During the research for How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas, a six-year project that took us to more than 25 countries, we spoke with a variety of people in the field of international volunteering. When we asked them “what are the character traits of a highly effective volunteer?” it became clear to us that, though there are a myriad of different approaches to volunteering, there seems to be a consensus around the most important traits of effective volunteers: flexibility, patience, openness, dependability, and humility.
