Tactics for Success When Volunteering Your PM Skills

Joe Wynne is a versatile Project Manager experienced in delivering medium-scope projects in large organizations that improve workforce performance and business processes. He has a proven track record of delivering effective, technology-savvy solutions in a variety of industries and a unique combination of strengths in both process management and workforce management.

  Career Development   Leadership  

Volunteering can be surprisingly fulfilling. That was the case when I offered to help with a very worthwhile but undefined effort. When I say “undefined,” I mean the goals and scope had not gelled in the volunteer leader’s mind.

The leader had the basic necessary knowledge, but not the ability or desire to manage many activities of the project that would be needed to realize the vision. This effort all came together unexpectedly, but because I am an experienced project manager, I joined in confidently.

You too can feel confident volunteering your skills because the people involved will discover how useful they are. Of course, there are certain tactics that you need to know for these situations…

1. Be ready to facilitate
When initiatives of a volunteer group are in an early stage, there is often plenty of goodwill and ideas—but not a good way of honing them down into a real realistic goal or plan. The group is likely to get started in the wrong direction. You might feel uncomfortable at this point because your experience may be starting with projects that have already completed early definition.

But this is where you can shine! Use your facilitation skills to help focus the conversation on what is possible and reasonable. To succeed, be patient and take your cues from the leader to set priorities and the ultimate objective. Then you …

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