Some of you lovely blog readers will have known me for eons. Others will have known me for ‘five minutes’ and only in the virtual world of social media, or not really know me at all! If you fit into one of the latter two groups, you may not be aware that I have been involved in the voluntary sector of the genealogy field for over twelve years in various guises and more recently, in setting up two new societies – the Society for One-Place Studies and The Surname Society (TSS).
I have learnt a huge amount from all the time I have invested in the various groups – about running not-for-profit global organisations and about myself as an individual. There have been good times, great times and challenging times for each society with some coming out – in 2015 – better than others. Over the years, my views have been altered by other people’s opinions. Most of the time, this has been positive but occasionally, I have regretted being swayed by others.
In the voluntary sector, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. You can ask the society membership at large to ‘help’ in one way or another but this rarely generates a mad rush of volunteers. The best way to find someone to carry out a particular role within an organisation is to GO AND ASK someone who you know has the right skill set!
This has worked magnificently over the last 24 hours alone with new volunteers in post based on simple ten-minute discussions. No pressure. No hard sell. Just a “your name popped up in conversation and we wondered if ….” chat. It works.
Why does it work? Because if you go and speak to someone directly, they feel valued…. and if you feel valued by the person talking to you, what do you want to do in return? Help. This morning, I had a call from a friend, colleague and TSS Committee member – totally unexpected and enormously appreciated. She was just calling to say Thank You and Well Done! As a result, I have had a very successful day today and the positive start really enthused me.
Go out there and show people you value what they do, whether they are friends, colleagues …. or whatever their connection to you. Positivity goes a long way (coupled with humour I find!). Happy Wednesday folks!
Source image: FindingHomeFarms.com
