Creative problem-solving for volunteer managers

Creative problem solving for volunteer managers

A fun and engaging session that teaches volunteer managers a range of innovation strategies to help themselves, their organisations and their volunteers think laterally about how to add value to their work. We will use practical examples to workshop the techniques that they can take away and use back in the workplace.

Note that this 2.5 hour session includes a comfort break half-way through.

Why creativity is needed

Volunteer managers are constantly navigating a complex web of unique challenges. Whether you are juggling the diverse motivations of your team, trying to maintain consistent service standards while offering the flexibility modern volunteers expect, or tasked with finding new recruits on a strictly limited budget—the pressure is real. When traditional approaches stop working, it is time to think differently.

Come and join this session designed to help you release your perhaps hidden creative abilities and apply them directly to these practical, everyday challenges!

This fun, highly interactive workshop will equip you with a practical toolkit of innovation strategies. Drawing on the proven lateral thinking techniques of experts like Edward de Bono, we will explore how to break out of routine thought patterns and approach your biggest roadblocks from entirely new angles.

This is not just a theory-based lecture; it is a hands-on workshop. We will use real-world, sector-specific examples to test and apply these creative strategies together. You will leave with fresh perspectives and actionable techniques that you can immediately use to empower yourself, your organisation, and your volunteers.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

• Unlock Your Creativity: Build the confidence to tap into your own innate creative problem-solving skills and apply them to operational realities.

• Apply Lateral Thinking: Understand and use proven creative frameworks to generate fresh, innovative ideas for your volunteer programmes.

• Overcome Complex Roadblocks: Approach specific sector challenges—such as balancing flexibility with consistency, juggling varied volunteer motivations, and recruiting on a shoestring budget—with a new, solution-focused mindset.

• Facilitate Innovation: Confidently guide your own colleagues and volunteer teams through creative exercises back in the workplace.

• Add Strategic Value: Transform everyday frustrations into tangible opportunities to improve the volunteer experience and increase your organisation's impact.