Has this ever happened to you? You volunteer for a small role with an organization. You do a few shifts, then the leader asks if you can take on a few extra tasks.

Then a few more and within a year, you’re serving on the board of directors or leading an entire project and you feel like you can’t get out. It’s like being sucked into a black hole.

Here’s another question. Have you ever been the one asking for more from a volunteer? If you have, you’re not alone. It’s easy to do. An enthusiastic new recruit joins. They’re reliable, capable and fun to have around. So you ask them to do a bit more. Then a bit more. They keep saying yes and you can’t find anyone else you can count on, so you turn a blind eye to the fact that they don’t seem as enthusiastic.

What started as a simple offer to help snowballs into an overwhelming responsibility. The problem? Many organizations unintentionally make it hard to say “no.”

“Fatima” signed up to help at a charity book sale for just one morning. She sorted books, took payments and enjoyed the feeling of making a difference. Then someone asked if she could help the next weekend as they were short-handed. Of course, she said yes. Fast forward five years—she’s now chairing the annual sale, training new volunteers and receiving emails at midnight about book donations. And she is swearing to herself she........

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