How can someone’s business skills make a difference for a charity – if the business volunteer has very little knowledge about how the third sector works?
By asking questions. A well-placed question has more impact than you might think. At Pilotlight, we call it a Power Skill.
Sitting around the Morgan Stanley Glasgow office with a few of Pilotlight’s charity partners, I discovered the ripple effect that just one day had for their grassroots organisations. One of the key ingredients in that lasting impact was the time they spent with a group of curious questioners.
Early Years Scotland’s Fundraising Manager, Gary Lindsay, described his Pilotlight project as a catalyst. “We came with an idea. We knew there was something there—and it was very encouraging to see that validated.” Gary advised any volunteer starting a project with Pilotlight to ask as many questions as possible. Curiosity was, he thought, the power skill that set everything in motion.
Alex Conway of Miricyl (a mental health charity pronounced “miracle”), reflected on the value his Pilotlight volunteers brought to the organisation, with benefits from a one-day collaboration still being felt a year later. “The Pilotlighters were bright, inquisitive, and open-minded. They made it a very enjoyable, very helpful experience.” He agreed that, “It really helps a charity when people ask questions. It helps the leader see what’s important. It can make you realise if you’re not explaining things properly. Above all, the questions push you to think once, twice, three times about your problem.”
In my experience, the best questions don't come from a script, they come from a context. So it is not just critical curiosity but deep listening that are among the power skills that sit behind the delivery of a powerful question. Often the questions are a 'why' and sometimes the question is one that no-one else wants to ask, or no-one else can find ways to articulate.
Kathleen McPhee, a Director at Morgan Stanley Glasgow, rounded out these reflections with her own recipe for any business volunteer’s success: “Come with an open mind and embrace the day. It was empowering to see how much we could do in a short time!”
