One of the more challenging things I've learned about leadership has come from working with people who don't have to be there.
As President of the Beta Gamma Sigma New Zealand Alumni Chapter, I work alongside volunteers who contribute their time and skills while managing careers, families, studies and everything else life throws at them.
They're not paid to attend meetings, organise events or help move the organisation forward.
They do it because, for different reasons, they want to contribute.
And I've discovered that leading in this environment isn't quite the same as leading a team in a conventional workplace.
You can't assume that because someone has agreed to take responsibility, they'll always have the time or capacity to deliver.
At the same time, the work still needs to get done.
Events need organising. Commitments need honouring. People are depending on one another.
Somewhere between understanding people's circumstances and ensuring the organisation delivers, you have to find a way to lead.
I've learned that this requires more than enthusiasm and goodwill. It requires a shared sense of purpose, clarity, trust and a willingness to support people when things don't go to plan.
When the leader needs support too
During my time as president, I've also had to deal with my own health challenges.
When I was going through cancer treatment, there were periods when I simply couldn't give the chapter the attention I normally would.
What stayed with me was how the team responded.
They encouraged me to look after myself, reassured me that things were covered and stepped in where needed.
I was grateful for that support, but it also made me reflect on the people I was leading.
When you've experienced circumstances that make it difficult to meet your own commitments, you become more conscious that others may be carrying challenges you know very little about.
Later, when one of our team members experienced a succession of unexpected personal and professional pressures, including bereavement and significant health concerns, I found myself on the other side of that conversation.
My message was much the same as the one I'd received.
Look after yourself. Your wellbeing comes first. We'll work out how to manage the BGS responsibilities.
And we did.
Other committee members stepped in, responsibilities were shared and the work continued.
What struck me was that nobody needed to make a grand gesture out of it.
It was simply people supporting one another.
Leadership isn't always about being the person with the answers or the one everyone relies on. Sometimes it's about accepting support yourself and creating an environment where others feel comfortable doing the same.
Compassion didn't mean the work stopped. It meant finding another way to get it done while supporting the person who needed help.
Giving people something worth contributing to
There's another aspect of volunteer leadership that I think is particularly important.
Vision.
Every organisation needs a sense of direction, but when people are giving their time freely, I think the need becomes even greater.
Volunteers want to know that what they're doing matters.
They're not simply looking for another meeting to attend or another task to complete. They want to feel that their contribution is helping achieve something worthwhile.
I've seen this within BGS NZ.
We've been fortunate to have committee members who remain involved over many years. People naturally come and go as their circumstances change, but overall, we've developed a committed group who continue to give their time and energy.
I believe an important reason for that is that people can see the chapter progressing.
We're developing new activities, building relationships, creating opportunities for members and gradually moving towards the kind of chapter we want to become.
People can see that their efforts are contributing to something tangible.
And just as importantly, they feel valued for the part they play in making it happen.
Not everyone needs to be involved in setting the overall direction. But they do need to understand it, believe in it and see how their contribution fits.
Vision gives people a reason to contribute. Seeing progress gives them a reason to keep contributing.
That's particularly important when participation is a choice rather than an obligation.
Good intentions aren't enough
Of course, having a shared vision and a supportive team doesn't mean everything always goes to plan.
Sometimes people take on responsibilities with the best of intentions, but the work doesn't progress as expected.
I've experienced that too.
It's easy to understand why. People are juggling competing priorities, and volunteering is often something they fit around everything else.
But there are consequences when commitments aren't delivered.
Other volunteers may be depending on the work. Opportunities can be missed. Projects slow down, and the organisation may struggle to achieve what it set out to do.
I've learned that understanding someone's circumstances doesn't remove the need for clear expectations and accountability.
This is where leadership can become uncomfortable.
You don't want to put unnecessary pressure on someone who is generously giving their time. Equally, allowing commitments to drift without addressing them isn't fair to the rest of the team.
Looking back, I've also had to reflect on my own approach.
Was I clear enough about what was expected? Had we agreed on realistic timelines? Did the person have the support and resources they needed? Was I checking in regularly enough, or had I assumed that no news meant everything was progressing?
