The New Volunteerism Project

The Archival Collection of
Ivan Henry Scheier

Section XIII

Preparing and Supporting the Leadership Professional

June 1999

 Introductory Notes on Preparing and Supporting People
In Their Work In Leadership of Volunteers
Ivan Scheier
June 1999

The role of volunteer coordinator, especially, is a most challenging one. The person in that role by no means always received adequate preparation and support.

That preparation and support, as I saw it, is provided in three major ways: organizational support, training, and consulting.

My work in Staff/Volunteer Relations (Section XIV) was an attempt to secure more organizational support of the Volunteer Coordinator, or at least reduce resistance.

As for training and consulting, I pretty much did the traditional thing as a trainer and consultant for some twenty-five years. That is to say, I wrote articles and manuals, conducted workshops, and made flying visits to consult with programs offering an "answer an hour." Eventually, however, my intrinsic maverickness asserted itself and I began to envision other alternative models for preparing and supporting the person responsible for providing leadership for volunteers.

In regard to training, I began to see the need for fewer workshops more carefully planned, each spanned over a longer time period, with much more preparation before hand and follow-up after, in what was essentially a hybrid of workshop and training and consulting. This concept is described in the first article: "Stop Wasting Training Time! Try the S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D Workshop" © in The Journal of Volunteer Administration, Spring 1986. (Pages 3-6)

Another concern I had about the typical workshop was its inadequacy in truly covering the needs of many people who usually were, literally and figuratively, coming from many different places, – trying to do this, moreover, without having any significant direct experience with their workplace. My personal experiment in dealing with this is described in an unpublished report enclosed here entitled: "With That Last Suggestion Alone, You Just Earned Your Pay: A Volunteer Consultant’s Story" (also called, "The Diary of a Gypsy Consultant.") 1986, (pages 8-16)

The conventional methods, plus the alternatives described above, essentially provided information,* affirmation, and effective strategy in support of program/community leaders. Fine, but in recent years I began to see that the front-line leader of volunteers/community action also needed more, via a chance to get away, think, renew, recharge batteries, give some wounds a chance to start healing. So, since 1990, I’ve invested a major part of my energy in developing and hosting retreat residences. The first was VOLUNTAS from 1990-1996, in Madrid, New Mexico (pages 18-31). The second is STILLPOINT, 1996 to the present, somewhat differently oriented but still relevant, located in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (pages 24-32).

* Also in libraries which I always had, and today, on the Internet as well.

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Ivan Scheier
Stillpoint
607 Marr
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, 87901
Tel (505) 894-1340
Email: ivan@zianet.com

For comments and editing suggestions please contact Mary Lou McNatt mlmcnatt@indra.com