Get REAL with your volunteers (part 2)

Yesterday we started talking about how using a R.E.A.L. approach with our volunteer teams can make! We looked at R-Relational and E-Experiential. You can guess what comes next…

The A. in R.E.A.L. stands for Applicable. Basically, application boils down to two ingredients: self-discovery and sharing. Often volunteers (and their leaders) are so busy they rarely take time to think about what they are doing; let alone talk about it together. Yet, in the R.E.A.L. style of leading, these are key components. Learn to ask the right questions, create space for discussion (and “debriefing”), and encourage your team to share their discoveries with one another.

Finally, the L in R.E.A.L. stands for Learner-based. Are you taking into account the personalities, gifts, learning styles, passions, etc… of your volunteers? Or are you just pushing people into open positions without considering their uniqueness? This is a tough question to answer…and to live out. But it is crucial to equip people for serving in their strengths, with joy, and with enthusiasm.

What changes do you need to make to be more R.E.A.L. with your team? What challenges would you have to overcome to lead this way? Share your thoughts on our blog…