It’s like an inside joke. If you manage volunteers, you get why I named my business Twenty Hats. We may be hired for one job, but along the way we pick up plenty of other roles: marketer, supervisor, HR specialist, project manager — it’s a long list. And twenty is just a guesstimate.

The thing is, we generally don’t start out with the skills we need to master these roles. Instead, we wind up with a choice: either muddle our way along and hope things work out, or get ourselves trained to excel in our work.

Clearly, my preference is for option No. 2. Why put up with trial and error when there are all kinds of resources to help us become true leaders in our field?

CVA Barb Sheffer would agree.

Barb ranks among the leaders of volunteers that I most respect and admire. She has worked in volunteer engagement for the past 20 years and runs a large volunteer program with sites across the country and internationally. She is incredibly busy and often on the road to visit those global volunteers.

But even with her hectic schedule, Barb makes time to sit on the board of her volunteer managers association (she was even President for two years), mentor younger volunteer managers, and continually improve her skills.

If I had to choose one role model for investing in and making the most of professional development, it would be Barb.

Read the full article about how professional development helps volunteer managers at volunteermatch.org.