How do you motivate volunteers, say if you're working for a non-profit organization, when they're not even getting paid? This is a question that i received from one of our newsletter subscribers who wanted me to elaborate on this point. But if you're not in a non-profit organization, stay tuned because my answer is just as relevant for anybody in the corporate world or otherwise. My answer is that motivating volunteers is really no different than motivating a team of employees who are getting paid. I understand that this answer may be puzzling on the surface because with employees, we have some leverage, we pay them, we give them benefits, they owe us something. But with volunteers, they're just simply volunteering. So we have no leverage. But my point is that if you are using the pay and benefits that you give your employees as leverage to motivate them, you're doing it all wrong. In a nutshell, I would suggest that whether you're in a nonprofit organization working with volunteers or you have a group of employees who are getting paid, you ought to treat all of them as volunteers. This doesn't mean that you let people off the hook and every time they drop the ball on something, you say, well, they're just volunteers. On the contrary, when it comes to compliance and doing the minimum work that they absolutely need to do because they've committed to it, whether they're employees and they're doing it because they're getting paid or they're volunteers and they're doing it because they gave their word, because they have some passion for the cause that you're serving. In either case, you ought to really hold them to high standards because in both cases, volunteers and employees have agreed to provide a certain service and you ought to hold them to high standards. But we have to understand that what we must get from them in order to make that relationship work is a tiny fraction of what we could get from them if they volunteer their discretionary effort. if they went out of their way to make suggestions or do some things that are not in their job description or many other ways in which they could contribute beyond our minimum expectations. And when it comes to that, again, we ought to treat volunteers and employees the same way. The volunteers don't owe us discretionary effort. They don't owe us anything more than the minimum that they've committed to doing. Well, it's the same with employees. You can buy their compliance, but you have to earn their commitment. I've heard leaders complain about entitlement mentality in their organizations. Oh, you just can't do enough for these people. Well, just about every organization out there has at least a few leaders in it who have an entitlement mentality. They think they are entitled to people's commitment and their discretionary effort. But the truth is we're not entitled to that. We simply have to earn it. And when we embrace this idea, then we can see that we must treat everybody as volunteers because we're not really paying for that extra effort. They are bringing it to the party because they are willing to offer it to us for free. Let's face it, whether an organization behaves in an accountable fashion and everybody does more than their fair share or not really depends on the culture that's been set up. Whether expectations have been set clearly, whether feedback is given on a regular basis or not, whether people feel that their leaders care about them or not, whether the systems and the processes work or not. All of those things play a role in the kinds of norms that we establish in our culture. And they influence whether people just come in and do their eight and hit the gate, as we used to say, or they go out of their way. And that's really no different between volunteers and people who are getting paid. Now, as a leader, you might say, but wait a minute, there sure is a difference because with these people, I have the big stick. I can say, look, I will do something to basically slow down your progression or I might fire them. They may not make money. And I get that you have that stick, but are you relying on that stick? If you are, you're doing it wrong. Because yes, there are times when people are influenced by the impact on their pay to do the right thing. But by far, people don't go to work every day and think about their paycheck and then decide whether they want to do the right thing or not. They do it based on the norms that have been established and based on the culture. And when it comes to that, you can set that same thing up with paid employees or volunteers. Let me give you an example. My wife used to volunteer at a local church. And for some time, there was quite a bit of demand on her time. She was spending about 20 hours every week. And so one morning she went to work, if you will, even though she was a volunteer, she was supposed to be there at nine o'clock. And so she left the house about 8.30 and she was supposed to be there several hours, but she came home right around 9.30 or so. And I thought, what happened? She said, well, I was five minutes late and they told me I couldn't serve today. Okay. So my first thought was, wait a minute, who are these people? You're volunteering all of this time, but since you were five minutes late, they told you you couldn't serve. What the heck is that all about? Right. But then as I thought about it through an organizational lens, I thought, you know, even if they're not paying people, they're saying, look, we're setting up the norms and our culture such that a certain amount of contribution is expected. And we're not going to let each other off the hook just because we're volunteers. So even the minimum amount of work, getting there on time and doing what you're supposed to do is an expectation, is something that they had set up for volunteers and it's something that we ought to set up in a corporate environment. They weren't willing to compromise their standards just because people were not getting paid. In their mind, everybody here has said that they are going to do what they said they were going to do and we're going to hold ourselves to high standards when it comes to that. And we can do that in the corporate environment. Now, when it comes to the extra effort, the discretionary effort that people can bring in, my suggestion is that you cannot rely on the paycheck that you give people to earn that. So whether you're in an environment where you have volunteers or paid employees, you can't rely on the pay that you're giving them anyway. So in that case also, you can treat them and you should treat them the same way, which is create an environment in which they offer up their discretionary effort. The other downside of this entitlement mentality is that we assume that when somebody goes out of their way to do something extraordinary, they owed us that anyway. So we may not acknowledge it. We may not recognize them for it. And that's a missed opportunity. whether they're volunteers or paid employees, if you assume that they're all volunteers and they don't owe you anything, then you would do a better job of recognizing and acknowledging that extra effort. And that would attract even more of that. I'm a firm believer that nobody starts a new job with the mission to just go to work and do the absolute minimum and get away with as much as they possibly can get away with. No, we all go to work to a new place. We're excited. We want to make a contribution. We want to make an impact. We want to grow. We want to develop. And somewhere along the way, what happens is that many events that happen around us impact our decisions every day as to whether we want to continue to grow that level of enthusiasm that we have, or we should shrink and diminish our enthusiasm and excitement and just do what we need to do and get out of there. Unfortunately, there are so many companies who hire extraordinary people and bring them in and make them feel less than ordinary. I personally know of a company who has now hired at least two very high level employees. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for this very highly paid role. They recruited, they hired, they relocated, they did all of those things. And two employees in a row in the same role were brought in with expectations that they were going to be superstars. And then shortly after that, They were made to feel like they're less than ordinary and they did not succeed in their role. Is that because they just did a bad job of hiring? No. At least in the cases that I'm talking about, that I'm personally very familiar with, these are two very brilliant people, but their contribution was taken for granted and they were made to feel less than ordinary. and ultimately they did not succeed. So whether you're leading a group of volunteers or employees, I think it's kind of lazy to expect them to bring their best without you doing anything to earn that. If you just fall back on the fact that you pay them, therefore they should bring everything that they have, maybe they will for a while, maybe they won't. But I can tell you, they will not sustainably do that unless you give up your entitlement mentality as a leader. The paycheck is at best a satisfier. If people don't feel that they're being paid fairly, they may be dissatisfied. But once they feel like they're being paid fairly, they don't open up their paycheck and go like, yes! I made this money this past couple of weeks. I am going to be so motivated. No, it becomes something that is an ordinary thing. If it's not there, I'm dissatisfied. But if it's there, I'm satisfied. Not that I'm totally motivated. Motivation has to come from recognition, growth, acknowledgement, knowing that somebody cares about me, new opportunities. things like that. So when it comes to motivating people, whether you're working with volunteers or paid employees, treat everyone as volunteers, and you can see that it is a much more effective way of actually earning their trust, earning their commitment, and having them offer up way beyond what they owe you in the first place. The question we ought to ask ourselves as leaders is not how can I get the most out of these people? It's how can I create an environment where they go well beyond the absolute minimum that we expect of them and just blow our minds by bringing their best to work because they're passionate about making something great happen. I'd love to hear from you about your experiences in motivating employees or volunteers. What would you add to what i've shared here in this video? Let me know in the comments.

