IS IT WORTH IT? A CASE STUDY EXPLORING VOLUNTEERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEADERSHIP TRAINING

Volunteer-based organizations are dependent on volunteers to meet the goals of the organization. Identifying and training volunteers as leaders of the organization is one way to increase positive social change in their community. However, there is limited literature investigating the outcomes of providing leadership training to volunteers. This case study determined participants’ perceptions of a volunteer leadership training experience compared to observations of the actual leadership training. A focus group revealed three themes that were both supported and refuted by observations of the training: (a) the need for refreshers and follow-up trainings, a disconnect between understanding leadership concepts and applying them in the volunteer scenario, and the transfer of for-profit skills and experience to the non-profit setting.