How can you lead volunteers through change?

Leading volunteers through change involves clear communication, empathy, and active engagement. First, openly explain the reasons for the change and the expected benefits. Address concerns and answer questions to alleviate uncertainties. Listen to volunteers' feedback and involve them in the decision-making process whenever possible. Provide training and resources to support the transition, ensuring that volunteers feel equipped for the change. Regularly update them on progress and acknowledge their contributions throughout the process. Building a sense of community and shared purpose can help volunteers adapt and embrace change more effectively.

The ADKAR model helps prevent a very natural human phenomena: story-making. Story making occurs when people fill an information gap with their own story. The story might be about the leadership, the drivers of change, or their role in the organization. Stories are powerful which is why leaders can provide the "plot" of the change so that volunteers aren't driven by emotion or incorrect information. The people part is the hard part of change. By controlling the controllables, coming out the other side of change, intact and prepared, is far more likely. It takes planning, effort, and careful, transparent messaging, but it's worth its weight in gold.

In addition to offering "outbound" information to drive awareness, success is accelerated when leaders ask volunteers, "What have you seen? Where are things working well? What would make it even better?" Data gathering helps create a more effective outbound communication plan so that the desired outcome is accomplished. When your volunteers contribute to the awareness, they are more likely to buy into the change.

Ownership of the outcome is helpful. Meaning the change is not owned exclusively by the leaders, but by the volunteers as equal partners in the mission. Certainly connecting the change to goals and incentives helps, but if they believe in the leadership, and trust them, then ownership and ambassadorship at the volunteer level is more likely. Capturing the stories of volunteer ambassadors and letting those stories be a significant part of the change strategy communication helps remove the us vs them mentality that can occur. Frankly, it boils down to strong relationships from top to bottom, and valuing people for being valuable.

There are always some volunteers that love to impart knowledge. Leaders can include them as valuable partners in the training, coaching and peer support opportunities. This does not imply that knowledge doesn't come from the leadership, it does. But when shared in combination with the "boots on the ground" team of volunteer trainers, it feels more stable, hopeful, and fun, and drives effectiveness.

Ability is both what the volunteers do, and how they do it. They need the tools to do the job, if tools are involved, and again, training may be required. One way to drive ability is to find ways to gamify it. I often use a "game show" approach to check knowledge - imitating shows like Jeopardy. Badges that identify progress and competency are also fun, and people are eager to share them. Lunch and learns lead by volunteers and leaders, highlighting success stories AND mistakes (shared cheerfully for no one gets through life without making a mistake) takes some of the pressure off for those volunteers who fear taking those first steps.