Summary

I recently received a question from one of our newsletter subscribers: How do you motivate volunteers when they aren't getting paid, i.e. when you have no leverage over them? My answer is that motivating volunteers is no different from motivating paid employees. In fact, I believe leaders should treat everyone as volunteers.

This doesn't mean lowering expectations or excusing people when they fail to deliver on their commitments. Whether someone is paid or volunteering, we should hold them accountable for what they have agreed to do. But we must recognize the difference between compliance and commitment. We can pay people to fulfill their obligations, but we cannot buy their discretionary effort. When people go above and beyond what is expected, they are giving us something we haven't earned the right to demand. We can buy compliance, but we must earn commitment.

The problem is that many leaders have an entitlement mentality. They believe that because they pay people, they are entitled to their best efforts, their passion, and their commitment. But a paycheck doesn't guarantee any of those things. People may comply because they fear the consequences of not doing so, but sustainable discretionary effort comes from the culture we create. Clear expectations, consistent feedback, trust, recognition, opportunities for growth, and leaders who genuinely care about people, all influence whether someone simply shows up to do the minimum or chooses to make an extraordinary contribution.

We cannot rely on the paycheck to inspire extra effort, and we shouldn't take that effort for granted when people offer it. I have seen brilliant, highly paid executives recruited with great expectations only to be made to feel ordinary, have their contributions overlooked, and ultimately fail in their roles. The problem wasn't necessarily the quality of the people hired; it was the environment in which they were expected to perform. I believe most people start a new job wanting to contribute, make a difference, grow, and succeed. Unfortunately, their enthusiasm can gradually diminish when their contributions go unrecognized or their leaders take them for granted.

Ultimately, the question we should ask ourselves as leaders isn't, "How can I get the most out of these people?" It's, "How can I create an environment where people willingly go beyond the minimum and bring their best to work?" Fair pay matters, but it is only a foundation. Lasting motivation comes from feeling valued, having opportunities to grow, knowing that someone cares, and being part of something meaningful. Whether we lead volunteers or paid employees, our responsibility is to establish a culture where accountability is expected, contributions are appreciated, and commitment is earned rather than assumed.

Key Points

Act as if your people are volunteers. A paycheck does not entitle a leader to an employee's passion, creativity, or discretionary effort.
Distinguish compliance from commitment. Compliance means doing what’s required; commitment involves willingly contributing beyond what is required.
Hold everyone to high standards. Being a volunteer isn’t an excuse for failing to honor commitments.
Compensation may influence behavior, but it cannot guarantee sustained engagement or extraordinary performance.
Threats and penalties may influence behavior temporarily, but cultural norms shape how people behave consistently.
Leaders must abandon their entitlement mentality. Employees don't owe their employer unlimited effort simply because they receive a salary.
When leaders acknowledge discretionary effort rather than take it for granted, they encourage people to contribute more.
People rarely start a new job wanting to do the bare minimum. Their initial enthusiasm can be strengthened or diminished by the experiences they encounter at work.
Great people can fail in environments that diminish them. Leaders must create conditions that allow talent to flourish.
The leader's job is to create an environment where people want to excel.

Quotes

“Treat everyone as a volunteer.”
“You can buy compliance, but you have to earn commitment.”
“We are not entitled to people's commitment.”
“If you're relying on the big stick, you're doing it wrong.”
“We're not really paying for that extra effort.”
“It's kind of lazy to expect people to bring their best without you doing anything to earn it.”
“Nobody [wants to start] a new job with the mission to do the absolute minimum.”
“Too many companies hire extraordinary people and make them feel less than ordinary.”
“The paycheck is at best a satisfier, not a source of lasting motivation.”
“The question isn't how to get the most out of people. It's how to create an environment where they willingly bring their best.”