Volunteer Leadership Research Articles

Mental Health in Altruism Scenarios: Coping Strategies in Volunteers of The Civil Defense of The Mojana Sucreña Area – Colombia

Introduction: Coping strategies are of vital importance for Civil Defense volunteers because they can cope with the stress and emotional demands associated with their work, ensuring their well-being and their ability to provide quality assistance to affected communities. Objective: To describe the coping strategies used by the volunteers of the Colombian Civil Defense - Mojana Sucreña area during natural disasters. Method: Research framed under a positivist paradigm, quantitative descriptive type, the population chosen were 148 volunteer leaders of the Civil Defense to whom the modified Coping Strategies Scale (EEC-M) was applied to identify the strategies most used by these leaders when facing a calamity where their urgent intervention is required. Results: The strategies most used by the volunteers by factors were: religion (79.7%) and seeking professional support (79.1%), which indicates that the volunteers cling to God and seek the opinion of a professional to resolve any conflict that may arise. Now, the most limited strategy by the volunteers is the expression of the difficulty of Coping (70.3%) and Denial (64.2%) which means that it is difficult for them to express their difficulties. Conclusion: Keep in mind that each person has different ways of coping with stress and adverse situations. Some strategies may be more effective than others, and it is essential to provide Civil Defense volunteers with the necessary tools and support to develop adaptive coping strategies.

Centering Belonging for NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation

Volunteer leaders and staff in NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation (NIRSA) aimed to establish shared norms for belonging, guided by recommendations from the Association's climate study conducted by 122 Consulting Group. The climate study precipitated the formation of an implementation team for justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion (JDEI). This case study explored stakeholders’ perspectives about shared norms (diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and respect) for belonging, using multiple data points (historical context, JDEI trends, association reports, and focus groups) to ignite action. Analysis of these perspectives at in-person and virtual NIRSA educational sessions identified three themes: positive reception, action/accountability, and integration/ongoing engagement. The study provides valuable insights for association leaders to shape belonging initiatives by using shared expectations, thus effectively guiding actions based on the findings of a climate study. This study is essential for associations, and its findings can also empower members to drive similar initiatives on their respective campuses.

Ranking the Relative Importance of Image Quality Features in CT by Consensus Survey

ObjectiveThis study sought to determine consensus opinions from subspecialty radiologists and imaging physicists on the relative importance of image quality features in CT. MethodsA prospective survey of subspecialty radiologists and medical physicists was conducted to collect consensus opinions on the relative importance of ten image quality features: axial sharpness, blooming, contrast, longitudinal sharpness, low contrast axial sharpness, metal artifact, motion, noise magnitude, noise texture, and streaking. The survey was first sent to subspecialty radiologists in volunteer leadership roles in the American College of Radiology and Radiological Society of North America, thereafter relying on snowball sampling. Surveyed subspecialties were abdominal, cardiac, emergency, musculoskeletal, neuro, pediatric, and thoracic radiology, and medical physics. Individual respondents’ ratings were normalized for calculation of mean normalized ratings and priority rankings for each feature within subspecialties. Also calculated were intraclass correlation coefficients across image quality features within subspecialties, and analysis of variance across subspecialties within each feature. ResultsMost subspecialties had moderate to excellent intraclass agreement. For every radiology subspecialty except musculoskeletal, motion was the most important image quality feature. There was agreement across subspecialties that axial sharpness and contrast are only moderately important. There was disagreement across subspecialties on the relative importance of noise magnitude. Blooming was highly important to cardiac radiologists, and noise texture was highly important to musculoskeletal radiologists. ConclusionImage quality preferences differ based on clinical tasks and challenges in each anatomical radiology subspecialty. CT image analysis and development of quantitative measures of quality and protocol optimization—and related policy initiatives—should be specific to radiology subspecialty.

Perceived acceptability of online volunteer-led exercise classes: Perspectives of rural volunteer exercise leaders and older people.

