We are slowly heading into the final two months of the Toastmasters year. These often tend to be the best months of the year for clubs as all the work invested earlier in the year is paying off. Crucially this also means that conserving momentum to start the new year on a high is crucial too.
Here’s what you can do now to end the year strongly and build-up the future at the same time:
Organise a special event like an open-house meeting, speakathaon or even a club social to build-up the community aspects of your club. Get people that will be on the committee next year to help with these!
Launch a social media campaign, use #MyWhy video testimonials from members to generate interest from potential guests and inspire them with the stories of your newly joined members.
Organise an award evening to recognise all the members who have achieved educational awards this year and those who will do so soon.
Start the organisation, at least on a basic level, of meetings taking place from 1stJuly. Do not leave a clean slate for the next club leaders to start on from, leave them something they can built on instead! Continuity breeds success!
Create a file with all social media, email and website passwords for the next club leadership team to use. Similarly, begin the process of updating bank account signatories now as this can take a while.
This month has seen all the Division Conferences, including the Division finals of the International Speech and Evaluation Contests. Congratulations to all the contestants for the high standard of speeches and evaluations. There has been good representation from the District Leadership Team at each event, and I was delighted to be able to attend the Division K and Division B contests, both held at The University of Law, which was an excellent venue. Both days were packed with fantastic workshops and superbly organised. I know all of the Division events were similarly excellent. Thanks to all the Division Directors and the many others who supported them.
DISTRICT CONFERENCE
Now the contest winners go on to the District Finals in Ashford from 3rdto 5thMay! It is going to be a truly amazing weekend – the first District 91 conference to span three days, and to include all four contests – Table Topics; Evaluation; Humorous and the International Speech final. Add to those, ten wonderful workshops, two captivating keynote speeches, and the dramatic District Council meeting and you have an occasion not to be missed! Have a look at the full programme and book your tickets here:
The Agenda for the District Council Meeting is also available here:
THE NEW AND THE OLD
I have also had the opportunity this month to attend the first formal meeting of one of our newest clubs, The Workshop Speakers in London. Thanks to Club President, Lili Bai, and all the members for their warm welcome, and a great meeting! By contrast, one of my own clubs, County Communicators, is celebrating its 10thbirthday and as a proud Founder Member I will be looking back at its conception and reflecting on its remarkable success.
ROBIN CHAWNER DTM
Robin Chawner
On a sad note, another Founder Member of County Communicators, Solent Speakers and my home club, Arun Speakers, Robin Chawner, passed away on 11 April 2019. He introduced the 3-2-1 method of evaluation and an exemplary Toastmaster, Robin was involved in helping to start no less than eight clubs that I know of. He was always so generous in his support to every member and will be sorely missed by so many people. I know that Robin was very proud that I am the first member of Arun Speakers to be District Director, and I hope I have lived up to his high standards.
Why are you running for this District Leadership Role? Why now?
Nikita Parks, ACS, ALB
When I joined Toastmasters
to recover and develop my confidence and public speaking skills during my divorce,
I did not anticipate that I would also develop leadership skills. These are
precious and integral to becoming the best person I can be following my
extraordinarily challenging life and eventual gender transition. I feel deeply
grateful to and passionate about Toastmasters where I have received almost
total acceptance in stark contrast to the adversity I experienced at work and
from close relatives. That’s why I am determined to serve to the best of my
ability.
I am volunteering for
Division Director as progression from Area Director and Club President. I wish
to keep on stretching and developing my leadership skills by taking on new
challenges. I am highly motivated and enthusiastic, so it does not make sense
to take a break. I also want my skills and experience in Toastmasters to be relevant
to and be trusted by other District Leaders by the time district realignment
occurs, to be of service when needed.
What is your vision for the role?
My vision as Division Director is to cultivate a sense of community within my division through delivering valuable activities. Toastmasters has a great deal to offer, yet due to the introspective nature of many clubs, there is a perceived ceiling on personal development which is misconceived. Through fostering inter-club mentoring, I want members to look beyond their clubs by default in future, to embrace all that Toastmasters can offer and to take the initiative to make things happen. Leadership skills come from committed active leading, not from mere attendance.
