Why is it so difficult to get people to volunteer?

As someone who has a tendency to take on leadership roles - a nice way of saying that I like to control things - I find one of the most challenging things to do is to get people to volunteer to take on some of the work. Even in a "team" setting, it is still difficult to get people to step up to the plate and take on responsibility. Why is that?

I realize that statistics find that people are more willing to volunteer when they are asked directly. Vary rarely do people like to put themselves out there, even if they believe in the cause. Therefore, we have the common theme - 90% of the work done by 10% of the people.

While this may be the norm, is it really what is good for the overall result? How many ideas are we missing out on because people are too afraid to speak up? Are we missing the big picture because those that do volunteer are too like minded?

I know this is a common theme throughout organizations around the country. And, while it may have little to do with respect on the surface, it actually has much to do with it overall. Consider this - if people within these organizations really respected the time of the leader and the value they contribute, would it be so hard to distribute the work? Let me know what you think.