This study assessed perceived acceptability of online rural volunteer-led exercise classes among volunteer leaders and older people during the COVID-19 pandemic and interrogatedifferences in acceptability between older people who were currently participating in regular exercise and those who were not. A case study was conducted of an existing volunteer-led exercise program using a cross-sectional preintervention survey (38 volunteer exercise leaders and 172 program participants). Thirty per cent(n = 11) of the volunteer leaders reported an interest in running the online classes. Motivations included providing opportunities for participants and keeping themselves and participants fit. Thirty-four per cent(n = 42) of the older participants reported an intent to join the online classes, which was primarily attributed to the desire to keep active and to socialise. However, over 60% of the respondents across both categories did not want to engage in online exercise classes. This was primarily attributed to a preference for face-to-face classes and lack of confidence in conducting or using online activities or services. Older participants who did not regularly exercise were statistically more likely to report perceived challenges attending an online class, and to identify the use of internet-based technologies as a barrier to attendance. Digital literacy was a challenge for the older respondents, particularly for those who were not currently engaged in regular exercise. Organisations implementing online exercise programs should recognise that this form of delivery will pose challenges to cohorts of rural older people who are not undertaking regular physical activity and address the individual and environmental barriers to digital uptake.

Leading Volunteers Effectively: Development and Preliminary Validation of the Volunteer Leader Behavior Scale

Volunteers are integral to civic and social life, and leadership is integral to keeping volunteers satisfied and committed. However, volunteer leadership research is hindered by the dispersion of leadership theories and the absence of a specialized leader behavior assessment tool. To address this, we developed and validated a four-dimensional scale for evaluating the behaviors of leaders of volunteers. Using confirmatory factor analyses, we confirmed a four-factor, hierarchical model in an Australian emergency volunteer sample. Concurrent validity was confirmed in relation to satisfaction with leadership, overall satisfaction with volunteering experience, and affective organizational commitment. Further details of quantitative studies for scale evaluation are provided. This study provides researchers and practitioners with a valid and reliable instrument to assess different aspects of effective leader behaviors within the volunteering context. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

Uncovering the Role and Labor of Volunteer Leaders within a Community-Led Urban Tree Planting Initiative

Urban forestry programs across North America rely on volunteers to lead urban forest stewardship activities and encourage participation in tree planting and general maintenance. We examined the leadership structure of a tree planting initiative (TPI) in the greater Philadelphia region to understand the role and labor contributions of volunteer leaders, and the current challenges of achieving equitable urban tree canopy within community-led TPIs. Using an online survey, we found that leaders contribute unpaid labor, time, and skills within the following categories: group organization and communication, tree-planting and event coordination, tree care and maintenance, and broader environmental education and advocacy. Volunteer leaders also face challenges related to leadership and administrative tasks. This study deepens understandings of the labor needs within volunteer TPIs and potential ways to support the equitable growth of these initiatives moving forward. Future research is needed to understand recognitional equity gaps in volunteer leadership more broadly.

Celebrating Our Volunteer Leaders: A Heartfelt Thank You

Abstract: Outgoing NATS President, Diana Allan, expresses gratitude to the numerous volunteer leaders who play pivotal roles in the success of NATS. President Allan emphasizes the immense responsibilities shouldered by national officers, region, district, and chapter leaders, and auditions chairs, as well as donors and thought leaders—highlighting their vital roles in upholding the values NATS holds dear. The President celebrates these leaders for their dedication, passion, and unwavering commitment, emphasizing their roles as the backbone of NATS. In conclusion, President Allan looks forward to continuing her service in the role of Past President and supporting new President, Alexis Davis-Hazell.

