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Too many Indians....not enough Chief's
Rembrandt
Member Posts: 4,486 ✭✭
For years I've been involved in leadership positions with different organizations, shooting clubs, celebrity & competitive shoots, officer, director, board member, etc.....but I'm just a little discouraged. Always considered leadership to consist of two parts...(A) getting things organized and completeing the job, (B) train people to take your place.
I've found the more you do, the more people will let you do. That's not all bad, sometimes the role of dictator has it's advantages. What puzzles me is the lack of potential "Chief's" wanting to get involved as leaders. Lots of "Indian's" that are willing to help....but they don't want the responsibility or leadership positions.
We have about 750 families that belong to our local club...yet trying to find enthusiastic candidates for officers or board members is like asking someone to clean out the septic tank....little to no interest. I was in charge of the states largest shooting event for nearly seven years....needed to step down due to some work/time commitments...offered to train and work with my successor for a couple of years....not one person stepped forward. Everyone wanted to shoot and be an "Indian", but no one wanted to be a "Chief". Finally had to pull the plug and step down....took six months before they found a reluctant replacement....guess volunteers willing to give back to the sports we enjoy are in short supply.
Well, thanks for letting me get that off my chest....I sure hope if any of you folks get the opportunity to help your local clubs, you do so...they could sure use your help....
I've found the more you do, the more people will let you do. That's not all bad, sometimes the role of dictator has it's advantages. What puzzles me is the lack of potential "Chief's" wanting to get involved as leaders. Lots of "Indian's" that are willing to help....but they don't want the responsibility or leadership positions.
We have about 750 families that belong to our local club...yet trying to find enthusiastic candidates for officers or board members is like asking someone to clean out the septic tank....little to no interest. I was in charge of the states largest shooting event for nearly seven years....needed to step down due to some work/time commitments...offered to train and work with my successor for a couple of years....not one person stepped forward. Everyone wanted to shoot and be an "Indian", but no one wanted to be a "Chief". Finally had to pull the plug and step down....took six months before they found a reluctant replacement....guess volunteers willing to give back to the sports we enjoy are in short supply.
Well, thanks for letting me get that off my chest....I sure hope if any of you folks get the opportunity to help your local clubs, you do so...they could sure use your help....
Comments
ALL volunteer organizations are the same way! I've been involved with 4-H, Boy Scouts, FFA, etc, and ALL have had the same problem!
Usually, the only way to get someone to take your position is to just quit.
Sometimes it is filled, sometimes it isn't.
We had a social club in California that eventually folded because of lack of interest in the leadership positions. We had about 300 members, too.
No one wants to be "in charge" yet they all want to attend the functions!
Merc
NO! You may not have my guns! Now go crawl back into your hole!
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"Tolerating things you may not necessarily like is part of being free" - Larry Flynt
Volunteer driven groups rarely offer enough "compensation" to make it attractive to the "leader types".
And on a practical note, few people can really afford to invest significant time being the leader--which explains why there are lots of Indians...