Leading Volunteers

As I prepared my talk for an upcoming event, I gathered some thoughts about leadership with volunteers. As we serve the people of sport, many times we are in volunteer roles and we also find ourselves leading other volunteers in such service. Below are some thoughts about such leadership. I hope they are helpful to you.

Late last summer I was reading “Good to Great and the Social Sectors,” an addendum to Jim Collins’ tremendous book about business leadership which I had read a few years ago.

One of the main points in both books is to determine what drives the resource engine for an organization – whether that is the profitability of a company or the effectiveness of a non-profit organization like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a local church or something like a healthcare corporation.
· As I thought and analyzed how our ministry works, I came to the realization that our greatest resource was not necessarily money; rather it was the amazing team of highly committed volunteers we have gathered over these last 13 years.
· Volunteers are our resource of highest value.
· Obviously, finances are another highly productive part of our resource engine and that’s much of what tonight is about.
· I also saw that the areas in which we most effectively involve volunteers are the easiest ministries for which to find financial support.

Leading Volunteers well is a tremendous challenge.
· Pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago area is quoted as saying that the Church is the most leadership intensive enterprise in the world, because most everyone is a volunteer. You can’t fire them, they don’t work for you. The leader has no leverage beyond his/her personal investment in the volunteers.
· As we lead volunteers in our respective ministries, we have to find ways to engage them in something significant, something bigger than just completing a task. If we’re too demanding – they’ll walk away. If we’re too soft – they’ll get bored and quit.
· I cut my volunteer teeth serving with No Greater Love Ministries, a short-term missions and leadership development organization, based in DuQuoin, IL. I have been serving with them for nearly 25 years and still do because they make me a better leader.The big question for me in leading volunteers is always, “Is this something in which this person can invest his or her heart, time and energy, and have it really count for something?” I pray that our work together has real significance.