Vicious Cycles - Challenges to Voluntary Leadership in Nigeria

When the stakeholders of a voluntary informal organization have no stake, voluntary leadership becomes a hardship for the leader and s/he may lose the impetus with which the task was undertaken and abandon it. Yet, for sustainable development in developing countries, informal voluntary organizations need to complement the often inadequate formal structures. People's lethargy may indirectly legitimize situations that are anti-progressive and that, if pushed to take a stand, they would vehemently oppose. Informal organizations are called to harness informal synergies to serve the common good by carrying out social projects. Leadership and followership in such organizations have unique characteristics because of their special nature and the cultural context. This paper is based on interviews with leaders of voluntary organizations whose members have a common interest but find it difficult to be committed. The approach is grounded theory. The objective is to get insight into the challenges, their expectations and disappointments, and their successes or failures. It is particularly interesting to distil from the exercise what the virtues are that are required by a leader of a voluntary organization. This would contribute to knowledge of how informal organizations work. There were three interviewees - presidents of Lagos Business School alumni classes. They all led followers who have nothing to lose if they do not follow - busy people, full of good intentions but difficult to lead. Any economic gain they could derive from the organization is hypothetical and futuristic. The interviewees suffered burnout and disillusionment. Since voluntary leadership is often values-driven and selfless in its origin, it is interesting to understand better what makes it fail or work, so that such organizations may thrive and better support formal organizations in promoting social good, especially in emerging economies where there is much work and it is impossible to rely on government alone.