THE GROWING CONFLICT INSIDE VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS

Volunteer organizations have lost many members due to internal conflicts. In Rotary, for instance, these conflicts have place at the clubs or among the district or international managers.

And it is not only the lack of religious, political, gender diversity, the misunderstandings concerning internal procedures, conflicts of ideas or even prejudice.

There are too many management levels between local and world administrations. There are enough reasons and steps to run for.

There are conflicts due to personality impacts, as well as there are also, as in all organisations, due to unfitness of the self individual personality of some members. And there are people in the Rotary or in any other organization, fortunately on an insignificant level, which would be on a less suitable place than their intellectual or behavioural structure allows.

Hence the curses, the exhibited jealousy, senseless immodesty, the wrong perception that leadership is natural or, that it is bounded by the leading ability, are stressing the conflicts and misunderstandings.

The text by Isabel Babo Lança on this Blog/Newsletter about Leadership focused on the Values, may help to understand the nature of some kinds of these conflicts and, eventually, to allow their disappearance. The systematic resource to the Four Way Test is another consistent support to overcome some of these issues.

Chis Offer, who we can also read on this Blog/Newsletter, gives us 10 wise advices to use on the bulk of the circumstances: to forgive one member of the club; to apologise to one member of the club (and avoid the repetition of the error); to give time to let the spite to end; to give credit to the others for their role, as much as it is reflected at each one of them; to always express our gratitude; to tell people who we like that the specific work they do adds a countless effectiveness to the team’s spirit; to find a way to help one member of the club; not all good ideas are fruitful, but it is important to acknowledge everyone and to the own effort of who was dedicated to the project; to have in mind the point of view of the other person.

Henrique Pinto

In Newsletter Family of Rotary and Membership Nr 1

PHOTO: a boy faces, courageously, an enormous challenge, perhaps beyond the rules of social behavior