The importance of having civility as a standard for volunteers (was RE: Revisit number forty two hundred)

[Nan Hawthorne]

Rod, in your e-mail, you say:

>   Well, I have been known to flame the troglodytes from time to
time, and otherwise not play well with others occasionally. But
I hope on balance it's positive. .....    Not everyone's feelings can be be
wrapped up neatly or
expected to be constantly cheerful in such a non-organized
outfit as this

Cheerful is not required, but civil always is.  It is ten times easier to "bite
your tongue" with e-mail conversations than in person --- just hesitate over the
SEND button.

Remember my perspective is as a professional trainer, wrriter, consultant and
practitioner of volunteer program management.  There are guidelines for
volunteers to circumscribe their behavior and actions for a good reason, both
because they are representatives of the group as a whole and because the
experience for each volunteer is vital.  There is nothing in the world more
discouraging to a volunteer than working hard only to discover that someone is
criticizing them behind their backs or at very least without the courtesy of
doing it in a formal, acceptable way.

If flaming is to be considered an acceptable response by volunteers in SCN, then
I cannot be involved in the management of the volunteer program and still abide
by my professional ethics.  If any of you find that statement "haughty", sobeit.
My conscience is my own territory.  Consider your own work and how important its
standards are to you.

I'm sorry, Rod, but this license to flame and the excessive personalization of
SCN operations and disputes is exactly what I think drags SCN down and makes the
problems develop.  Everyone seems to be fair game here: then others wonder why
burnout is rife, why it's hard to get and keep good volunteers, why quality
suffers, why there is never enough help for projects, etc. etc.  Heck, I
wouldn't be surprised if the poor communications are as much from fear of the
response as these other factors I just cited.

I was brought in from outside this organization expressly to help it out of some
of its problems.  OK, here's what I would've told you for $3000 if I had not
waived my fee: start acting like a community-oriented business.  And that goes
for everyone.

Nan Hawthorne, co-coordinator
HR Committee

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