Everyone discusses some of the silver linings that came out of the quarantine experience at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — from learning how to make bread to having major career epiphanies. In my house, the Blue Couch is viewed as the best outcome of our extended time at home.
As someone who traveled 25-40% of the time (pre-2020), there were several things about our house that didn’t quite work, but, well, I wasn’t around enough days in a row for it to truly bug me. Once I was homebound, I got rid of two couches that were not only uncomfortable but also guaranteed sibling bickering. After bringing in the “Blue Couch” sectional to save the day, I was on a roll, so I also moved my older son into a new bedroom (we won’t discuss the two hours of assembling the new bed, except to say it is a miracle we both survived), and I repainted my ugly fireplace surround, which included hand stenciling (thank you, Pinterest).
Honestly, the house looks great. And I fully own that during a time of sheltering in place with an uncertain timeline, focusing on tasks and details (not usually my strong suit) provided order, a plan, and a clear path forward.
In many ways, this experience mirrored my own and others’ experiences as the volunteer leaders of associations and nonprofit organizations in 2020, 2021, and still going into 2022. I recently ended my tenure as board chair for a trade association, and it was an unusual time. Strategy took a back seat to prognosticating the best times of the year for in-person events, how to best connect and support our members, and how to promote our business model to many organizations in true management and economic flux. It was a challenging year, I was honored to have the role, and I am quite pleased to attend our next event wearing the best possible ribbon: past chair.
We have asked a great deal of our association volunteer leaders over the past few years: an exponential increase in board meetings, quick decisions and, for many, unpleasant data around revenue and engagement. The traditional rewards of volunteer leadership — strategic discussions held in lovely places, acknowledgment in front of one’s peers at an annual event, the ability to showcase that role within your profession, industry, and own institution — were reduced or removed. I have great respect for anyone who spent a lot more time than they anticipated helping shape an uncertain future for their organization during such uncertain times.
But now, even as organizations regain some stasis, I believe the expectations, leadership path, and recruitment strategies for organizations will be changed because of the pandemic. Here are my predictions on what to expect when it comes to volunteering within the association:
- We have been talking about the need for a shorter leadership path for decades, but many groups have revised their structure during the pandemic to make this more of a reality. From reducing the size of the executive committee and creating more flexible board roles (anecdotally, the number of co-chairs I have seen has certainly risen), we may be able to finally get the best leaders into leadership roles more quickly.
- Reassessing moving up the chairs, as well as which chairs are the most valuable, will become increasingly important. Traditionally, many organizations would want to see chapter or committee leadership as an unspoken yet mandatory requirement for leadership. But after seeing face-to-face events go on hiatus, even as virtual learning and networking and credentials became a mainstay for associations, groups may place different emphasis on that path moving forward.
- Micro-everything is here to stay. From micro-learning to credentialing to networking, many have realized the value of short bursts of energy and effort in pursuit of just-in-time education and connections, as well as volunteerism. Boards will need to structure volunteer opportunities differently to engage people when they have time. This is similar to how many of our organizations and companies arrange corporate social responsibility events in house — efficiently organized, leveraging the power of many during one burst of effort, and a collective feeling of contribution and gain.
- Pre-pandemic, we talked a lot about time poverty, and the impact of frenetic work-home schedules on the availability and ability of volunteers. I think we have now moved into the realm of time curation. Now that people have discovered the benefits of having a fitness schedule, time for mindfulness, and more consistent time and connection with family, they will be even more discerning about what they say yes to. Because of this, nominating committees will need to determine what the value proposition truly is for board service.
In terms of my house, I am so happy with the changes we made that makes my fleeting time with my teen sons more enjoyable. And now, I can look ahead a few years to when my nest will be empty to consider my next strategic steps. Similarly, volunteer-led organizations owe a great debt to those who led during challenging times, even as current and new leadership will be able to better lean into strategy, mission and purpose.
Erin M. Fuller, FASAE, CAE, is the chief strategy officer for MCI USA.
