Every person on your dream team should be allowed to play a specific role. The point is to have your staff arrive at an event knowing why they are there and exactly what is expected of them. I tell my team members I don’t want or expect them to do everything or to feel guilty about what they’re not doing or the events they don’t attend. What I want is for them to feel confident they’re doing exactly what I need them to do. The team-building potential is wrapped up in having each member play a specific role and is a powerful tool youth leaders should utilize.

Effective Communication: What should I know?

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Volunteers know enough to want to be involved, but that does not mean they know everything they want to know, should know or need to know. Our communication does not end when a person joins the team. Rather, it’s just beginning. One of the keys to developing a dream team is clear communication.

Knowing what needs to be communicated is a matter of knowing your team. To those who thrive on details, I give details. To those who want the big picture, I lay out the entire scheme. To all, I communicate the essentials necessary for success. Before an activity or main night, I make sure my team is “in the know.” This can include the schedule, specific roles and an overview of the entire event. I want my volunteers arriving, certain of what is going to happen, confident of their role, and knowledgeable of what needs to be done.

It is impossible to over-communicate, but that must be our goal. One of the biggest frustrations on a team is the lack of communication. I long for the day when I relay information to my volunteers only to have them roll their eyes and say, “I know, we got it, you’ve told us before.”  I dream of the time when I again cast the vision and have my team finish the sentence because it’s been so repetitive and visible.

Instant Feedback: How did I do?

Ken Blanchard says the leading motivator of people is feedback on results. I find this true because volunteers are giving their time and energy, not for a paycheck but for a cause. They want to know they are making a difference and serving in a significant way. While as leaders we may think the results are obvious, to say or do nothing is a mistake on our part. Even if the results are obvious, which they are not always, our team needs us to give feedback and affirmation. There is great team-building power when players hear from their coach, “Well done!”

Feedback provides the accountability necessary to give our volunteers knowledge and understanding of how they served. It provides a prime opportunity to encourage and lift up our volunteers because many times their tanks are low and our affirmation goes a long way toward filling them up.