Are You a Participant or a Volunteer at Your Workplace

There is a 5 part podcast series on building your leadership pipeline that I was listening to this morning on the treadmill.  The part I was listening to was about the role people fit into the pipeline. It made me think of where I work and I started bucketing traits of participants in the workplace vs. volunteers.

Participants:

• Are just there to do the job at hand.  No extra work required.
• The paycheck drives the decision making for them.
• Participants can also be seen as voyeurs in that outside of the work they are doing, they just watch.  Whether what they see happening is good or bad, they don’t care and are not going to jump in to right the ship.
• Have a what have you done for me lately attitude.  Participants expect to gain something, usually self-serving.
• Participants only grow when they are fed by others and are picky on the nourishment that they are given.
• They are passengers.

Volunteers:

• Step out of their comfort zone and take on something that doesn’t necessarily benefit themselves.
• See a bigger picture and are willing to risk being part of it.
• Care deeply about doing work that may only be to server others as it is part of a passion or grander plan.
• Volunteering shows leadership.
• Volunteers grow by feeding themselves.  They search out the nourishment that enriches their career.
• They are in the driver’s seat.

I want to be a volunteer wherever I can.  As a leader, I appreciate volunteers, because they are stepping out for a greater purpose.