Question: New VP feeling 'lost' and 'left out'

I was elected as the new VP, surprisingly, at our first PTSO meeting; we are a rural, low-income area. I was aware that a new VP was needed and had offered to step up and help. Not one officer bothered to contact me asking if I could accept the position at the next meeting. I accepted and since then not one officer has bothered to inform me of my responsibilities or expectation and am now being singled out for not 'doing my job'. I am new to PTSO and to school volunteering and have no idea what a VP does and my President and Treasurer have taken my plea for better communication and job clarity as a personal attack on them. I want to help but I feel there is a lack of support. Help please!

Asked by sarahkatie76

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Hi SarahKatie76,
This is one of the times when requesting a '"do over'' is probably the best choice. It sounds like pretty much everyone got off on the wrong foot! So, try calling the president (a personal connection rather than an email may work best) and say you are interested in doing the job, but it would be helpful if you could sit down with the board and talk about what the VP does.

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
VP can be the toughest job to get settled in because it doesn't typically have any official duties, other than running meetings if the president can't attend. That's both a difficulty and an opportunity. On the difficulty side, it sounds like you've run into a worst case situation, unfortunately. On the other hand, because VP doesn't have a lot of defined duties, it's an opportunity to choose what you'd like to work on and how you'd like to make a difference for your group.

See the article What Does a Vice President Do? for some specifics on typical job duties and ways you can expand your role. Good luck!