Puzzle – “Something, such as a game, toy, or challenge, that requires ingenuity and often persistence in solving or assembling.” (www.dictionary.com) The Volunteer Puzzle PieceHave you ever been frustrated with not being able to locate a particular piece of a jigsaw puzzle? When I recently had breakfast with one of our past board chairs, Ian Pike, he talked about the not-for-profit organization being like a jigsaw puzzle, and commented that new players reshape the puzzle and may even see the pieces fitting together differently – or completely dump the pieces and start all over gain. As I thought about this analogy more carefully, I recognized this jigsaw analogy also applies to organizations seeking board members and other volunteers. Organizations increasingly have difficulty finding board members and other volunteers because they don’t look quite the same way they used to look. It is a very different looking puzzle with very differently shaped pieces. As a puzzle piece, a volunteer used to have one “innie” and maybe also one “outie” and it fit easily into the puzzle. That was because it was a clearly defined area, the piece was reasonably shaped and it was easy to understand where it belonged. Now a volunteer as a puzzle piece can have two or three “innies” and “outies” and it does not fit easily into the puzzle. The piece is complex and most organizations really do not know where they can place it. We hold the piece carefully and study and search and find nowhere for it to fit in the puzzle of our organization. As we examine this more complex puzzle piece it is easy to see why organizations cannot find a place for it to fit. We are accustomed to having clarity in that piece of our puzzle called “volunteer” and that is not our current situation. We are happy to have a simple puzzle and it seems to be easier to complete the puzzle with pieces that fit easily. And that certainly was the case when we determined by looking at our puzzle this is the shape of the volunteer piece – simple, clearly defined. Then we go looking for that piece. Many of us are saying now we cannot be expected to find a place in the puzzle for a very difficult piece. We really do not want to work with that piece in our puzzle. Ah! But how much more beautiful is the puzzle full of complex pieces with many “innies” and “outies” and great texture and huge complexity that all fits together. Is that not the challenge we face now? Building a structure of people with many skills and the complexity of fitting the skills all together in order to ensure many people have an opportunity to work with us to deliver our mission. The volunteers that walk in our door at Volunteer Vancouver today are different than they were ten years ago. The volunteers are complex pieces. The have a clear understanding of what they have to offer and what they want to contribute. Like the volunteers of decades ago they also want to be engaged in the community. They want to do good work that affects people. They want to make a difference. These are the volunteers we would define as “knowledge volunteers.” Chilwin Cheng, a member of our board, mentioned recently that it is similar to the way Peter Drucker writes about the knowledge worker. It is not so much about volunteers doing manual labour. It is not about busy hands as much as it is about individuals with many skills they want to contribute to community. And many organizations are looking to include these complex puzzle pieces with the ones that are reasonably shaped – and that can both fit easily into the puzzle they have created. It is not simple. So as we continue to build these puzzles that are our organizations, are we looking for new ways to frame them – maybe with complex puzzle pieces that make up the board of directors? That can mean being creative about shaping the frame with the combination of pieces that have visionary-looking pieces and brilliant-looking pieces and inquiring-looking pieces. Even more importantly each of the pieces must fit into the frame. It is about each of those board members being part of the very visionary, planning framework of the organization. Then we must combine all of the other pieces – the ones we’re seeking to fit certain “holes” and the ones that are very complex and really don’t seem to fit any “hole” in that puzzle we started a year or a decade or many decades ago. It requires ingenuity and persistence to assemble this new puzzle. Will we be able to find a place for all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and fit them all together to create one incredibly effective organization to deliver our mission? That truly is our challenge. About Colleen Kelly
About Volunteer VancouverThe mission of Volunteer Vancouver is to inspire
& build leadership in the voluntary sector. This publication is intended to be a medium of communication and information for the many organizations active in the volunteer and not-for-profit sector. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect official policy of the Board of Directors of Volunteer Vancouver. Volunteer Vancouver |
