Volunteering Is the Reward

I feel like this post is my philosophy behind my ISA journey.

Let's start at where I am now, as the 2025 ISA president, and work backward. There are two reasons I volunteer for ISA right now. 

The first is the community I get to connect with while working toward a mission and vision I care about. Volunteering means I get to have great conversations about what we can all do to achieve our common purpose. 

The second reason is that I get to give back to a community that I care about. The ISA community has given me so much over the years, and it is an honor to return that favor. This is what I mean by the title of this blog post, "Volunteering Is the Reward." I get the opportunity to contribute to the greater good of the automation community, and I am excited and honored to do so. 

Volunteers do what we do for a variety of reasons. Regardless of our motivations, however, we trade in our time to support a cause we value, and we all gain something from our service. I thought it would be interesting to take a practical approach and look at the different types of relationships that volunteers may have with our volunteering through the lens of the value we receive.

In my days as a consultant, I learned about two different kinds of relationships: relational and transactional. Today, I'd say I'm in a relational relationship with my ISA volunteering. This type of relationship is extremely rewarding in terms of the satisfaction I get from contributing to a mission I believe in. If I have to do some hard stuff, it doesn't mean I want to quit. I care more about making sure we stick together and collaborate to achieve our shared vision. Also, I'm in it for the long haul.

Now let me state, these are not the only benefits. I get lots of other benefits from being a volunteer as well. As an officer of ISA, I get to work on my leadership skills, strategic planning, influencing others, negotiating and so much more. 

If these were the main reasons I'm volunteering, then this would be more of a transactional relationship. In a transactional relationship, if I were to stop doing these things, I wouldn't be getting any value anymore.

Transactional relationships with your volunteer work can be great. There are lots of volunteer roles that are well-suited for growing specific skills. In ISA, you could want to work on your presentation skills, for example, and you could offer to do a presentation for your local section. If you are an automation professional, ISA needs you, regardless of whether your motivation is to give back to the automation community, build skills or a combination of both.

At the end of the day, there's a question that everyone asks about volunteering: "What's in it for me?" Here's a quick list of the benefits volunteering can bring, whether you have a transactional or relational relationship with your volunteering:

1. You get to give back to your community.
2. You can influence the direction of your organization.
3. You can learn leadership skills.
4. You can meet great people and work with them.
5. You can help inspire future volunteers.
6. You can make a difference in the world.
7. You can present on a topic you want to learn more about.

In the slightly altered words of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy:

"Ask not what [the automation community] can do for you, but what you can do for [the automation community]."

I started volunteering at ISA by giving a presentation to a section. I was doing sales at the time, so this was getting my face out there, and also working on my presentation skills. I had a transactional relationship with my volunteer role.

When I moved to become the secretary of the Denver section, it was an opportunity to add to my resume and meet more people. Again, this was pretty transactional.

When I moved to become the president of the section, I saw an opportunity to not only give back to my community but also build a lot more skills that would be helpful as I grew my career. This is where a relational relationship started to kick in, and the roles were getting more time-consuming.

The point is that there is nothing wrong with a transactional relationship with volunteering. With that said, my relational relationship with volunteering has been much more intrinsic and satisfying. 

I encourage everyone to find the right opportunity to give back. For those who need shorter commitments, find something that is either transactional or relational. For those longer commitments that have good days and bad days, focus on something that you truly care about. The opportunity to give back is the reward itself.

If you are an ISA member, here's how you can get started with volunteering. If you are not an ISA member yet, you can learn more about the benefits of membership here.