“Tribal Knowledge” is the phrase that I have adopted to describe how volunteers within USTA Texas learn about the organization. It would not surprise me to learn that other Sections and even CTAs operate the same way. That oral history and system of relationships defines how effectively people ultimately assimilate. Today’s post considers if it is time to frame that information out in written or on-demand form to help people new to the organization conquer the learning curve.
One of the principle objectives of my day job is to facilitate technical knowledge transfer and information sharing. In that context, I conceptualize workforce development as a pipeline. Individuals within the organization have to understand what they need to know and what they need to do to achieve their career objectives.
For the USTA, thinking of the progression of volunteer engagement in terms of a pipeline rather than a pathway may be beneficial. The reason for that is because leadership development is a numbers game. A pathway implies that a limited few can make the journey. In fact, the Tribal Knowledge approach to knowledge transfer is constrained due to a finite number of mentors. A pipeline has much higher capacity, but also needs an information sharing mechanism that scales.
This week I re-reviewed the Volunteer Pathway presentation delivered at the USTA Texas Leadership Development Roundtable in October 2021. It is apparent that the organization understands the importance of developing their volunteers. Unfortunately, information presented during the webinar focused predominately on timelines and procedures. There really wasn’t much actionable data that would provide individuals with a development roadmap for that journey.
A good place to start to develop and refine the knowledge, skills, and attributes desired in the volunteer workforce is to write out job descriptions. From what I have seen, those things exist for the paid staff but only sporadically so for volunteer positions. A well structured and comprehensive catalog of job descriptions along with the specific knowledge, skills, and attributes required for each one should exist.
All this may be written down somewhere. However, it isn’t in a publicly accessible location that is widely shared. Instead, people have to basically figure it out for themselves via the Tribal Knowledge system. In fact, that very thing will ultimately pack the pathway with people who are “team-players,” adept at building the right relationships with the right people who can help them in their journeys.
That’s an important attribute to have in the volunteer workforce. However, it isn’t the only characteristic and skill needed to make the USTA operate efficiently in the modern world. The Tribal Knowledge approach has served the organization well in the past. However, there is a better way.
Written job descriptions that identify critical skills is a great way to move in that direction.
- Leadership Development Roundtable, USTA Texas, October 2021.
- Tribal Knowledge, Wikipedia Page, viewed August 8, 2022.
