WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG MAY/JUNE 2019 57 SUPERSTAR VOLUNTEERS AND COORDINATORS Volunteers • Clearly articulate your abilities, time availability, and communication preferences to the staff mem­ ber. Make sure they understand your limitations, as well as your abilities. • Don’t say yes to everything you are asked to do because you’re afraid to let the organization down. Don’t promise something you won’t be able to follow through with. Staff will appreciate your polite no more than they will having to scramble at the last minute to get the task done. • Give honest and constructive feedback, especially about the structure of volunteering. Staff are always looking to improve the volunteer experi­ ence. • Be proactive. See an area of need you could help with but haven’t been asked to yet? Then volun­ teer to take it on! • Remember, the staff are people just like you. While 9 p.m. might be the best time for you to send an email as a volunteer, don’t expect a response until regular business hours the next day. Source: LinkedIn Coordinators • Clearly articulate what the volunteer role requires, including time and specific skills. Take time to think through what you need from your volunteers. You can even write a volunteer job description or expectation list. • When asking a volunteer to perform a specific task, be clear about expectations and the impact the task will have on the organization. Volunteers want to know how their time is making a difference, so put their work, even menial work, into context. • Be flexible. Not all volunteers are the same. Try to adjust your approach to maximize whatever your volunteer’s particular combination of per­ sonality, skills, and availability are. • Say thank you—often and with enthusiasm. Impact made and acknowledgment given are the ways in which you compensate a volunteer. • Remember, your volunteers are people just like you. Respect their time constraints. WHAT IT MEANS Community Tool Box reported on the observa­ tions and impli­ cations of a study by Barna Group on Chris­ tian Leadership. The research was directed and analyzed by Barna Group President David Kinnaman. 1Christians perceive a significant lead­ ership crisis in America caused by a distinct lack of leaders. Most feel they are leaders, but many of them aren’t confident in their leadership abilities. Many are still striving to meet even their own leadership expectations, and they may not think of their own leadership as helping to fill the leadership gap they experience. 2More than eight in 10 (82 percent) Christians believe the United States is facing a crisis of leadership because there aren’t enough leaders. 3More than half of Christians in this country identify themselves as leaders (58 percent). Kinnaman