Sustaining emergency volunteer workforces: Exploring the interplay between leader behaviour and volunteer satisfaction

Disaster response and community resilience depend on the service of emergency volunteers, particularly those who fulfil roles that entail long-term and consistent time commitment. Given the critical role emergency volunteers play, it is vital to understand how to improve their satisfaction and commitment to continue volunteering. This paper explores the relationships between four different types of leader behaviour (task, relations, change-oriented, and external) and volunteer satisfaction and organisational commitment within the emergency volunteering context. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, we analysed 431 survey responses using structural equation modelling, followed by an analysis of more than 200 free-text responses. Somewhat surprising given extant leadership literature, our findings indicate that external leader behaviour is the only variable that is significantly related, both directly and indirectly, to volunteers’ organisational commitment through the mediation of volunteer satisfaction. Moreover, volunteer satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between task-oriented leader behaviour and organisational commitment. Despite the primary influence of external and task-oriented behaviours, qualitative responses regarding good leadership reveal that aspects of relations- and change-oriented behaviours are also valued. The triangulation of quantitative and qualitative findings highlights a broad spectrum of leader behaviours that are crucial in enhancing the satisfaction and commitment of emergency volunteers. This study offers implications for both research and practice across Australian and international contexts, underscoring the multifaceted functions of volunteer leadership.

Promoting cooperation by leading: Leader-selection mechanisms in public goods games

We conducted an experimental comparison of four leader-selection mechanisms in a public goods game. The results show that purely voluntary leadership yields the weakest overall performance, primarily attributed to the lack of cooperation in leaderless groups and the subpar leadership exhibited by multiple leaders. A new insight from our study is that voluntary leadership by randomly-selected candidates outperforms both exogenously appointed and self-appointed leadership. This superiority likely stems from the mechanism's capability to balance between leaders setting a sufficiently positive example and followers responding reciprocally.

Passing or Dropping the Baton? Local Area Deprivation, Volunteer Leadership Succession and the Survival of Charitable Organisations

Institutional theories of ‘local area effects’ hypothesise that local area differences in organisational resources are an important feature of inequality in individuals’ residential environments. However, while the organisational dimension of local areas has been identified as an important research priority within urban sociology, empirical work remains limited, with charitable organisations particularly under-researched. Therefore, a key question remains unanswered: why do charities in more deprived local areas have higher dissolution rates, reinforcing a lower prevalence of charities compared with less deprived areas? This article focuses on this research problem. It shows that volunteer leadership succession is less prominent in more deprived local areas, and that this more limited leadership succession helps explain why charities in more deprived areas experience higher dissolution rates. The results promote understanding of a mechanism underlying local area differences in organisational dynamics that lead to persistent differences in institutional resources between more and less deprived local areas.

If at first, you don’t succeed: Strategies used by environmental activist volunteer leaders to overcome failure

ABSTRACT Environmental activist leaders play a critical role in organizing grassroots activism. They often do so in a voluntary capacity while enduring long periods of failure in their quest to achieve environmental goals. Through 21 interviews we investigate how environmental activist volunteer leaders experience failure and the strategies they use to overcome it. Using a two-stage reflexive thematic analysis approach, four dimensions of failure were identified: movement, campaign, organization, and individual. Participants used three overarching strategies to manage these experiences of failure: Re-evaluating outcomes, emphasizing individual benefits, and changing tactics. Our findings suggest that environmental activist volunteer leaders regularly experienced failure across all four dimensions. The strategies they used to manage failure enabled them to maintain belief that success is achievable. We conclude with a discussion of how these findings can be used to develop tools and resources to enhance activist leaders’ capacity to prevail in the face of failure.

Gender inequalities in unpaid public work: Retention, stratification and segmentation in the volunteer leadership of charities in England and Wales.

