If you ever get time to think of something other than fundraising, you might be able to concentrate on the other aspects of volunteer management. One of those is managing, even motivating, a staff of employees and volunteers.

And as Terry Barber pointed out in his book “The Inspiration Factor,” written with Pat Springle, you might even inspire them.

He maintained that inspiration is not an act but a character trait, a leadership characteristic that includes insights, skills, humility and courage. It has a lot to do with being aware of others before being able to inspire them, being aware that they have plans, hopes and dreams, and then knowing them.

Inspiration, then, has seven principles that Barber wrote are critical in inspiring others. Utilizing them can help a manager learn how to identify the embers in others and how to fan those embers into flames of loyalty, passion and excellence. The can be applied even if other people in the organization don’t “get it.”

Those seven principles are:

• Be authentic.
• Connect with others’ dreams.
• See in others the abilities that they don’t see n themselves.
• Speak with credibility.
• Inspire with great stories, yours and theirs.
• Help people live on purpose.
• Create a new culture.