As I’ve written about way too much(and another horse/goat-related post coming soon to Medium) I am volunteering at a therapeutic riding place. For the most part, I enjoy working there and have no big issues with the other volunteers. I even finally got to the point that the Saturday barn lead seems to trust me to just do the job. I wasn’t sure that would happen.
However, I have found a few of the people are the types I didn’t enjoy when in the working world – the brown noser and the know it all.
Every place seems to have them. You have at least one person who thinks they know more than everyone else and wants to act like they are the boss. In the absence of the barn lead for even a minute, they start telling the other volunteers what to do and are annoyed when someone, say me for example, refuses to follow. Most of the newer volunteers just go along to get along, but there are a few who will stick with me instead of following.
There is also the person who tries to cozy up to the people in charge to feel important. In one case, the know-it-all also falls into this category. They try to only do the jobs that keep them close to the main barn and the barn lead. They are more concerned with being seen and known than getting the work done. They always seem to pop up as soon as any of the MTR staff is around. They chat with the other volunteers and talk a lot about everything they do.
There is a volunteer of the month each month. Sometimes I feel like the above people are auditioning to get their photo up on the board. I need to get better at writing up a nomination for the people I work with who are focused on the work and helping the new volunteers instead of focusing on self-promotion.
I also need to watch myself and not become a know-it-all when it comes to the goats or other tasks I do regularly. I’ve only been there three months and I am already secretly a little judgy about certain things.
At least in this setting, it is easier for me to find a job to do away from other people if necessary.
The World's Common Tater 
Yes! I see the same thing where I volunteer. I am trying to keep my head down and off the radar and do the task at hand because I don’t need all this angst for a volunteer job
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Yeah. Volunteering shouldn’t be stressful. I’m glad I can avoid them most days
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I have my shift this afternoon. Let’s see if I can stay out of the storm…
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I volunteered for my kids swim meets and the “know-it-alls” drove me crazy. They often wouldn’t let other people volunteer or help with planning. It was a turf war to them.
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