Want More Volunteer Leaders? Make Room for Them to Lead
Many organizations tell me they want more people to step into volunteer leadership.
I think about one person who began in a regular role. Over time, I noticed her attention to detail, her work ethic, how well she trained new people, and how much she loved the role. When a new center opened closer to her home, I asked whether she would consider being a co-lead.
She said yes, as long as she did not have to do the computer part.
That did not have to end the conversation.
We found another co-lead who was happy to handle that piece. Now she is serving closer to home, doing the parts she loves and is very good at, while someone else brings a different strength to the role.
Not everyone wants to lead, and leadership should never be treated as the only valuable way to contribute. But we can miss good leaders when we assume one person has to be able or willing to do every part of the role.
Are we actually making room for leadership?
We may want people who can take ownership, guide others, solve problems, and help the work grow. But in practice, the opportunities offered often stop at completing assigned tasks.
People are asked to help, support, follow instructions, and fill gaps. They are not always invited to make decisions, shape the work, lead a team, or take responsibility for an outcome.
And there is the gap: we say we want leadership, but we may not be making much room for it.
This is part of what I mean by the Rooms in the Welcome Home Framework. Once people come through the door, are there different places for them to contribute? Can they use more of what they know, grow into something new, or take on more when they are ready?
When every role is narrow and every decision stays with staff, capable people remain underused. Staff continue carrying too much. Leadership pathways never develop.
Eventually, it can seem as though people do not want more responsibility when they may never have been clearly invited into it.
Leadership can start small
Leadership does not have to begin with a big title. It can begin with one real responsibility, clear boundaries, and enough trust for the person to do something with it.
That might look like:
coordinating a recurring activity
welcoming new people
leading a small project
mentoring someone newer
improving a process
serving as the point person for one area
The responsibility should be meaningful, but it does not have to be enormous.
Maybe the question is not only:
“What can this person help us complete?”
It may also be:
“What could this person own, shape, or lead with the right support?”
This does not mean removing support or handing over work without preparation. Good volunteer leadership needs boundaries, training, access to information, and a clear understanding of which decisions belong to the role.
It also requires staff to resist the urge to take the work back the first time something is done differently.
Growth rarely looks exactly like the way we would have done it ourselves.
Try this this month
Identify one reliable person who has shown curiosity, consistency, or good judgment.
Ask:
“Is there something here you would enjoy taking more ownership of?”
Then listen before deciding what the opportunity should be.
A question I would ask
Where are you asking for leadership while still keeping every meaningful decision in the same hands?
Closing thought
We cannot say we need leaders and then keep all of the leadership. People need somewhere to begin, room to practice, and support while they grow.
If this made you think of someone whose strengths may be overlooked, consider what you noticed about them.
You can also use the free Volunteer Home Assessment to look at where your organization creates room for ownership, leadership, and belonging.
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