Catalyzing Volunteer Coalition Leaders

In coalitions, there are two primary types of leadership roles:

1. Paid Staff and

2. Volunteer Leaders.

While both roles are incredibly important, they have different functions and expectations which need to be clarified and discussed in every coalition context.

In this blog, we will focus on volunteer leadership. In no way should this be seen as discouragement to having paid staff run your coalition in collaboration with volunteers. Often a coalition is staffed by someone who is juggling other duties or it is a fraction of their work; we highly encourage you to fully staff your coalition. 

Now, on to volunteer leaders. Having an invested and engaged leadership team is critical to your success and the backbone of your work. They set the tone and culture for membership overall. This committee should really buy into the concept of the coalition and be purpose driven. You want this team to be made up of subject matter experts (SMEs), lived experiences and a strong interest in the area who also have capacity to step forward and take on some of the tasks required to function smoothly. Clearly define for potential leadership team members that you aren’t looking for an advisory board but rather a team that is ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. 

As you are building your leadership team, or working on coalition stability, we encourage you to be flexible and adaptable to meet your needs. Your group will need to reflect the coalition’s focus area, community and shared goals.

As an example, we are working with a workgroup that was designed to have two co-chairs. One of the co-chairs has a passion, deep understanding of the focus area and wonderful credibility; however, he has very limited capacity. Our team decided that this workgroup was growing and needed additional resources, therefore we decided to add a third co-chair. For this team, they leaned into the strengths of their leaders and worked to complement the work of their wonderful co-chair rather than ask him to take on work he didn’t have time for or worse, ask him to step down. 

It’s great to build a strong team but then, are you maximizing their strengths and time? We hope so!

Here are three steps for empowering strong coalition leaders

Expectations:

Clearly map out what is being asked of from your volunteers. Work to set reasonable expectations and remember that many of your volunteers already have a full time job (although bonus if they are able to include the coalition work into their professional work plan! Look for that win-win!). In addition to sharing time commitments (touch point meetings, strategic planning, prep and follow-up) also let them know how you will communicate and what expectations you have for their input and feedback. Consider a training or leadership welcome packet to anticipate questions or needs they may have.

Engagement:

If someone steps up to take on a leadership role they are signaling they want to have active engagement. Make sure you have a good understanding of their strengths and interests, then align your needs with them. Ask your leadership to help and NEVER assume they don’t have time. Naturally, respect their wishes if they don’t have current capacity but make sure to have a constant feedback loop with your leadership members both as a team and 1:1 to maximize their engagement. Ensure you are providing plenty of opportunities for feedback and input. Use that feedback to help inform your strategic direction and prioritization. 

Execution:

You and your leadership team should be the pace setters for executing the goals of your coalition. Your own role is to do what you say you will do, but also hold your leadership team accountable for what they’ve agreed to take on. Ask for them to step up and select how they want to contribute (this may need to be a 1:1 conversation). Ensure that meeting notes have a leader assigned to a task and structure time for follow up. Once your members and leadership volunteers see that your coalition is action based and focused on executing your goals they will be more likely to engage and be present.

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Join us the 3rd Thursday of the month for our live Coalition Spotlight Conversation: https://info.coalitioncoaches.com/coalition-spotlight