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What I Wish I Knew: Supervising Volunteers
There were many lessons learned when supervising volunteers. Read more about what I found useful and what I wish I had known beforehand! The fourth in a series about what I wish I knew about supervising.
Nothing prepares you for supervising a group of volunteers better than working for a Fraternity.
I know this to be true.
I have been both a Fraternity volunteer and the executive director of a national Fraternity. And when I was doing both roles, there was much I wish I had done better.
In higher education, those of us who work with students are used to managing people who defer to the most senior person in the room. Usually, that’s you! But what do you do when you work with people who are older, leaders in their own right, or people who you consider peers and friends?
We still need to get the work done, at the end of the day. Regardless if it’s a fraternity brother or sister, a colleague from a different college, or staff and faculty on your campus, there are many lessons to learn when supervising volunteers.
Lessons Learned and Those I Wish I Had Learned Earlier
I am going to focus on my experience as an executive director, but I believe these examples transcend the workplace. For…