Candidate’s Name:
Andy Hessey
Candidate’s Office:
Club Growth Director
Toastmasters member since:
August 2016
Education:
Distinguished Toastmaster – 2020
Engaging Humour Pathway – Completed
Strategic Relationship Pathway – Completed
Toastmasters offices held and terms of service:
President – Berkhamsted Speakers – Jul 2019 to Jun 2020
President – Pegasus Speakers Advanced – Nov 2021 to Jun 2022
Area Director – J4 – Jul 2018 to Jun 2019
Division Director – D91 Div B – Oct 2022 to Jun 2023
Division Director – D91 Div J – Jul 2023 to Jun 2024
Toastmasters honors and recognition:
Distinguished Toastmaster
Relevant work experience and how it relates to Toastmasters and your role as a District leader:
I am an IT Consultant by day and this involves working across multiple projects and ensuring that my teams are performing to their best ability. I need to trust that my direct reports are able to carry out their tasks as effectively as possible. I lead by example – dealing with problems and being as proactive as possible.
All of these skills relate to Toastmasters, ensuring that teams are being effective and that there is always an honest chain of communication.
I have shown through being a Division Director that I am able to lead effective teams, having achieved the highest number of club officers trained in the 1st training block of the year and also achieving 22/23 Area Director Reports.
What experience do you have in strategic planning?
My role involves a significant amount of strategic planning, especially when I am dealing with global contact centres. I need to ensure that the maximum efficiency is available in terms of staffing and technology across the globe. Within Toastmasters, I have planned a number of Club Officer Training and TLI sessions which have been to maximise the number of people that can be trained.
What experience do you have in the area of finance?
As someone who has to deal with multi-million pound budgets, while not an expert in finance, I am more than competent in value for money from budgets, understanding candidates for rejection as well as having open conversations about where additional funding could be sourced from.
I have worked with budgets of well over $20million.
What experience do you have in developing procedures?
IT Consultants seem to spend their lives creating new procedures, testing them and re-writing them. It is an integral part of what I do – making sure that new procedures fit their intended purpose and deliver expectations. I am also aware that people are often involved in these procedures and it is vital that the human element is not ignored.
What lessons did you learn from previous leadership positions?
As a Consultant, learning lessons is pretty much second nature.
I have learned that I can’t do everything on my own – no matter how much I want to. I need to have a team around me and understand the relative strengths and weaknesses.
I have learned that having people to advise and act as sounding boards is also a vital part of what I do and getting honest feedback is so important to ensuring the success of a project
Why do you want to serve as a District leader?
Anyone who knows me in the District understands how passionate I am about Toastmasters. I feel the Club Growth Director role would certainly stretch my skills without being an insurmountable challenge. I feel that my experience setting up Wembley Stadium Speakers will prove invaluable in the role and I want to see the District grow to its full potential.
In your opinion, what are the District mission’s major objectives and how would you work to achieve them?
Growing the membership is vital and really understanding why clubs are struggling and why members are leaving is the key to being able to grow clubs. By regularly engaging with members to take the pulse of the club will allow more targeted approaches rather than a one-size-fits-all approach
Additional information about yourself:
I am currently a Non-Executive Director for a film production company (DrAx Productions Limited)
Last Updated on 6th April 2024 by Diane Richardson