When the Same People Keep Saying Yes
By Gail Moraton, Greater Tampa Bay ACP Chapter
If you have been involved with an ACP chapter for any length of time, you have probably seen it. The same names appear on the board year after year. The same people plan the meetings, find the speakers, send the communications, organize the events and raise their hands when something needs to get done.
There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, many of our chapters continue to be successful because of people who have been willing to give their time to ACP for many years.
But at some point, I think we need to ask ourselves a question: What happens when the same people keep saying yes because no one else does?
The Problem Isn't Longtime Leaders
Long-serving chapter leaders bring tremendous value. They know the history of the chapter. They have relationships with members and community partners. They know what has worked, what hasn't worked and, probably most importantly, how to get things done.
We need that experience.
But we also need to make sure our chapters aren't dependent on the same few people to keep everything going.
If someone has been doing the same chapter responsibility for five, ten or even fifteen years, who else knows how to do it? Who are they teaching? Who could step in tomorrow if that person decided it was finally time to take a break?
Those aren't questions about whether someone has served too long. They are questions about whether we are preparing our chapters for what comes next.
We All Have a Lot Going On
Before we start asking why more members aren't volunteering, we also need to recognize reality.
We all have jobs. We have families. Some of us are caring for children, parents or both. We have hobbies, vacations, other professional organizations and commitments that have absolutely nothing to do with work.
The last thing most people are looking for is another job.
So maybe instead of asking, "Why aren't more people volunteering?" we should be asking, "Have we made it easy enough for people to say yes?"
Volunteering Doesn't Have to Mean Joining the Board
Sometimes when we talk about getting involved with a chapter, we jump immediately to serving on the board or joining a committee.
That's a big ask, especially for someone who has never volunteered with ACP before.
What if we started smaller?
Could someone introduce the speaker at the next meeting? Help welcome first-time attendees? Suggest a future program topic? Find a speaker? Take photos at an event? Help with one program? Reach out to students or young professionals? Mentor someone who is new to our profession?
Not every volunteer opportunity needs to come with a title, a monthly meeting and a long-term commitment.
Sometimes we just need to give someone an opportunity to say a small yes.
And maybe that first small yes eventually becomes another one.
Sometimes Leaders Need to Let Go, Too
This part may be just as important.
Those of us who have been doing something for a long time tend to know exactly how we want it done. Sometimes it is simply easier and faster to do it ourselves.
But if we ask someone to help and then don't really let them help, we haven't accomplished much.
New volunteers need an opportunity to contribute their own ideas, try something different and feel like what they are doing matters.
That may mean those of us who have "always done it" need to become a little more comfortable letting someone else do it.
They may even do it differently.
And that's okay.
Where Will the Next Generation Come From?
Our profession needs people who are excited about business continuity, resilience, emergency management, cybersecurity, risk and all the other areas represented within ACP.
We need young professionals entering these fields, but we also need new voices from people at every stage of their careers.
Someone may have worked in our profession for 20 years and never volunteered with ACP. Someone else may be attending their very first chapter meeting.
Both could be future chapter leaders.
But before someone becomes a chapter president, board member or committee chair, we have to give them a reason to become connected to the chapter in the first place.
That starts with an invitation.
What's Your One Small Yes?
Strong chapters don't happen because a handful of people keep saying yes year after year. They happen when more people feel connected enough to contribute.
For those of us currently serving in chapter leadership, maybe our challenge is to identify one thing we are doing today that we could invite someone else to help with.
And for our members, maybe the challenge is even simpler.
What is one small thing you could say yes to this year?
You don't have to join the board. You don't have to chair a committee. You don't have to take on another job.
Just say yes to one thing.
Because that one small yes may be exactly what keeps your chapter strong and helps build the next generation of ACP leaders.
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