Candidate’s Name:
Olga Galaiko
Candidate’s Office:
Division C Director
Toastmasters member since:
April 2019
Education:
Master of Business Administration, Quantic School of Business and Technology (online)
Batchelor of Technology in informatics and information Systems Management, Bauman Moscow State Technic University
Master of Arts in Publishing, Moscow State University of Printing Arts
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, National Technical University of Ukraine ‘Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’
Toastmasters offices held and terms of service:
Area C2 Director, July 2023 – June 2024 District 91 PR Manager, April 2021 – June 2022
President, City of London Toastmasters Club, July 2020 – June 2021
Relevant work experience and how it relates to Toastmasters and your role as a District leader:
In my current role as a Senior Business Analyst, I coordinate efforts of my team and help them stay focused and achieve our team goals on time.
What experience do you have in strategic planning?
As an Area Director, I set the vision for the Area and support five clubs in achieving this vision during the Toastmasters year.
As a Club President, I set the vision and ensured the committee worked together as a team to achieve this vision, despite the challenging external environment.
What experience do you have in the area of finance?
As a co-treasurer of the Women Network at my workplace, I project and track annual expenses for the network.
As an Area Director, I manage a small budget so I am familiar with the purpose and procedures on spending this budget. As District PR Manager, I had to ensure the necessary tools and services were funded as required, on time and within the defined thresholds and guidelines.
What experience do you have in developing procedures?
It is an essential part of my day-to-day job as a Business Analyst to propose, define, refine, approve and implement operational procedures when a new piece of software is released or a new business process is created I updated in response to regulatory requirements or business demands.
What lessons did you learn from previous leadership positions?
- Talk: communication is key. Ask questions, respond openly, listen and discuss, seek to
- Plan: set a vision for a defined period of time and break it down into milestones. Add details and re-plan as you go.
- Delegate: it’s okay to ask for help, it’s a sign of maturity, not a sign of weakness. You never know, maybe the task which is annoying or scary to you will bring out the best in another person.
Why do you want to serve as a District leader?
When I started my role as an Area Director, I was lost in the amount of new things I had to learn. Despite I attended the training, I didn’t fully understand how to approach my new role, how to navigate, how to define success. I needed guidance. But what is more, I saw my fellow Area Directors were struggling as well. I would like to be a Division Director to support the Area Directors so they do not struggle as much as we did. I would like to share my knowledge and passion of Toastmasters organisation and values. Finally, I would like to inspire people to become future leaders – in the clubs, Areas, Divisions, District – or elsewhere.
In your opinion, what are the District mission’s major objectives and how would you work to achieve them?
- We build new clubs: I will work with the existing and potential club leads, help them organise events like demo meetings / open houses to launch their
- Support all clubs in achieving excellence: ensure existing members are happy to remain members by explaining the benefits of the educational program and how following it can help in personal and professional life, as well as help their clubs and fellow members grow and thrive.
Last Updated on 6th April 2024 by Diane Richardson