When You Can’t Find New Officers and Leaders
This is the time of year when many current officers are looking to find either their own replacement, or more help for the leadership team next year. No one wants to be stuck doing the work of six people alone, and your group needs leadership to thrive.
But what do you do if no one is stepping up? This is one of the most frustrating challenges a group can have.
My tip: If you aren’t finding folks willing to take on the biggest jobs, you have to break things down into smaller chunks. And you very well may have to reduce the number of functions your group tackles until you can get that leadership vacuum filled. If one great prospective volunteer doesn’t want to be your new vice president, will she perhaps step up and cochair a major fall event? If no one is willing to be treasurer, can you find two volunteers who agree to share the job?
No new president? You may have to adjust the bylaws to allow leadership by a committee, at least until you can take on a more formal structure.
In the end you want to keep on doing as much good work as you can for the school, regardless of structure or titles. The bureaucracy can’t trump the good work.
And if you’ve had this trouble this year, now is the time start making some changes to your group to bring new faces in at beginner levels and to make the leadership jobs more attractive to those folks in the long-term. We have some great resources on developing new leaders:
Developing New PTO and PTA Leaders
Help Prepare New Officers for Success
Build a Strong Executive Board
