What it taught me about mobilising people around a cause
By Nghia Clulee
There is something very different about leading people who don't have to be there.
They aren't employees.
You can't rely on hierarchy.
You can't put participation into someone's performance objectives.
And you certainly can't assume they will keep showing up simply because you need them to.
When I was involved in recruiting around 200 volunteers in six months, I learned more about mobilisation than I realised at the time. Because getting someone to say yes was only the beginning. The real challenge was creating enough belief, clarity and momentum for people to turn that initial interest into action. Years later, I can see how much that experience shaped the way I think about organisational change.
People mobilise around meaning, not activity
When you're trying to recruit volunteers, you quickly discover that a list of tasks isn't particularly inspiring. People need to understand what their contribution makes possible. There is an important difference between saying:
“We need someone to help us do this.”
and helping someone understand:
“This is what we're trying to change, and this is where you can make a difference.”
That distinction matters well beyond volunteering. Organisations often introduce change by explaining the program.
The milestones.
The workstreams.
The new process.
The implementation timetable. All necessary. But those things explain what is happening.
They don't necessarily explain why someone should care.
Purpose isn't decoration around an initiative. It gives people a reason to participate in it.
Make it easy for people to contribute
Enthusiasm can disappear surprisingly quickly when participation becomes difficult. People may believe in what you're trying to achieve and still disengage if they don't know what is expected of them, where they fit or what happens next. Mobilising volunteers taught me the importance of converting goodwill into something practical.
Clear roles.
Clear expectations.
Clear next steps.
And a contribution that feels achievable. I think organisations sometimes underestimate this during periods of change. Leaders announce an ambition and assume people will work out how to participate. But commitment without clarity can quickly become frustration. If you want people involved, they need to be able to answer:
Where do I fit, and what can I actually do?
Momentum matters
Recruiting 200 people didn't happen because of one great campaign or one moment of inspiration. Momentum accumulated. One person joined. Then another. People talked. Activity became visible. Progress became tangible. And participation began to create more participation. That taught me something I still believe:
People are more likely to join movement they can see moving.
The same is true inside organisations. Long transformation programs can lose energy when progress exists mainly in project plans, steering committee papers and future milestones. People need to see that something is changing. A problem solved. A decision made faster. A process simplified. An idea from the frontline implemented. A team working differently. Small visible progress isn't insignificant. It is evidence that effort is producing something. And evidence creates momentum.
Ownership changes the relationship
There is also a difference between asking people to support something and allowing them to become part of it. Volunteers bring their own skills, experiences, networks and ideas. If all you want is compliance with instructions, you lose much of what they could contribute. The strongest mobilisation happens when people move from:
“I'm helping with their initiative.”
to:
“I'm part of what we're building.”
That shift matters in organisations too. Change imposed on people will always feel different from change people have helped shape. That doesn't mean every decision needs consensus. Leadership still requires direction. But people are much more likely to invest themselves in something when they can see some of themselves within it.
Energy needs somewhere to go
One of the most overlooked parts of mobilisation happens after somebody says yes. There is often enormous focus on generating initial enthusiasm. Then people arrive ready to contribute and discover that nobody quite knows what to do with them. That's where energy gets lost. I've seen a version of this inside organisations as well. A strategy is launched. People are excited. Workshops happen. Ideas emerge. Then normal operations take over. Decisions slow down. Responsibilities become unclear. And gradually the energy disappears. It isn't necessarily resistance. Sometimes organisations simply haven't created the conditions that allow enthusiasm to become action.
You can create energy. But unless you create somewhere for that energy to go, it dissipates.
The leadership lesson I carried forward
Looking back, recruiting those volunteers wasn't really a recruitment exercise. It was an exercise in mobilisation. And mobilisation asks something different of leadership. You cannot simply tell people to care. You have to give them something worth caring about. You cannot assume enthusiasm will sustain itself. You have to turn it into meaningful participation. You cannot manufacture momentum indefinitely. People need to see progress. And you cannot create genuine ownership while keeping all the control at the centre. Those lessons have stayed with me through much more complex organisational environments. Because whether you're mobilising volunteers around a cause or employees around significant change, there is a fundamental question underneath it all:
Why would someone choose to give this their energy?
Organisations spend a great deal of time asking how to get people to support change. Perhaps we should ask a different question.
Have we created something people can genuinely see themselves being part of?
Written by Nghia Clulee