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gear02
02-03-2006, 10:10 PM
This requires some setup.

I am on a volunteer recruitment committee for a large event at school. This event has a lot of committees that organize each element of it. Our job is to find out how many people they need and to find volunteers.

On the volunteer committee, there are 3 of us. Each were selected by application and there was a lot of competition so each of us are capable. It's pretty much a 3 headed monster, with each of us being in charge of the overall recruitment.

From the start, we've had a problem of getting together. One guy, we'll call him person A, is a nice guy but he's somewhat unrealiable in the fact that he parties a lot at night and then seems to be on catchup mode during the school day. But he's very capabale. Person B looks like a laid back guy, but is very unresponsive on email and doesn't seem to care too much.

In the past week, there have been problems with volunteer recruitment. We don't really have a plan that's set in stone. Most of our current decisions were made in our only meeting of 15 minutes. Some committees don't understand how it works and have been starting to recruit themselves, which cause a huge problem in terms of confusion and mixed messages.

There's a whole other part of this that I don't want to get into because it adds another layer of complexity. Here's the question. Should I take the initiative and start making unilateral decisions? I've hesitated because I figured we should approach things as a team. However, my teammates are just not reliable and things are being missed.

I guess my question is when should I take charge and when should I work as a team?

ramazank2
02-03-2006, 10:17 PM
Go hang out next to credit card signups, lots of people there you can sucker into volunteering. Or ask some campus clubs/fraternities.

gear02
02-03-2006, 10:19 PM
No offense, but that wasn't the question. I couldn't give a damn about getting volunteers. My problem is whether I should do something this team thing.

Memo
02-03-2006, 10:54 PM
I would try to communicate better with them. It's a volunteer position so more than likely these people WANT to help. So a guy parties, big deal, run your ideas by him and at least get him to agree. That way if Person B complains you are 2v1. Also, try calling Person B on the phone or using another form of communication.

welfareloser
02-04-2006, 07:15 AM
best thing to do... make decisions, but give them the option of disagreeing... if they're too lazy to respond, it's done. you can send out email/phone messages that say "i'm going to go ahead and get started doing blah blah blah... if you'd like to make any changes to that plan, just call me by tomorrow, otherwise, i'll get moving on it." it's still polite, but you've got to get moving on this stuff, so :shrug:

Markel
02-04-2006, 08:07 AM
Before making a decision, I think we need to know all the negatives of person C. :P

ArkiStan
02-05-2006, 02:41 PM
...There's a whole other part of this that I don't want to get into because it adds another layer of complexity.

Yeah. Things definitely start getting ugly when you find out that A and B are also sleeping with that one volunteer.

Houdini
02-05-2006, 03:06 PM
best thing to do... make decisions, but give them the option of disagreeing... if they're too lazy to respond, it's done. you can send out email/phone messages that say "i'm going to go ahead and get started doing blah blah blah... if you'd like to make any changes to that plan, just call me by tomorrow, otherwise, i'll get moving on it." it's still polite, but you've got to get moving on this stuff, so :shrug:

Sounds like a good diplomatic response to me. Someone has to take charge, obviously, and WL's way will either provoke responses or allow those who don't care to fall by the wasteside. Still, the job gets done.

Nija
02-07-2006, 02:59 AM
Isn't the point of Business School to work on your leadership skills? Slacker A and Slacker B aren't working up to their end of the bargain, so Person G needs to step up and get the volunteer experience. Take charge. WFL's idea is the first step. When they don't respond, slowly increase your power. By the end of the the year, Emperor, the Republic will be yours. And it will be yours to the sounds of thunderous applause.

clutchy
02-07-2006, 09:09 AM
the correct term is "social loafing". It occurs when in a group people start to participate less expecting others to do more... Yes, i would take the initiative and at the same time assign them tasks. They may not like it, but they'll probably go along with it.