A Note to Young Leaders: Inspire Like You Lead Volunteers

A note to young leaders. Everyone you lead is a volunteer.

People never give of their best because they are compelled to, or even because they are paid to.

People give of their best because they are inspired to.

Your team can do just enough to keep their job, or they can give their all.

So to get the most out of your team, treat them all as though they are volunteers (working for free). If you do that, you will rely far less on compulsion, and far more on encouragement, empowerment and inspiration.

The soft stuff is always harder than the hard stuff – but it is where true leadership resides.