FEATURE: DEVELOPING YOUR VOLUNTEERS
The Three Rs that
Crack the Strategy
By Will Mancini
I expect you’re familiar with the down-home way of naming the
fundamentals of education as “the three Rs”: Reading, “’Riting,” and
“’Rithmetic.” The fundamentals of how humans live on planet Earth
are also three Rs: Roles, Resources, and Replenishment. Most people
don’t realize it, but all strategies to improve your life involve stepping
into a role, increasing a resource, or attending to replenishment, often in
combination.
• A role to step into. Every human activity has a corresponding role. For
example, when I play soccer with my daughter Poema I am fulfilling a
Playful Father or Blessing-Giver role. When I am talking to a pastor on a
three-way call with an Auxano teammate, I am playing a Networker or
Salesman role.
• A resource to increase. Every human being has value and resources
to invest in their future: most have more than they realize. The secret
to increasing a resource area in life is to learn how to identify and invest
what you have to gain what you don’t.
• A replenishment rhythm to practice. Every human being is like a
battery—either discharging energy (“work”) or recharging (“rest”) at
any given moment. By assessing your rhythms of rest and work, you can
better steward your energy and output.
Roles
Role mapping helps you answer the question of how you do what you
do. Once you name your roles, you can swiftly recognize which ones are
working, which ones are broken, and which ones are neglected. This way
you can fine-tune the various roles God has called you to and pinpoint
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