Volunteers' reward.

Serving on the arbitration board of the National Electrical Contractors Association, Bethesda, Maryland, schooled Emerson Hamilton in the art of crafting mutually acceptable agreements - an art that he say has served him well in negotiating agreements with customers of his electrical contracting firm. The 12-member board had to reach a unanimous agreement on each labor case brought before it.

"You end up with a lot of compromises. You learn that just because you think something is right doesn't mean it is. It also taught me how to get along with people - to listen to them and learn from their ideas," says Hamilton.

While chairing Printing Industries of America, Alexandria, Virginia, Howard C. "Buzz" Webber, Jr., visited about 25 printing plants across the country. When it came time to build a new plant of his own, Webber knew what features he wanted to duplicate and whom to call to get the necessary information.

Larry W. Monson credits his early involvement in volunteer work for landing him the job he has held for 21 years - director of the Wisconsin Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, Madison.

At the time, he was volunteer director of the Wisconsin Hospital and Clinical Social Work Director Association, a member of the board of directors of the LaCrosse County Family Services Association, and a member of the advisory committee of the LaCrosse County Health Department

"My volunteer background in leadership positions was part of selling myself to the state. Apparently they felt I could forge a relationship with the public and private sectors" says Monson, who is still getting job offers - about one a month - thanks to a powerful professional network.

When he was a sales and marketing executive for IBM early in his career, John R. Miltner participated in fund-raising activities of the United Way and Boy Scouts as a "loaned executive." That experience influenced his pursuit of a career and volunteer leadership path that has focused, in large part, on philanthropy.

Miltner's curriculum vitae includes the following accomplishments: current president of Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois; a doctorate degree in philosophy with a specialty in philanthropic leadership studies; former development director of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City; 12 years on the board of the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives; trustee of a performing arts center and the Boy Scout of America; and director of several health-related foundations.

Funding skirmishes are nothing new for nonprofit executives. But helping lead a successful coalition effort to force Santa Cruz County to allocate more money to community services increased Robert Kardon's confidence that he could achieve similar funding victories for the groups he serves as executive director of the California Association of Nonprofits, Santa Cruz.

As these example indicate, volunteering is not a one-way street where one gives and gives and gets nothing in return. Executive who have made long-standing commitments to volunteer leadership activities report they get more out of the experience than they put into it.

For devoting their time and energy, volunteer leaders reap valuable personal and professional development benefits: powerful business networks, exchange of problem-solving ideas, enhanced self-confidence, and new skills, to name a few.

These benefit or rewards aren't presented as neatly wrapped gifts at the conclusion of each volunteer term. They are not the reason business leaders elect to get involved in trade associations or philanthropic organizations. Nor are they tracked diligently by volunteers on some kind of payback sheet.

A maturing process

Benefits accrued from the volunteer experience are years in the making and become interwoven into the fabric of everyday business life. "It's hard to say where one thing ends and another begins and which is the most influential," observes Miltner. "It's a constant ebb and flow."

The feel-good aspect of volunteering undeniably has a meaningful impact, especially for those involved in philanthropic or nonprofit organizations. But association leaders also report a strong sense of fulfillment from contributing to the development of an industry or profession.

It's also clear that volunteering begets volunteering. Executives interviewed by Leadership for this article are veteran volunteers with an impressive track record of multiple commitments related to their professions and communities. And they plan to stay volunteer leaders - in some capacity - for life.

The dedication and level of commitment underscores again the reality that being a volunteer leader is deeply rewarding on myriad levels.

Developing new skills

Executives who serve in volunteer capacities frequently find themselves in uncharted territory facing daunting fundraising, communication or interpersonal challenges: overhauling a symphony board to broaden the scope of trustee participation, rescuing an organization from the brink of bankruptcy, or building a coalition of people who can work effectively together.

Successfully meeting the demands of challenges like those helps volunteer leaders develop new skills and acquire a healthy dose of self-confidence that they take back to their jobs and put to use in future volunteer assignments.

Rosemary Camillo, president of the Detroit chapter of Executive Women International, Salt Lake City, recalls a particular fund-raising challenge that cultivated new talents.