Those questions matter.
Sometimes the answer is to offer more support. Sometimes it's to adjust the scope of the work. And occasionally, it means having an honest conversation about whether the commitment remains realistic.
Understanding people and maintaining accountability aren't opposing responsibilities.
Good leadership requires both.
Autonomy isn't the same as stepping away
One of the changes we've introduced within BGS NZ has been moving away from a more traditional committee structure towards a pod-based way of working.
The intention was to give people greater ownership, flexibility and opportunities to contribute in areas where they could make the most difference.
Rather than everything flowing through a central hierarchy, smaller groups could take responsibility for their own activities and work more collaboratively.
I still believe it's the right direction.
But the experience has taught me something I hadn't fully appreciated at the outset.
The more autonomy you give people, the more important clarity and communication become.
It's tempting to think that giving people responsibility means you can step back and let them get on with it.
Sometimes you can.
But volunteers still need guidance, agreed priorities, realistic timelines and opportunities to talk through challenges.
They're learning, just as we all are.
And when several teams are operating with greater independence, someone still needs to understand how the pieces fit together.
Are people making progress? Do they have what they need? Are different activities aligned? Is someone carrying too much responsibility while another person has capacity to help?
I've come to appreciate that autonomy doesn't necessarily reduce the amount of leadership required.
It changes the kind of leadership needed.
Instead of directing every activity, you're creating the conditions for others to succeed.
That means trusting people to take ownership while remaining sufficiently involved to provide direction, remove obstacles and recognise when something needs attention.
Our shared vision becomes particularly important here. It gives each pod a common destination while allowing people flexibility in how they contribute towards it.
Without that direction, autonomy can become fragmentation.
With it, people have the freedom to contribute while remaining connected to something larger than their individual responsibilities.
Making people's time worthwhile
One of the things volunteer leadership has made me appreciate is just how valuable people's time really is.
Everyone has competing demands. There are always other things they could be doing.
When someone chooses to give their time to an organisation, I think leaders have a responsibility to make that contribution meaningful.
That means being clear about what we're trying to achieve, ensuring people understand their responsibilities and recognising their efforts.
It also means being prepared to listen, provide guidance and adjust when circumstances change.
Volunteer leadership doesn't mean accepting whatever contribution happens to come our way.
People still need direction. Commitments still matter. And an organisation needs to deliver on its purpose if it wants to remain relevant.
But neither should we lose sight of the fact that we're working with people who have chosen to be part of something.
That choice deserves respect.
People may initially become involved because they believe in the organisation's purpose. But whether they remain often depends on the experience of being part of it.
Do they feel valued? Can they see progress? Are they trusted to contribute? And when life becomes difficult, do they know the team will support them?
Those experiences influence whether volunteering feels like another obligation or something people genuinely want to continue doing.
What volunteer leadership has taught me
I'm still learning how to lead in this environment.
There have been things we've done well and others I would approach differently with the benefit of experience.
I've learned that giving people greater freedom requires more clarity than I initially appreciated.
That understanding someone's circumstances doesn't mean avoiding difficult conversations.
And that being president doesn't mean I have to carry everything myself.
Perhaps most importantly, I've come to appreciate how closely purpose, trust and accountability are connected.
A compelling vision gives people something to believe in.
Clarity helps them understand how they can contribute.
And trust, support and shared responsibility help turn that contribution into something meaningful.
When I needed support during my treatment, the team stepped in. When others have faced difficult circumstances, we've tried to do the same.
And when things haven't progressed as expected, I've been reminded that leadership also means being clear about commitments and helping people follow through.
Volunteer leadership has made me think more carefully about what people need from me as a leader, not simply what the organisation needs from them.
Because when nobody has to be there, you can't take someone's contribution for granted.
You have to give people something worth believing in, create the conditions for them to succeed and ensure they can see the difference their efforts are making.
The challenge of volunteer leadership isn't simply getting people to contribute. It's creating something they believe is worth continuing to contribute to.