While gender inequalities in employment (paid public work) and domestic and reproductive labour (unpaid private work) are a prominent focus within the sociological literature, gender inequalities in volunteering (unpaid public work) have received much less scholarly attention. We analyse a unique longitudinal dataset of volunteer leaders, that follows through time every individual to have served as a board member (trustee) for a charity in England and Wales between 2010 and 2023, to make three foundational contributions to our understanding of gender inequalities in unpaid public work. First, the salience of vertical gender stratification and horizontal gender segmentation in trusteeship shows that gendered inequalities in work extend to public work in general-encompassing unpaid public work, and not only paid public work. In terms of gender segmentation, we find that women are over-represented as trustees in a small number of fields of charitable activity but under-represented across the majority of fields. In terms of gender stratification, we find that women are under-represented on the boards of the largest charities; under-represented as chairs of trustee boards; and particularly under-represented as chairs of the largest charities. Second, the dynamics underlying gendered differences in unpaid public work, which show higher rates of resignation for women trustees, resonate with research on paid employment which emphasises the importance of attrition to an understanding of how gendered inequalities in work are reproduced. This means that increasing the retention of women, not only the recruitment of women, becomes central to the policy agenda. Third, we show that there has been a decline in gender stratification and gender segmentation in trusteeship since 2010. This decline over time in gendered inequalities in unpaid public work provides an interesting counterpoint to influential research documenting a 'stall' in the reduction of gendered inequalities in paid employment.

Equipping Extension Professionals to Lead Volunteer Systems: An Evaluation of an Online Course

Extension professionals enter their role with content-specific expertise; however, experience in volunteer leadership and management competencies is often limited. This study focused on the effectiveness of the Achieving the Extension Mission Through Volunteers (AEMTV) course in preparing professionals to use the Identification, Selection, Orientation, Training, Utilization, Recognition, Evaluation (ISOTURE) model to learn and apply volunteer systems concepts in a cohort-based online learning environment. We used quantitative and qualitative methods to assess how the course impacted participants and the programs they lead. Data from 127 participants indicated they increased their knowledge, improved volunteer systems, and influenced the quality of programming delivered in communities. Our research confirmed that the ISOTURE model (Boyce, 1971; Dolan, 1969) continues to be an effective framework for learning and applying volunteer systems management practices. We recommend that Extension collaborates across states to formalize and create additional online professional development relevant to all program areas to elevate Extension’s impact nationally.

Exploring Leadership Communication Competencies, Within Health Care, That May Have Been Exacerbated by the Pandemic

Objective: The aim was to explore the existence of health care leadership gaps in communication, which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, by utilizing a qualitative research approach. Materials and Methods: Participants were recruited from a single professional organization. The volunteer leadership group was the frame for recruiting study participation. This work was conducted with a flexible research design method. A demographic survey, interview guide, and data triangulation survey were used to collect data from 21 participants over a four-week period. The participant responses were then analyzed through a process of coding and thematic analysis. Results: Five themes were generated from this cohort’s data, which alluded to gaps in leadership communication. These gaps occurred in the leader/employee relationship, at their respective institutions. Triangulation of the data from surveys underscored the presence of these communication gaps. Conclusion: The findings of this study may suggest the importance of a set of communication competencies for those in health care leadership, regardless of the complexities of a pandemic.

Volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic: leadership matters – the case of scrubs

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested every area of daily life for the world’s population. This narrative study will be of value and interest to an emerging body of empirical evidence on the leadership of spontaneous volunteer activity during a global pandemic. Spontaneous volunteers told their stories, and these narratives form the focus of this research, exploring leadership of this group. Empirical evidence confirmed that leadership was effective in producing successful results, and resulted from a knowledge of the community, leader skill, authentic behaviours and an adaptive style; however, no one style of leadership was identified. There is a need for further research into this area of leadership, to understand how the leadership of spontaneous volunteers can be effective for the community, in crises and disaster responses.

AMCP's new election process: Designed for organizational effectiveness.

The AMCP Board of Directors appointed a Task Force on Leadership Development in 2021 with the charge to recommend a volunteer leadership structure that aligns with AMCP's contemporary needs and fosters the development of future Board members. Based on the Task Force's recommendations and with input from AMCP members, the AMCP Board of Directors amended AMCP's governance model in early 2023. The most notable changes involve the process for electing AMCP Board members and officers, which will be implemented for the 2024-25 election. The goal of the new election process is to assemble an effective Board with diverse experiences and complementary skills and attributes that will continue to lead AMCP into the future. In this viewpoint article, we share insights into the steps that led to these governance changes.

