Want to move towards volunteer excellence? Then shift from “do I have the spots covered?” to “are my volunteers in their sweet spot?” Now this one is incredibly tough to fight through and I do not have any immediate solutions. In fact, it will get worse before it gets better. When you make this mental shift and leadership commitment there will be a high price to pay for a few months. But if you commit to this principle and lead with excellence the tide will begin to change and a new spirit and culture will deliver results. Fulfilled volunteers produce an amazing culture of acceptance, friendliness, fun, and mission – it is electric, attractive and irresistible. I’ll say it- begging to fill holes sucks! You hate it. They hate it. Everyone hates it. So lets stop doing it! Instead let’s offer the opportunity for our friends to live out their life with meaning. Every time I have done this well I have had more volunteers than I could handle in that area.

WARNING: Some of us fall prey to a real tricky, but harmful phrase- “the whatever you need myth.” This one is really dangerous because it gives the leader a false sense of success and sets the volunteer up for discouragement ultimately hurting the organization as a whole. We must be committed to give them purpose and push against the temptation to just fill in. My jaw dropped with agreement when I heard Christine say the following: Letting volunteers choose the attitude of “I’ll do whatever you need” causes burnout, and is the reason “they will leave your church and come to mine.”