It’s that awkward moment: You’re at the community meeting when they announce, “We need volunteers!” . . . and everyone in attendance looks away and becomes busy with their smart phones.
It’s easy to forgive ourselves in such situations; heck, we’re busy.
Equally awkward and disheartening is to observe teams at work where we need everyone “all in” yet when our best efforts are needed most, heads go down.
It’s worth considering: If we’re on a team we’ve already volunteered. The decision to join has already been made – and it was a choice made by us. Holding back our best effort discredits us.
Jack Zenger said it best when he told me, “The most effective teams are made up of a group of individuals who have voluntarily come together, to complete a task beyond that which they could accomplish on their own. At the end of the day we’re all fundamentally volunteers. Unless you’re in the northern reaches of Siberia, we’re not conscripted.”
Volunteers step up because they want to do something important to them. They want to make a difference beyond self, and realize that the act of giving is its own greatest reward.
Given we’ve already volunteered to be on the team we’re on today, how do we want to show up so we know the reward of giving our best?
