Will & Leadership
In most jobs, employees are expected to do exactly what they’re told.
It’s a little bit different with “employees” who volunteer. (And for my purposes, “volunteers” are actually club members - people who choose to give up their time and resources because they believe in the purposes of the club.)
This is my view on some of those differences.
People volunteer with an organization because they expect to personally get something out of it.
That something is usually an intangible benefit: feeling good because you enjoy the work, or knowing that you’ve helped someone in the world.
As that benefit diminishes, so does a volunteer’s commitment to the organization. Therefore, an organization that depends on volunteers must take care of its volunteers.
Taking care of your volunteers is easy:
- Make sure they’re getting what they want.
- Treat them with respect and diginity
So what do your vounteers (or members) want?