The adage that "It's lonely at the top," is particularly applicable when it comes to the responsibilities and necessities of effective leadership. Being a leader means having the inner strength to fight for one's beliefs, regardless of popularity. Effective leadership often means doing what one believes is both right thing and the necessary thing, regardless of whether others are willing to voice their support. Unfortunately, over the last three decades, I have observed that the vast majority of volunteer leaders often get involved in leadership positions with an unclear concept of what it means to be a leader. While volunteer leaders must learn to effectively utilize the services of the paid staff, leaders who believe that being a volunteer leader is not time and resource consuming, are often ill- prepared and ill-equipped for their positions.
Every organization strives for an effective, strong, creative and capable paid staff. However, that is often not the case, as staffs often have turnover, or the previous volunteer leadership used the staff in a different manner than the new leader plans to. Since so many organizations overlook and neglect effective and meaningful training, for both volunteer leaders, as well as for staffs, there is often a dramatic learning curve required, and often the necessities are never learned in a timely manner. This often causes frustration, misunderstanding, and blame.
Leaders must understand that being a leader is not and should not be a popularity contest. Volunteer leadership should not and cannot be largely ceremonial, without any real substance. True leadership is necessary to guide an organization to its full potential, and identify strengths and weakness, and necessary evolutions. Since often the selection process for volunteer leaders is far from ideal, it results in the ascension of individuals to leadership positions who are sadly ill-prepared to assume such positions. Many organizations utilize the concept of "line officers," with the concept being that serving in leadership roles for a period of time makes one better prepared to assume the mantles of top leadership once the time comes. Just as in most other things, these individuals fail to realize that experience and expertise are far different entities, and unless the "line officers" are adequately trained, when they ascend they are often ill-prepared.
Just as in any political situation, many volunteer leaders continue to act like they are "campaigning" for an office, rather than properly governing from that office. While campaigning often depends to a large degree on popularity, effective leadership and governing requires a volunteer leader to realize when proper governance and leadership is far more important than mere popularity.
I have observed that most organizations find it challenging to find individuals willing to be volunteer leaders. While there are many factors for that, the most effective and well run organizations realize that ongoing and continuous leadership and pre-leadership training is essential if one wants to develop true leaders.