𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐨 𝐖𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤?

It is another steamy, oppressive morning here on the patio. The horizon is cloaked in a haze of humidity, and we are under yet another heat advisory. Even so, I am enjoying my coffee while the water babbles in our backyard feature and the first lily pad flowers of the year pop open, adding to the peaceful ambiance.

This past week, I have been at our county fair. Our son split his time between Boy Scout summer camp and the fair, a busy stretch of earning merit badges, tackling hikes, and showing his sheep and pigs. With him bouncing between two volunteer-led organizations, I observed a lot of interactions with a wide array of people. After distilling the week’s experiences, I landed on this question:

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 “𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦”?

I have been around volunteer-led organizations nearly my whole life, starting with Cub Scouts in the mid-70s and continuing with my own volunteer leadership in Boy Scouts and 4-H today. Over those years, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly — people who truly step up and those who are volunteers only in title.

Too often, I have seen bad behavior and incompetence tolerated at the expense of the youth these groups exist to serve. In a few cases, someone was only removed after a dramatic breach of rules or, unfortunately, a felony conviction, and the quiet reaction was, “Finally, we can get rid of them.” What? The volunteer was so bad you celebrated their conviction but did not have the guts to remove them for their poor behavior long before that conviction. Maybe this says more about the other leaders than it does about the removed volunteer.

Why do we let poor volunteers stay on at the cost of the kids and the program’s integrity, just because we do not want to cause offense? Why do we not step up and be the example for the youth we claim to lead, making the tough decisions when volunteers behave badly? Our inaction sends the wrong message to the very kids we want to teach responsibility and courage, especially when the hushed conversations in the corners all circle back to, “Someone should do something.”

The same can be said about the workplace, but I will leave that Pandora’s Box untouched... for now.