It's National Volunteer Week this week. Well, it's Volunteer week 52 weeks a year!

Imagine our world if no-one volunteered.

Crickey - things wouldn't get done, people would die and maybe more people would need to work harder! (I doubt our Australian government would consider paying for some of the volunteer work to get done.)

Seriously, celebrating Volunteerism is worthy of a day off to gather, drink & eat! I'm sure I've seen figures which indicate the number of people who volunteer and what it saves our economy. Grandparents look after kids, parents guide the management of their children's schools, sporting clubs operate the business of training & competition, the CFA save homes & livelihoods and hundreds of thousands of committees of people volunteer their time, skill and energy to support their cause.

Through hard work and tireless hours, there are many personal benefits of volunteering. Often considered as the 'giving of skills' - I found my 18 years of volunteering whilst working in the corporate world I was more at the receiving end. The 'out of hours' project management, member drives (Marketing, PR & Recruitment), strict meeting procedure (modern day governance!), fund raising (proposal writing) and event management etc where the blood sweat & tears toned my leadership muscle.

If your team members are regularly involved in a volunteer capacity, your support is a win-win in your relationship. You are encouraging them to be connected with something they are passionate about (they will be happier) and they are learning more about their own capabilities identifying the importance of continuous learning in all aspects of life.

Volunteering is not two days of activity which your company sends you off on - however, it's an amazing discovery opportunity to uncover what you can do to help, build and grow others and yourself.

Join the Volunteer movement - check out all the activities being promoted this week and take the lead and become involved.