Who's In Charge
All groups have dynamics. It’s the way of the world. How they are led and organized determines how they operate and how effective they are. Of course, everyone wants to be effective. It’s one of the main desires that drives us—that and being safe. But to be effective, it has to be organized and focused, and every machine cog must work, or the effort is all for naught.
There’s been a lot of research on this subject, particularly in the corporate business world. Nothing makes a corporation more effective than having very effective employees and an organization that works. But how do you get there?
There must be a head of a structure and sub-heads under that structure. This involves egos, and there is always a rub when someone gets a position that someone thought belonged to him/her. When the organization starts, everyone dreams of what can happen with it, and it’s very difficult to turn around then and do the work it takes to make the whole operation a success if you have infighting and disagreements that spread into wholesale bickering and set another up for failure.
A great way to start is to have a mission statement. This keeps everyone focused. It’s so dang easy to get off on tangents that don’t deliver any results toward implementing or making the mission statement a reality. The mission statement can help the leader say, “Does this task get us closer to our goal?” or “Will this effort be something that will affect our focus?” If not, bang, it’s gone, and it’s usually the person pushing the task or effort who will realize that although it may be a great idea if it’s not working toward that mission statement, it should stop.
When Walt ran his program as the USDA's undersecretary, it was a bottoms-up structure. He worked very hard to ensure that there was always a focus and everyone was working toward that one goal, even though everyone’s job was different. He was the first to introduce me to Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing.
Forming - At first, there’s a lot of excitement, but there is also apprehension about what everyone’s role will be. They will be looking to the team leader to be the director.
Storming - People start to push against the established boundaries. Conflict and friction can arise between team members. At this stage, the members may challenge the authority, leader (s), and the team’s mission. Unchecked, this will kill a project. If roles and responsibilities aren’t clear, members may feel overwhelmed.
Norming - People gradually move to this stage. They resolve their differences, appreciate one another’s strengths, and respect the leader's authority.
Performing - is just that. The team is now a working unit, with all parts working together as they should.
What makes this so valuable is that it characterizes the stages of development through some rough waters that can often make a leader or sub-leader panic or, at the least, get concerned about whether or not the goal can be accomplished. If a leader isn’t prepared for the Storming stage and doesn’t know what to do, the project won’t make it to Norming and Performing.
This is a vital stage to understand and know how to deal with. Some steps have proven useful and successful in making it less intimidating. There may have to be some editing with personnel and even shifting responsibilities and duties within the different project groups. The truth is that this is a test of leadership, and the leader must take the challenge to “perform” to ensure that these situations are handled well.
Keeping in touch with the teams and their progress is a great way to understand the personal and emotional dynamics that may lead to conflict. It’s not that the leader should avoid the conflict, but be clear about everyone’s responsibility and duties. A leader being a clear leader is one of the best ways to move out of Storming and into Norming.
Another part of staying in touch is delegating tasks and asking for feedback from your different groups to build trust within these groups, and the group leaders can learn to trust you, the leader.
Conflict can not be left unchecked, thinking it will fizzle out. It is an opportunity to ferret out inefficiencies and problems within the structure. It can also lead to innovation and problem-solving, strengthening the organization and increasing productivity.
Quieter team members may need facilitation in speaking, while louder members may need to be encouraged to listen while the quiet ones speak. A leader asking for everyone’s view is a great way to include everyone and clarify that even the quiet members are valuable and need to be heard.
For the constant and fierce troublemaker, the leader can take steps to make clear to the member that certain behavior is acceptable while other behavior won’t be tolerated. This can be anything from constantly being off-focus to sabotage and envy of others. The best thing to do is to work in three steps.
First, clearly communicate to the team members the rules and guidelines that are acceptable and what is not acceptable. Limiting the number of unacceptable events or occurrences is also important, with probation and removal as the end consequence of further unacceptable behavior.
Second, it’s time to repeat everything from the first session to the second incursion. That will be enforced in the second step. It is important to clarify that the leader is available for help or assistance in accomplishing the job. Finally, it’s important to note that the final step…well, it’s final!
Third, this is the time for removal. Remind the member of the first and second steps and how they were not followed so that the leader has no choice but to remove the member. A note here to the leader, in case you get soft-hearted or confronted with a tear-jerker story: the member has had plenty of time to cure himself/herself, and apparently, that didn’t work, so for the benefit of the project/structure and the other members, this member must be removed.
That’s it—no discussion; after the third round, either the member does not hear or realize what’s being said or has no inclination to change and, therefore, will only become a further liability toward the mission statement. This troublemaker member needs to be removed for the benefit of the whole project and all members. This is also an example of how serious you are as a leader and that your warnings have serious effects.
Good leadership is vital to functioning teams, projects, and groups. Leaders can transform a ragtag group into a whiz-bang, successful volunteer organization.