As chair of the chapter's ways and means committee a few years ago, Camillo was in charge of organizing an auction to raise funds for the chapter's scholarship program for women re-entering the work force. It was up to her to contract companies for donations and to develop a budget for the event that would cover such expenses as paying for an auctioneer and the printing of tickets, flyers, and letters to members.

"You have a certain amount of dollars to work with, so it forces you to live within your budget and constantly monitor income and expenses," says Camillo, who manages and charters corporate aircraft and sales as administrative assistant of Corporate Flight, Detroit. "Our [chapter's] philanthropic project depends on what I and the organization can do."

The experience of organizing the event, which netted $4,000, "brought out some hidden talents," notes Camillo - chiefly communication, budgeting, and stress-management skills.

Being in control of the multiple and demanding tasks of the auction event taught her the value of creating manageable timelines for projects in the workplace whenever possible. Keeping a close watch on the auction budget nurtured a bottom-line mentality that she relies on every day to monitor business expenses.

A volunteer CPR instructor for the American Heart Association of Michigan, Southfield, and a past board member of the Yankee Air Museum, Bellville, Michigan, Camillo credits her volunteer experiences for enhancing her professional image.

"I project a more positive image in all that I do. I can set better goals and objective and can communicate more effectively. My volunteer positions have provided great experiences in terms of personal growth and leadership opportunities."

Serving as a volunteer leader is "like getting an extra degree in college. You're thrust into divergent situations that you have to learn to deal with," notes Emerson Hamilton, secretary - treasurer and general manager of Hamilton Electric, Eugene, Oregon. The 30-year veteran of volunteer service - National Electrical Contractor Association national president from 1986 to 1989 - has also served as a leader in a wide variety of community organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, United Way, convention and visitors bureau, an arts foundation, a medical center foundation, a youth sports program, and a county fair board.

It was during his term as national president of NECA that Hamilton faced perhaps his biggest communication challenge as a volunteer leader: selling NECA's board of governors on the comprehensive benefits of adopting a long-range plan that involved limiting the association's representation to union contractors. The effort, which required Hamilton to conduct a series of meetings around the country, was successful: 95 percent of the board voted in favor of adopting the plan.

According to Hamilton, this experience and the multitude of other volunteer challenges and assignments both identified and strengthened his skills as a communicator - "written, oral, and one-on-one. This business is a business of dealing with people. The more you learn how to deal with people and react to them, the better you're going to be."

Building a powerful network

The chance to meet and work with influential community and business leaders help build a valuable network of personal and professional contacts - a network that can have a lasting impact on one's career and reputation in the community. "[Volunteering] opens a lot of doors you don't even know are there," notes Monson.

It also provides role models who are especially valuable for executives just starting out. "When I was coming up the ladder and doing volunteer assignments, I had a change early on to meet heads of businesses and other influential people. This enabled me to build a network of people I otherwise never would have had access to," says Miltner. "I also had the opportunity to observe these people. Some of my best references are people who I got to know in a volunteer setting."

Building a network does more than fill one's Rolodex, however. It serves as a conduit for exchanging ideas about solving business problems. Serving as a volunteer leader offers "a chance to get the best free consulting in the world," says Webber who has served Printing Industries of America at the local, state, and national level for 26 years.

As an executive builds a powerful network of volunteer contacts, It's also likely that he or she will assume increasingly demanding leadership roles that will require considerable time away from the job. This absenteeism, however, is actually good for business, according to Webber, president of Cohber Press, Inc., Rochester, New York.

"When you're away more and more from your company, it gives your top management team members more time and opportunity to develop [their management expertise and to learn to make major business decisions themselves]'" says Webber, who used to call three or four times a day while away from the office on association business and now tells staff to call him if they need him.

"You have to take the time to get away from your daily business and think about long-range plans and where your business is headed," explains Webber. "You have to devote time to be exposed to new ideas, and one way to do that is to get involved in trade associations."

Illuminating ideas

"Serving on nonprofit boards gives me a perspective o how things get done at other nonprofit organizations - which helps me improve my own management techniques," adds Kardon of the California Association of Nonprofits. "It also gives me an idea of the overlap of social services so I can work toward eliminating duplication and work together in creating an effective community service network.

