You're leading a team of volunteers with diverse skills. How can you maximize their impact on the community?

Saber los interes particulares, de que los trajo ahi es escencial para diagramar la estructura de trabajo, así conseguir que coincidan ambos intereses en pro de su desarrollo personal y expectativas, y así también del proyecto. Una herramienta útil es acercarse, teber charlas casuales y consultar respecto a qué lo inspira a estar ahi. Con esa información plantear que el objetivo se transforme en una meta comun potenciando el trabajo y acercando la chance de conseguir el objetivo.

Skills, interest and a spark of fun is a sure way to manage a volunteer team. Volunteers are always thrilled to strive their utmost when skill and interest align with the nature of work assigned.

Volunteer management is a different art to managing employees. For a salary, an employee will often utilise skills they're good at, even if it's not their passion. Volunteers, on the other hand, might be brilliant at something, but their time with your team will be short-lived if they don't enjoy it. You can't simply boost morale with money; you must make the role fulfilling and fun. So, don't just ask what volunteers can do; ask what they LOVE doing. Look beyond CVs and consider their broader experiences. Ensure their chosen skills are closely linked to your organisation's charitable goals, aligning them with your mission. This approach may take longer but could uncover hidden talents and lead to a more engaged, impactful volunteer team.

In addition to assessing existing skills, remember that there might be areas of interest for volunteers that they haven't yet had the chance to explore. If you have the capacity to allow for some experimentation, allow volunteers the flexibility to practice some of these underdeveloped skills within your organization. While this may not always be practical, it can be an effective way to allow them to feel more fulfilled while providing an opportunity to learn something new.

Actionable goals that everyone is on board with (i.e., aligning stakeholder interests) is one of the hallmarks of a successful volunteer team. However, it's often the case that these goals are very ambitious. Especially with a group of passionate volunteers from varying backgrounds, it can get easy to get carried away and lose focus of what is attainable in your situation. Remember to set SMART goals -- and hold others to this standard. At the end of the day, you are all there to make an impact on the world, but it may be more difficult to get there if you're aiming too high!

It's possible that many volunteers are working with you for different reasons. Remember this in crafting your teamwork activities, and that individuals may approach teamwork differently in volunteer work than they do in paid work. As much as possible, allow people to find common ground. Even if it may seem intuitive that volunteers are working with you because they relate to the issue in some way, each person has a different perspective. The individual impact of each volunteer is what makes them so powerful.

Como líder, impartí formación específica para cada tarea, asegurando que todos comprendieran sus responsabilidades y contaran con las habilidades necesarias. Mi experiencia personal en la Comunidad de Mujeres Líderes Latinoamericanas y en PMI me ha permitido diseñar y ejecutar programas de formación efectivos, impulsando la confianza y competencia del equipo. Esto no solo mejora la eficiencia, sino también la motivación y el compromiso de los voluntarios.

Una comunicación clara y constante es clave. He aprendido, a través de mi trabajo en PMI y la Comunidad de Mujeres Líderes Latinoamericanas, a mantener canales de comunicación abiertos y transparentes, utilizando herramientas digitales y reuniones regulares. Explico los objetivos, expectativas y avances del proyecto, fomentando un entorno donde todos se sientan escuchados y valorados, lo que maximiza el impacto y la cohesión del equipo.

El entorno de trabajo cambia constantemente, y es crucial adaptarse. Mi experiencia me ha enseñado a ser flexible y a responder rápidamente a los desafíos. En proyectos anteriores, he implementado ajustes estratégicos y soluciones innovadoras cuando se presentaban obstáculos. Fomentar una mentalidad de aprendizaje continuo y adaptabilidad en el equipo garantiza que podamos evolucionar y seguir siendo efectivos en nuestra misión comunitaria.