In talking with other church tech leaders, one thing I often hear is how frustrating it is to lead tech volunteers. There’s a lot of frustration surrounding how unreliable they are and there’s always a need for more volunteers and they don’t do things the “right” way and more. I do my best to probe that thought and understand the frustration and it often becomes a fascinating conversation.
It honestly comes down to one of two things (or both):
- The leader doesn’t know how to effectively lead, encourage and motivate their volunteers
- The leader doesn’t have time to commit to lead, encourage and motivate their volunteers
Honestly, the frustration usually comes from the lack of time on the leader’s part and is not so much the result of anything the volunteer has or has not done. It’s hard to be a leader without having a relationship and that takes time beyond the time that you are serving together. The relationship has to be a priority and between you and me, that’s a lot of work.
However, respect grows out of the relationship, on both sides. If you are leading me and you take the time to get to know me and my passions and my strengths, that means a lot and it’s motivating. As a leader, as I get to know you, in time, I will see your strengths and learn the areas that you are passionate about and give you opportunities to shine.
There’s no easy button or magic formula but believe me, I have used this approach and always been appreciative of the volunteers that I have. Build the volunteers you have up and you might be surprised by the results.
This is a high level view of leading volunteers, and just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a place to start. If you find yourself buried and overwhelmed with tech volunteer leadership, work on making your volunteers a priority and begin to get to know them.
What is your secret for leading volunteers?
What is your biggest frustration in leading volunteers?
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Great post Jim! I agree – the biggest problem I’ve seen when coaching and training leaders of volunteers is time. Whether the leader is a full time staff member or a volunteer them self, most are so busy doing they forget to lead. Many volunteer leaders are a leader in title only, as they’ve never been given the tools and understanding to know what it means to be a leader. There are so many rewards when you lead for the right reasons and with the right heart, but many only see the downside.
I look forward to your future posts on this topic!