All volunteer groups, particularly political volunteers, require good leadership to effect change. Many very willing and smart people want to take on that leadership role in the group, but without a clear understanding of what a volunteer group entails and the parameters within which a leader has to work, a volunteer organization is set up for failure.
Having worked with non-profit volunteer organizations for twenty years, I know that it’s a whole different way of leading. Yes, some of the business models work and can provide great insight and resources, but the truth is that a volunteer is completely different from an employee. An employee can be controlled and disciplined, whereas a volunteer leaves if bullied or treated crossly. At the same time, a motivated and encouraged volunteer can be an invaluable asset to an organization.
The latest figures estimate volunteer time to be about $27.50/hour. A minimum of three hours a week over the period of a six-week campaign adds up to about $500 per volunteer - for only three hours a week. Up that to about six hours a week over the same campaign, and that’s $1,000. A six-week period is usually one-third of the entire campaign. So, over the whole campaign, that three-hour volunteer is $1,500, and the six-hour volunteer is $3,000 - per person.
You aren’t paying this out, so why is this person devoting so much of their most precious resource? As the leader, you must make sure that there is proper compensation. Most often, that is the thank you from the heart, but also inclusion and trusting them with more responsibility. Often, after the campaign, these volunteers can turn their volunteer work into a job if the candidate is elected, and even if the candidate isn’t elected, the volunteers now have a cadre of information that makes them even more valuable.
However, this requires a different kind of leadership in the volunteer world than in a company. Many business types come into a volunteer organization, and two things usually happen: 1.) the business leaders get discouraged and leave, or 2.) the volunteers get discouraged and leave. Both the volunteers and the business leader had grand intentions, but without understanding of both sides, the whole leadership/volunteer relationship gets skewed and doesn’t work.
It is also true that grassroots leadership can and probably will look a lot like establishment leadership. There’s one big difference. Establishment leadership looks upon those even a mere one level below them as subordinates who are there to fulfill the needs of the people on top, not the needs of the voter. While those on the bottom are not to reason why but to do and die. This is clearly not a system that works. Eventually, the top-heavy organization has no one to do the day-to-day functions of the project, and the project implodes from within.
Grassroots leadership is there to aid and lead those under it. It is responsible for being aware of the members working to accomplish the tasks easier, simpler, and more efficiently. How? By talking with them, getting feedback from them, and staying connected with them, so that the leader is constantly aware of the members’ situation and needs.
Although the structure may look the same, the establishment structure is crumbling because no members can do the real work, making the project or goals less attainable and less effective. This gets back to keeping that leader/member relationship open and communicative so that the leader works on the goal through the members’ work and progress. This openness is not only great for good relations among the members but also for maintaining excellent respect and adherence to the goal through the leadership of the top guy.
Lack of communication with the leader is the first step toward failure. The next step is the withering away of members. The more members that leave, the less to do the work, till finally, as the last members leave, there is no work done, and the structure crumbles over its top-heavy structure.
The very best attitude that the leader can take is the heart of a servant. I’m an A-type personality; I’m also realistic. If I start A-typing all over the place, I know I won’t reach the people who want to learn how to do tasks that can help the cause we are all working for. I need to be able to listen to find out what they need and want, which is key. Without that openness, I can’t even begin to pass on the knowledge they need to perform their tasks. Having the presence of mind to have the heart of a servant allows me that openness to be more aware of what the volunteers need and what kind of instruction will work for their needs.
The very act of listening to them and then giving them the knowledge they need warms their hearts and makes them totally onboard with the project or cause. This becomes the old win-win solution so that the volunteers’ needs are met, and the leader has the great joy of realizing that he/she has done a good job.
When these two systems are side-by-side, one waning and the other waxing, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to see the movement of one upwards and the movement of the other toward a crashing end. The movement upward is filled with study and training to understand, instruct, and demonstrate the correct working techniques to make the project work. The crumbling structure keeps doing the same thing that worked in the past, only to meet failure repeatedly until the system falls apart. Often, neither the crumbling nor the rising system sees much progress until there are monumental moments of clarity - an election or a meeting that accomplishes great results - without expecting anyone outside of their group to realize what has been realized. When recognition comes from outside the group, another benchmark has passed to make it clear that the path of the rising team will actually meet their goals.
The value in a knowledgeable volunteer can mean everything to that person, and once people begin to see how your volunteer organization works to share more information, including training on vital skills, you, as a leader, become a much more valuable commodity for candidates and party officials.
But there’s a better payoff—if you can imagine that. There is the deep-seated enjoyment and pleasure that you, as a leader, have positively affected not only your project and your volunteers but also your community and a very real effect on other would-be leaders. It’s the satisfaction of a job well done.