The essence of working with people is simple – especially when you are working with volunteers:

  • Ask people what they want to do, and help them make it happen,
  • Bring people together to help them fulfill their passions,
  • Thank them – and thank them again.

The message is straightforward, but easy to forget.  And it’s never as easy as it sounds.

Stuff just gets in the way – like money … like the organization’s mission, like your boss’ orders, like your own career goals.  But the fundamental nature of working with others – with other people – remains:

 It’s not about you.

These essays will explore the implications of these principles of leadership, when gratitude – when giving thanks – is the currency of the realm.  These writings look at how one makes these principles operational and where the rubber hits the road.  And they will examine the roadblocks that occur when notions of community and inclusion encounter economic man – and how one overcomes those obstacles.