Volunteer Leadership Styles

Volunteer Leadership Styles

Does servant leadership affect organisational citizenship behaviour? Mediating role of affective commitment and moderating role of role identity of young volunteers in non-profit organisations

PurposeThis study examines the relationships between servant leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) of young volunteers in non-profit organisations (NPOs) and investigates the mediating role of affective commitment and the moderating role of role identity in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachSelf-administered questionnaires were distributed to 400 young volunteers from NPOs in Malaysia. Data were analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach.FindingsThe results reveal that affective commitment significantly mediates the relationship between servant leadership and OCB of young volunteers in NPOs. The role of identity was found to moderate the relationship between servant leadership and affective commitment of young volunteers in NPOs.Research limitations/implicationsThis study utilised servant leadership theory and examined the direct effect between servant leadership and OCB of young volunteers in NPOs, the mediating effect of affective commitment, and the moderating effect of role identity in this relationship simultaneously within a unified research framework.Practical implicationsNPOs should recruit more servant leaders and provide effective volunteer training and leadership development to current leaders to increase affective commitment and develop better service behaviours in dealing with volunteers.Originality/valueThis study is unique in that it highlights the partially mediated effects of affective commitment on the relationships between servant leadership and OCB of young volunteers in NPOs, as well as the fact that role identity significantly moderates the relationship between servant leadership and affective commitment of young volunteers in NPOs.

Finding Commonality: An Integrated Model for Nursing Leadership

Defining leadership within the nursing profession has included the statement “every nurse is a leader.” 1 Cline D. Crenshaw J.T. Woods S. Nurse leader: a definition for the 21st century. Nurse Leader. 2022; 20: 381-384 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (0) Google Scholar Nonetheless, there is a distinct difference in role expectations, scope, and standards of practice among informal, formal, and volunteer leaders. Given the current health care environment and variation in leadership models, there is a need to align commonality, communication, and expectations of the various concepts of leadership across care settings, professions, and industries. This article outlines an integrated leadership model available as an American Organization for Nursing Leadership resource at https://www.aonl.org/aonl-resources. Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, is chief executive officer of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and chief nursing officer and executive vice president of workforce of the American Hospital Association in Chicago, Illinois. Ronda Hughes, PhD, MHS, RN, CLNC, is senior director of professional practice at the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. She can be reached at [email protected]

Demetrius Porche, DNS, RN, CS, FNP

Demetrius Porche is currently the Dean of Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center School of Nursing (HSC SON) in New Orleans. Demetrius’ long and successful career has ranged from rebuilding the School of Nursing after Hurricane Katrina to leading national efforts to support both community and men’s health. He is a confident, innovative leader; a generous mentor; and a strong partner to nurse leaders in the practice arena. Among many volunteer leadership roles, Dr. Porche has served as president of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, president of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing, member of the Governing Council of the American Public Health Association, and currently serves on the board of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Demetrius has been inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the American Academy of Nursing, and National League for Nursing. He has been the associate editor of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care and currently is the chief editor of American Journal of Men’s Health. Demetrius Porche is currently the Dean of Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center School of Nursing (HSC SON) in New Orleans. Demetrius’ long and successful career has ranged from rebuilding the School of Nursing after Hurricane Katrina to leading national efforts to support both community and men’s health. He is a confident, innovative leader; a generous mentor; and a strong partner to nurse leaders in the practice arena. Among many volunteer leadership roles, Dr. Porche has served as president of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, president of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing, member of the Governing Council of the American Public Health Association, and currently serves on the board of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Demetrius has been inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the American Academy of Nursing, and National League for Nursing. He has been the associate editor of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care and currently is the chief editor of American Journal of Men’s Health. Marla J. Weston, PhD, RN, FAAN, is chief executive officer at Weston Consulting LLC in Washington, DC. She can be reached at [email protected]