How will you go about achieving this vision?
To achieve this vision, I need to provide members of clubs with useful and relevant leadership and speaking experiences at club, area, division and district level. It’s not enough to entice a small minority of members to a remote district conference. I have already started at club level by seeking to replicate London’s successful general evaluator and speaker exchange in the west of our district. My vision would need to be shared and articulated by my Area Directors consistently in all their engagements with their clubs and delivered by organising and holding events. Toastmasters needs to think globally but act locally.
How do you plan to achieve Distinguished status?
Besides using tools like Moments of Truth, the Success Plans and Area Director visits, I will achieve distinguished division status through my vision. Cultivating community will improve membership retention because members will recognise that there is tangibly more on offer to them than the regular routine of their club meetings. Establishing, chartering and nurturing new clubs with effective mentoring and coaching provides continuous leadership development opportunities for those who embrace them.
What is the greatest challenge you may face as District Leader?
The greatest challenge I would expect to face as Division Director is inertia, that tired members remain in leadership positions within clubs and don’t identify and nurture their successors. In my present role as Area Director I am implementing a cross-club mentoring programme to provide mutual support and encouragement and to overcome inertia and foster creativity. My Area Directors will be on the front line confronting this inertia and my role is to support them and ensure that their motivation does not falter by recognising the nature of their leadership challenge and remaining persistent and determined throughout their term.
How will you work with others to achieve success?
Success in my role as
Division Director would be dependent on working effectively with others and
leading them to deliver my vision for our Division. I recognise that my allies
are not only my Area Directors, but also our District Director, Club Growth Director,
Programme Quality Director and fellow Division Directors. Leadership is not an
individual activity, it is a team sport. I would be as open to the ideas and
suggestions of others as determined to deliver my vision. I would engage
effectively with our district leadership trio to help them achieve their goals.
Collectively, we need to identify recurring themes across our clubs, nurture
strengths and confront weaknesses. I will help change attitudes, so club visit
reports become recognised as valuable actionable intelligence.
I hope my
enthusiasm is infectious and that you will share my vision for Division J
Director. Please vote for me in person or using your proxy vote on 4th May in
Ashford.
Arnaud Sartre DTM – Candidate for Programme Quality Director
Why are you running for this District Leadership Role? Why now?
I have so far enjoyed all the roles I took on, including their challenges and conflicts at times. The Programme Quality Director role feels like a natural evolution at this point, building on the learnings I got from helping build Clubs, coaching a Club and leading Clubs. I have witnessed first-hand the benefits membership brings, leading our District to continue to be one of the best in the World is very exciting, especially at the current juncture with Pathways transition ending at the end of the 2019/20 term.
What is your vision for the role?
Be the most value-added organisation for experiential communication and leadership skills development.
How will you go about achieving this vision?
First I will address the biggest challenge mentioned above and start building a team that will deliver on this vision from election time if not before.
Second, we will build on the tremendous work past leaders have contributed to lead us to being consistently one of the best Districts in the World for the number of Distinguished Clubs.
Third, working with the DLT and DEC, we will develop our outward message in recognition of our vision.
Last but not least, we will revise the District Excellence plan in areas that did not work as expected, and leverage our best practices to continue to develop our next generation of leaders.
How do you plan to achieve Distinguished status?
Multi-faceted approach:
Strong District Officer Training offering
Share best Club practices
Promote the Distinguished Club Program as a means to an end, not an end
Deliver a world-class educational opportunity at conference
Partner with Club Growth Director on continued retention efforts
What is the greatest challenge you may face as District Leader?
Our Traditional program is coming to an end on 30th June 2020 and could be a drag on our retention numbers. Based on current numbers, we still have a long way to go before full adoption of Pathways, starting with Club officers.
Reformation may also be rearing its head and is vital to stay abreast of how this may impact the District.
How will you work with others to achieve success?
I will bring my enthusiasm and laid back yet focused approach to the role. Understanding individual’s priorities and aligning with the District goals will be key to success early on. Firm believer of human interactions, I will endeavour to meet key stakeholders in person regularly. Leverage past 4 years of International conference attendance to build strong links across Districts.