"When you stay in this [nonprofit] arena, you become aware of important public policy issues. There's a whole aspect of volunteerism that deals with improving public policy. My tendency has been to go in this direction," explains Kardon, who has served on various task forces and is co-funding chair of the National Council of Non-profit Associations, located in Washington, D.C.

The most challenging and rewarding volunteer experience for Kardon was helping lead the Community Congress, a coalition of citizens and nonprofit leaders concerned about local budget priorities. The coalition persuaded Santa Cruz County to allocate $1 million more to community services than had been initially proposed by developing an alternative county budget that resulted in the county adopting structural changes allowing a percentage of funds to be set aside for community service.

"Everybody involved in the process became more aware of what's involved in developing good contracts with government funders and how to develop budgets and financial projections," says Kardon. "It definitely strengthened each nonprofit organization that participated in the effort and showed me the importance of collaborative efforts."

Building new foundations 

The ability to build coalitions or even launch new organizations is yet another skill acquired by executives serving as volunteer leaders. They have developed the leadership ability to bring people together to work on a common cause deemed important to a profession or society as a whole.

Webber, for example, helped unite three local industry groups in Albany, Rochester, and Buffalo to create the Printing Industries of New York State.

"It was definitely a challenge but one I enjoyed, especially the negotiating aspects - trying to get people to realize that they were all printers and to put aside individual interests," he says . "It gave me a chance to improve my bargaining skills that I certainly used later in acquiring another company."

Monson, of the Wisconsin Hospital and Clinical, Social Work Directors Association, has founded several organizations that build upon his professional interests. After launching the National Annual Rural Institute on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, it became clear that the professionals attending the conference needed an ongoing network, so he created the National Rural Network for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Professionals and Programs, also headquartered at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He continues to serve as volunteer coordinator of the National Rural Institute and as president of the National Rural Network.

Monson also founded the National Association for Student Assistance Programs and Professionals, Boulder, Colorado, in 1985. He considers it his most rewarding program initiative because it focuses attention on getting help to students who have special needs.

"I've personally seen success stories - a suicidal teenager who's now married and raising a family. Our greatest resource is our youth," says Monson. "We need to do everything we can to help them.

"It helps you realize you can take an idea and see it developed into a nation-wide effort," he adds. "As an individual, you can change the world and society we live in."

Sydney King, retired director of public affairs for WBAL-TV in Baltimore, helped form the National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs, Charlotte, North Carolina, to focus attention on the role public affairs outreach should play in broadcasting.

For the past six years, he has also worked to establish The SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) Alliance, Columbia, Maryland, by uniting about six different SIDS groups working on issues such as research, parental support, and fund-raising. Some of these groups have disbanded, while others maintain a local identity.

"The new organization has come into being. The internal battling among the groups has ceased. We stuck in there and everybody came around," says King. "Creating one umbrella group will be very helpful for fund-raising."

King faced a similar challenge when asked to chair a divided board of a community service agency troubled by personality conflicts and lack of unity. He cut the size of the board, gave dissident voices a chance to express themselves more fully in meetings, and invited representatives of a major group in the community to voice concerns at the board level.

"The foremost benefit [of volunteering] is feeling like you have contributed to the success of a venture," says King. "To see a board that is split and divided settle down and focus on objectives and what needs to get done is tremendously rewarding."

Achieving success in the volunteer arena can be just as rewarding as professional accomplishments, observes King, who credits his volunteer activities with helping him cope with a low point earlier in his career and making his retirement days busy and fulfilling.

He chaired the first national meeting of the new SIDS Alliance in November in Santa Monica, California, chairs the 1992 National Red Cross Convention to be held in Baltimore in May, and serves on the board of Action for the Homeless - a Maryland (statewide) group involved in public education.

"I've never been a CEO of a company, but I've had plenty of CEOs on the boards of organizations I've worked for. I see them getting a personal reward that has no relation to their salary or their golden parachute. They feel good about giving of themselves."

A rewarding trip

Decades of dedicated service is no exception for executives who opt to get involved in community, trade, and professional organizations. The road of volunteer leadership is long because executives soon learn that the trip is personally and professionally rewarding and they don't want it to end. Besides, you never know where the road will lead.

