Asking For A Volunteer At Work Could Be A Sign Of Poor Leadership Skills

Giving people opportunities is a really positive thing, and being asked to take something on because you are considered an expert or someone that can be entrusted with the task or responsibility feels good. But sometimes, rather than there being an assertive choice, I see leaders ask for a volunteer.

This can be problematic for at least two reasons.

Firstly there is Barnaby, the person who is anxious to please, finds it very hard to say no, and therefore will often take on more than he can handle to get into the good books. Then they end up working late to get everything done, become tired, stressed and less productive. In this instance, asking for volunteers is taking advantage of Barnaby. As a good leader, you should always be aiming to know your team as well as you can. If, over time, you don’t know that this is one of Barnaby’s behavioural traits that is a sign of poor leadership.

Secondly, there is Mable, and she manages her time very well. Mable has organised her workflow so that she is pretty much full for at least the next week or two. Mable doesn’t volunteer because she knows that she can’t fit it in without needing to work extra hours. Mable is certain that doing regular late nights is a sign of failure, not a medal of honour.

We can look at this from a couple of perspectives in the context of the leader.

If you do regularly ask for volunteers, you may view Barnaby more favourably than Mable, despite the fact that Mable is in fact a more organised and efficient member of the team.

Also, asking for volunteers could be considered to be an evasive tactic from a leader. Rather then really owning the decision and thinking through who is best placed in terms of expertise and available capacity, it’s much easier to just throw it out there and get it off your plate. Particularly if it’s urgent. (Lots of urgent things, and less important stuff is another sign of poor leadership.) This may just be because it feels like a quick fix, but it might also hint at a deeper problem. That you find it difficult to ask members of your team directly to do a task.

That’s really ok, and not all that uncommon. But if it is a challenge for you, as a leader you have a responsibility to recognise that and deal with it. As part of that journey, trust in the knowledge that most people would like to be tasked with something directly, based on your belief and confidence in them that they can nail it. That knowledge may motivate them to make an even better job of it.