[Between Ideal and Reality 9] Consultation sessions are not for practice. So, where do young members grow?

"Consultation sessions are not for practice."
The mid-career member who was told this was at a loss for words.

But he must have also had this question in mind.

If that's the case, where exactly are young members without consultation skills supposed to grow?...

Having worked at a pharmaceutical company until a few years ago, I now lead a volunteer organization consisting of 16 people.

During my time at the pharmaceutical company, there was OJT (On the Job Training) to develop young staff.

New employees and young staff were paired with mid-career employees responsible for their development, who would accompany them on daily tasks to teach them knowledge, skills, and the knack for the job.
On top of that, they would have them perform tasks themselves, provide feedback, and sometimes give strict guidance.

OJT was finely programmed, and the mechanism of "mid-career staff developing young staff" functioned as a matter of course within the organization.

However, currently, the volunteer organization I lead does not have an OJT mechanism.

A pharmaceutical company and a volunteer organization....
As the leader, I am bewildered by the gap in developing young members and am still searching for a way....

This is a story about that.

Our organization is planning a consultation session for the public soon.

It is a rule that consultation sessions are handled bya two-person team consisting of a main lead and a sub-lead.

While refining the plan for the consultation session, a mid-career member made this proposal.

"How about having a young member as the sub-lead so they can improve their consultation skills?"

Behind this statement were the voices of several young members.

"I want to improve my consultation skills. But I don't have the confidence..."

The mid-career member who heard those voices proposed it as a method for developing young members.
However, I could not agree immediately.

This is because the following voices had also been raised by several veteran members.

"Consultation sessions are not for practice."

For the members of the public who come for consultations, the session is a place to get hints for their worries, and it might even be a place where their lives take a major turn.

The veteran members' words were reasonable, and in fact, this was something I myself had been strongly conscious of until now.

In reality, it has been the custom for both the main and sub-lead to be members experienced in consultations, and they have received high praise from those seeking advice.

Meanwhile, I was reminded of the time when I first started this job after transferring from a pharmaceutical company.

Even though others might have seen me as having sufficient qualifications, I personally felt that I lacked knowledge and practical experience, and I lacked confidence in my consulting work.

Even so, I gained experience little by little through repeated consultations, which is how I am where I am today.
That is precisely why I can well understand the feeling of 'lacking confidence' that young members have.

I want to increase the satisfaction of those seeking consultation. But I also want to nurture young professionals.

How to balance these two things... it is a very difficult problem.

As the discussion at the consultation meeting progressed, I felt that the situation was about to be steamrolled by the veteran members.

At this rate, there would be no calm discussion.

I decided to put the discussion on hold for the time being and proposed that we talk about it again at the social gathering after the meeting.

At the izakaya, where there were no time constraints, everyone began to speak their minds over drinks.

From the veteran members came the opinions:
'I don't want people to think the quality of consultations at a volunteer organization has dropped.'
'Consulting skills should be improved on one's own.'.

On the other hand, from the mid-career members came the opinions:
'There are many members who have no place to improve their skills.'
'Isn't nurturing young professionals the responsibility of a volunteer organization?'.

Neither side was wrong, and the conversation was going in circles.

At that moment, one veteran member made this proposal.

'Why don't we keep the two-person consultation team structure as is, but assign a young member as a scribe?'

It was a proposal that spotted the fact that there is no rule against having a scribe.

The consultants remain just the two people, the main and the sub.
The young member enters the consultation scene as a scribe.

I couldn't help but think, 'That makes sense!'

Of course, certain considerations are necessary, such as not making the person seeking consultation feel pressured.
Even so, I felt that this might be one answer.

Based on the discussions so far, for this consultation session, we decided to adopt this 'assign a scribe' proposal, and we called for volunteers for the scribe role.

As a result, there were applications from multiple young members, and one of them told me this.

'I don't have the confidence to provide consultations. But I wanted to see the scene.'

Hearing these words, I felt I understood why participation by young members in recent events had been declining.

It is not that young members 'do not want to participate,' but perhaps they simply could not find a place suited to their abilities andcould not find a reason to join the event...

Furthermore, the veteran member's statement this time has brought about a change within me as well.

Whenever I proposed new initiatives, the veteran members would only voice opposition...
To me, who felt that way, this proposal made me feela contribution to the organization unique to veterans.

An alternative plan that protects the quality of the consultation sessions while also leading to the development of young members.

I am now re-evaluating the veteran member who gave me such a proposal, albeit a bit late.

Through this discussion, I have rethought the significance of our 16 members' existence.

To enlighten volunteer groups by increasing the satisfaction of the people we serve. Along with that, to create a place for OJT and nurture young members.

As a result, the sustainable enlightenment and foundation strengthening of volunteer groups will progress.

Activities that look toward our members as well as the people we serve—I believe that is the role we 16 members must fulfill.

The conclusion this time was not something I led and derived on my own.

The issues raised by mid-career members and the experience of veteran members.
It was a conclusion reached by reconciling those two, and I am happy about it.

Will we be able to provide satisfaction to the consultees as we have in the past, and what kind of realizations will the young members participating as scribes have?

The one thing that is certain is that this initiative willlead to the growth of the participating young members.

Perhaps we might receive comments from consultees such as 'it felt oppressive.'
Even so, I intend to accept it as the result derived by the veterans and mid-career members.

If the unity of the 16 members of the volunteer group could be strengthened through this consultation session...
Thinking about such things, I am looking forward to the day of the consultation session.