Several years ago, I attended a training event at Gateway Church for volunteers. As we filed into the room to learn about our responsibilities, each of us was handed a blue silicon wristband with the words “We GET To Do This” printed on it.
We had all signed up to be volunteers because we believed in the mission of the group.
We saw potential for something positive; and we wanted to be a part of it.
There were a couple hundred of us in the room, and we each had different volunteer roles. Some had more visible positions – hospitality crew or musicians. Some of us had more behind-the-scenes roles. Some were coffee makers, some of us chair-setter-uppers. There was a parking crew, a cleanliness crew, and a data entry crew, along with a zillion other roles that were needed to make this sizable volunteer organization run.
Not all of the roles might be considered glorious, but they were all necessary.
Before we dispersed into our teams of chair-setter-uppers and parking gurus, we met as a group. The head of the organization thanked us for our dedication and reminded us:
“We are all in this together. We don’t have to do this; we GET to do this.”
There is so much talk about what leaders can/should do to engage their teams. And if you’re a leader, we certainly don’t want to understate the importance of appreciating, encouraging, and empowering your teams in order to help them reach their potential.
But for those of us who are the behind-the-scenes heavy-lifters, we’re not off the hook.
In whatever we choose to dedicate our personal efforts, we control our own personal level of engagement.
We can choose to slide by doing the minimum. Or we can choose to give it our all. We can appreciate the opportunities we have been given, and we can choose to find ways to make a difference. We can choose to say, “I get to do this.”