For Camillo, volunteering led to a memorable marriage ceremony last spring - 3,000 feet up in the air. The Yankee Air Museum, which she has served as a board member and vice president, approved the flight of one of its aircraft - a C47 - for the exchange of vows. Camillo's husband is a former Marine, who was wounded in the Korean War and evacuated in a C47.

The event actually raised money for the museum because Camillo paid for the flight, which just goes to show that the benefits of volunteering come full circle.

The Competitive Edge

The United States relies more heavily than any other country in the world on the nonprofit sector to conduct the nation's social, cultural, and economic business.

And studies to date have primarily focused on the benefits of volunteering as it relates to the community or organization served.

Yet Peter Drucker contends in The New Realities (Harper & Row, 1989) that the nonprofit sector in turn offers its volunteers a sphere of personal achievement in which the individual exercises influence, discharges responsibility, and makes decisions.

Volunteering: The Leader's Competitive Edge is a study I helped design to empirically determine if there were benefits received through the volunteering experience.

A survey went out to 5,799 alumni (classes 1964-1697, primarily) at eight institutions of higher education; 1,305, or 22.5 percent, of the alumni responded. The respondents to the survey were divided into two groups based on predetermined "parameters of career success": * owns own business; * holds a position at the policy level (director of a division, vice president, chief executive officer) in a for-nonprofit organization; * is a GS-13 or equivalent in federal, state, or local government; * is a full colonel or above in the military; * holds a position at the policy level (director of a division, vice president, chief executive officer) in a nonprofit organization; * is self-employed earning $50,000 or more per year; * is a professional (medical doctor, lawyer, full professor, school administrator); and * works as a nonpaid leader of a nonprofit organization.

Group A was designated the leadership group (289 alumni) who met the parameters of career success, and Group B was designated the representative group (1,016 alumni) who did not meet the parameters. Survey respondents represented 45 states, the District of Columbia, and seven foreign countries.

It is important to note that the group selected was a highly selective sampling. For example, when respondents were asked if they had a religious preference, their responses were significantly higher than the average of 70 percent reported in the Independent Sector's 1990 study Giving and Volunteering in the United States. Group A reported 87.80 percent; Group B, 93.11 percent. The study therefore substantiates Independent Sector's findings that religious involvement may be one of the significant ways to measure individual volunteer participation.

The study's key question - "Have you ever volunteered your time to another organization?" - produced an above-average positive response: 88.58 percent of Group A and 88.39 percent of Group B, the representative group, reported yes.

Alumni were asked to indicate the various career-related benefits gained through volunteering. The objective of this question was to determine the degree of leadership traits in both groups. The results are presented above.

Overall, volunteering by responding alumni seemed to be based on their individual seem to be based on their individual makeup and backgrounds. Educators tended to volunteer for educational organizations, business people tended to volunteer for business-related organizations, and leadership-oriented individuals tended to pursue volunteer leadership level positions in nonprofit organizations.

The findings of this study can provide an opportunity to explore innovative ways to use existing human resources. Professional and volunteer leaders of nonprofit organizations could be the real winners, for the study provides new empirical data that volunteering can play a significant role in helping businesses and their executives be more successful.

  Professional Benefits Gained Through Volunteering
                               Percent   Percent     Percent
Benefits                       Group A   Group B     Difference
* Making new contacts           76.47     76.37        0.10
* Developing a strong sense
of personal mission             65.40     73.43        8.03
* Committee and board
experience                      68.86     64.67        4.19
* Strategic planning            52.60     54.33        1.73
* Ability to work with
different constituencies        71.97     73.52        1.55
* Better understanding of
ethical and moral standards     50.51     55.90        5.39
* Better understanding of
social patterns                 67.47     68.50    1.03
* A sense of personal power     30.79     28.94        1.85
* Increased willingness to
take risks                      34.95     45.37       10.42
* Opportunity to work with
leaders and others in the
community                      77.16      66.63       10.53
* Become more concerned
about the future of society     59.86     66.63        6.77
* The satisfaction of
helping to provide a service
to the needy                    69.20     7.26         2.06
* Other                          4.49      4.23        0.26
Note: Percentages are determined by dividing actual response by total
number of alumni in each group.

Walter P. Pidgeon, Jr., CAE, is president of Trans-American Associates, Jarretsville, Maryland. This research was funded in part by a grant from the ASAE Foundation.