Be what you want your volunteers to be

From Gaby: Be a happy detective when you look at your child, is one of the things we learn and use very often. Yesterday I was thinking about my feedbacks when I realized that I use the same principle when it comes to my volunteers. Be a happy detective when you want to find out why a volunteer does or does not do something you want in the playroom. We all know we do things for a reason: the old S(timulus)-B(elief)-R(espons) principle, and what better way to find out then when you genially want to help your volunteer to discover what his or her belief is behind the response. Be curious who your volunteer is, show interest and be non judgmental and you will help your volunteer become the best volunteer he or she can be.

We want our volunteers to look at themselves, dare discover what beliefs they hold. To do that, they have to be willing to look at themselves. If they don’t do that, then they don’t have a place in the playroom. You can be very open in explaining that to them. Only when they dare to look at themselves, can they work with issues they may have in the playroom.

Be what you want others to be in the world. If you want your players to be open and look at themselves then be that yourself. One of the great learning’s I took from the institute was how teachers shared about their own personal challenges. It inspired me to look deeper at myself and to share my own personal learning’s with my players so as to inspire them.

A wonderful quote is: If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the immensity of the sea" - Antoine de Saint –ExuperyHelp your volunteers long for discovering who they are! That’s one of the greatest gifts you can give.
Gabs