Realizing that people tend to roll their eyes when sports metaphors are applied to organizations, I usually shy away from them. But as many of you know, I am a big hockey fan. (Go Rangers!) Since the beginning of this season, I've had a thought rolling around in my head that I wanted to share with all of you.
In hockey, coaches generally try to "run" four lines of forward players whose focus is primarily offensive. (Each line consists of three players, a center and two wings.) On a typical professional team, the first three lines include at least one skill player, i.e., a goal scorer, and the fourth line is the "energy line." Energy lines are composed of players who are indefatigable in their pursuit of the puck, bringing determination, grit and, yes, energy to the game. Without needing to score goals, energy line players inspire their teammates to raise their effort level. And, occasionally, energy lines surprise the opposition by scoring cheap goals simply because they played harder.
Does your association have volunteers who fit the description of an energy line player? Perhaps your organization would benefit from having its own energy line, or more than one. Think about it. Imagine how powerful it would be if you could quickly dispatch one of these pre-formed small groups of volunteers (or possibly both staff and volunteers) to jump into a stalled project, get it moving again and then "come off the ice." The purpose of these energy lines would not be long-term immersion in a single area of the association's work, but a focused, short-term engagement wherever an infusion of passion, purpose and beginner's mind could make an immediate impact.
Obviously, not everyone will be well suited to this kind of role, but it strikes me as a compelling, modular form of involvement in your association's new architecture of participation that many otherwise-uninvolved members will find intriguing. And they don't even need to know how to skate to do it!
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