3 Reasons Why Being a Volunteer Leader Helps Your Business
One of the great things about joining a professional development organization is that you can get hands-on leadership experience as a volunteer; experience which, they say, will serve you well in your “real” job. Certainly that’s a selling point for such organizations and in the PR/communications field, organizations such as IABC and PRSA thrive on it.
What kind of leadership skills do volunteer leaders actually gain though? And do these skills actually benefit them in their careers, or are they simply good volunteer leaders because of skills they’ve acquired through their day jobs?
At the end of the day, is being a volunteer leader—with all the time it takes—worth it?
I recently started my term as President of IABC/Washington after having previously served on the chapter board as VP, Professional Development, for three years until a couple of years ago. Before moving to the DC area, I served on the board of San Francisco Bay Area Publicity Club and now, in addition to my duties at IABC/Washington, I volunteer on IABC International’s Accreditation Council.
Filed under Business, Career, Networking, Shonali Burke | Tags: Career, grow smart business, iabc, iabc washington, jill foster, leadership, Measurement, pr, SFBAPC, volunteering | Comments (7)Writing: PR’s Sleeper “R”
My foray into the U.S. public relations world dates back to 2000, when I had just moved to this country. Apparently “networking” was the way to go (in India we called it the “old boys’ club”) and, dutifully following the lead of more experienced professionals, I plunged myself into monthly meetings of the San Francisco Bay Area Publicity Club (which we fondly called “The Pub Club”).
Of all the characters – some offbeat, some extremely colorful – that I met, no one left a more lasting impression on me than “Mr. T.” I can’t remember his full name, but I do recall that his first name began with a “t,” was older than the average Pub Clubber (20-something), had worked primarily in Tech PR, and had recently been laid off (we’re talking late 2000/early 2001 here).
Mr. T said to me, “I can’t write, but I don’t think that’s important. I know how to do PR, and there are enough writers to go around.” (Or words to that effect.)
