic abilities to perform the fundamental steps of

a task. Skills do not naturally exist within us; they must be acquired through formal or informal training and practice.

• Knowledge is simply what you know. Knowledge does not naturally exist within us; it must be acquired through formal or informal education.

• Talents are the ways in which you naturally think, feel, and behave. Talents come into existence naturally and cannot be acquired like skills and knowledge. We each have unique talents within us.

The Strength Equation

Talent ( a natural way ofthinking, feeling, or behaving)

x Investment (time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge base)

= Strength (the ability to consistently providenear-perfect performance)

Four Domains of Leadership Strength

Executing InfluencingRelationship

BuildingStrategic Thinking

Achiever

Arranger

Belief

Consistency

Deliberative

Discipline

Focus

Responsibility

Restorative

Activator

Command

Communication

Competition

Maximizer

Self-Assurance

Significance

Woo

Adaptability

Developer

Connectedness

Empathy

Harmony

Includer

Individualization

Positivity

Relator

Analytical

Context

Futuristic

Ideation

Input

Intellection

Learner

Strategic

Four Domains of Leadership Strength

• Executing strength– Leaders with dominant strength in the Executing domain

know how to make things happen.

– When you need someone to implement a solution, these are the people who will work tirelessly to get it done.

– Leaders with a strength to execute have the ability to “catch” an idea and make it a reality.

Four Domains of Leadership Strength

• Influencing strength– Those who lead by influencing help their team reach a

much broader audience.

– People with strength in this domain are always selling the team’s ideas inside and outside the organization.

– When you need someone to take charge, speak up, and make sure your group is heard, look for someone with the strength to influence.

Four Domains of Leadership Strength• Relationship-building strength

– Those who lead through Relationship-Building are the essential glue that holds a team together.

– Without these strengths on a team, in many cases, the group is simply a composite of individuals.

– In contrast, leaders with exceptional Relationship-Building strengths have the unique ability to create groups and organizations that are much greater than the sum of their parts.

Four Domains of Leadership Strength• Strategic-thinking strength

– Leaders with great Strategic-Thinking strengths are the ones who keep us all focused on what could be.

– They are constantly absorbing and analyzing information and helping the team make better decisions.

– People with strength in this domain continually stretch our thinking for the future.

Case Study: Mid-Atlantic District Staff

How this Works• In groups of 4 or 5:

– Create your fantasy volunteer team to plan and execute this campaign based on the domains and themes of StrengthsFinder.

– Discuss what strengths you need and why you need them.

– Be prepared to report on why and how you will use these skill sets/talents within your organization.

How this Works• You need to organize a membership drive to

recruit new members (and potential leaders). • The campaign will have

– a targeted direct mail/email campaign– a telethon– company visits– a meet-and-greet professional development

meeting

Things to Consider• Offer a professional development meeting based on

StrengthsFinder as a way to encourage members to learn more about their strengths and share them with you.

• Ask new leaders to take StrengthsFinder, if they haven’t already, and keep a database of everyone’s strengths to leverage.

• Plan a leadership retreat early in the year to discuss plans and strengths needs to fulfill those plans.

Questions?