An interesting quotation ...

From: Walter W. Beveridge
Date: Jul 2, 2008 7:30 AM

Fellow Toastmasters,

Yesterday at noon I attended a meeting of the Toastmaster Club at Cartus in Danbury, where they installed their new officers for the coming year. The President of the company addressed the group, speaking about leadership.

In the speech he said,

"Leadership is a fundamental void in all organizations".

Wow! What an opportunity!

It appears that Toastmasters is in the right place at the right time. Whether or not you take the quote literally, there is a huge need for leaders in business today.

I believe it.

I can think of several reasons why this might be. The good news is that Toastmasters helps people develop leadership skills just as easily as communication skills.

I would recommend that every Toastmaster Club put special emphasis on the use of the Competent Leadership manual and be sure that all members are aware of the potential value to them.

Walter W. Beveridge, DTM

What is Leadership???

I found an interesting article on Leadership by Michael Hyatt and, in particular, the difference between "influence" and "control".

He provides "four ways you can become a person of influence, no matter where you are an organization":

1. Focus on yourself. Modeling is the most powerful form of teaching known to man. If you aren’t “walking your talk,” you dramatically lessen your influence.

2. Take the initiative. Whiners are passive. They sit back and complain. Real leaders don’t have time to play the blame-game. Instead, they look for opportunities to take initiative and take action. There is always something you could be doing to influence the outcome.

3. Cast the vision. Often people don’t do what we want, because we have not invested the time to paint the vision. In my experience, people want a challenge. They want to do something significant. But no one has given them a compelling vision of a new reality. If you consider yourself a leader, this is your job.

4. Appreciate the effort. At the end of the day, everyone is
a volunteer. Yes, even the people who report to you. They have more options than you think. If you don’t appreciate them, someone else will. People want to give their best effort to those who notice. Time and time again, I have witnessed the power of a simple “thank you.” If this is true for those who report to you, it is even more true of those who don’t.

He adds...

The truth is that control is an illusion. You can’t control anyone, even the people that report to you.

This is important to remember... and another reason that leading volunteers within Toastmasters is such a valuable experience.

The article ends with ...

If we are going to make a difference, we are going to have to sharpen our leadership skills and get better at wielding our influence. Everyday is an opportunity to get better at this important skill.

Sounds like a job for .... Toastmasters !

Michael Hyatt is the President & CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers in Nashville, TN. In addition to Leadership, he also blogs about his iPhone, Angry Emails, retailing and the book industry.

SET A NEW STANDARD for Leadership....
At the District 53 Fall Leadership Summit & Conference on Nov.3rd in Fishkill, NY.

Have you signed up yet?

Some Rambling Thoughts on TM Growth

From: Roger Brown, D53 Webmaster and Past District Governor
Subject: Rambling Thoughts on TM Growth

What does it take to "grow" a District? or a Club?

Our District leadership team is asked each year to "grow" the District.

One measure of growth in a District is the steady increase in the number of paid-up Toastmaster Clubs on July 1st. The critical success factors of a Distinguished District ask for 3% growth in number of Clubs.

Another measure of growth in a District is the steady increase in the total number of Toastmaster members within the District on July 1st. WHQ measures Membership growth indirectly by looking at the number of dues payments members make during the district calendar year i.e. total per capita payments. The critical success factors of a Distinguished District ask for 2% growth in total per capita payments.

On the Club level, the Club leadership team is asked to "grow" their Club, which often means attract and add more members to the Club roster. The Club is challenged to add 4 members and then 4 more new members in one year's time; i.e. goals for the Distinguished Club program and Distinguished recognition.

A different facet of growth is measured in the "growth" of the individual member. That is, we (District, Division, Area, and Club) are providing (putting into practice) quality educational programs that allow the members to grow and meet their personal goals. In this case growth would be measured by the number of manual completions, i.e. the number of CCs, ACBs, ACSs, ACGs, CLs, ALBs, ALSs and DTMs.

Any significant measurable growth during your year as an elected District leader will take some leadership skills, a team effort and some luck.

Leadership Skills

* pay attention to the calendar. Follow time management principles.

* people are different. Ask questions and listen.

* Follow-up. Share your enthusiasm. Find ways to remove stumbling blocks or other impediments.

* Keep your eyes and ears open for talented Toastmasters with special talents.

* obtain your own personal mentor or coach; share ideas with a past district governor. Touch base with your International Directors.

* open all channels of communication; phone, email and personal handwritten notes. Keep in touch with your entire team.

* set the vision, growth has its benefits for all, share your values, your goals, and vision of the future.

Team Effort

* You can't do it alone. It is ineffective to try to do it all.

* Delegate authority and followup responsibly.

* Split big problems/tasks into smaller tasks.

* Every District leader, every Area/Division Governor, LGM and LGET can have an impact on growth in the district.

* Get many Toastmasters involved. Delegate some authority, allow your fellow leaders to be creative as long as they share common goals and visions for the future.

Luck

* Be prepared. Have demo teams ready to go. Walk the talk.

* Be prepared. Open your eyes and ears - opportunities will present themselves. Grab it!

* Always share your enthusiasm.

your thoughts?

Roger H Brown

The Art of Criticism... or "What to do when an evaluation goes bad".

I just read a great article on Lifehack.org titled, How to Handle Criticism and it got me thinking about how we TAKE feedback as a Toastmaster.



Have you ever had an evaluation that seemed to "touch a nerve"?


Maybe the evaluator did not present his suggestions in a constructive manner or, more likely, you took his suggestions as a personal insult to the quality of your speech.


We have all been though this ... although it seemed to be more common during my first 10 speeches on the way to my CTM (now called CC).

I did not really know the other people in the club and did not appreciate that they were trying to help me improve my speaking and communication skills. Now that I know them, their criticism is much less "stinging" and since I have more experience, I can recognize when I "miss the mark"... often before anyone has to tell me.


The new Toastmasters leadership manual has opportunities for you to be evaluated in every role... including as an evaluator. Hopefully this will speed up the process of becoming a competent evaluator as well as improve the quality of evaluations at the club level.


Have you ever been insulted by an evaluation? How did you handle it? Do you notice it more as you have given more speeches?


Leave a comment below and share with us your experiences and suggestions!

Fwd: Wanted: TLI (Toastmasters Leadership Institute) Instructors on 6/9, 6/30, 7/14, and 7/28

From: Karin von Kaenel, D53 Lt.Gov.-Marketing
Date: May 8, 2007 12:49 PM
Wanted: TLI (Toastmasters Leadership Institute) Instructors on 6/9, 6/30, 7/14, and 7/28

Fellow Toastmasters,

Are you ready for another Leadership experience?

Every year, on July 1, new people are taking office in every Toastmasters club. This offers a great opportunity for everybody to try something new!

This is also an opportunity for you to get involved: We need volunteers for TLI: Toastmasters who'll apply their speaking and leadership skills and become TLI instructors, Toastmasters who'll run the registration table, Toastmasters who'll be facilities coordinators, food coordinators, ...

This year, there will be 3 TLIs:
6/9 in Hudson NY
6/30 in Poughkeepsie NY
7/14 in Chicopee MA
There will also be a major Division B/C training event:
7/28 in Manchester CT

Would you please let me know:
- whether you can volunteer for the above events (let me know which ones you can volunteer for)
- what roles you're willing to volunteer for (presenter, registration desk, facilities coordinator, ...)

I'd also appreciate if you'd forward this email to your clubs/areas so others who're interested can step up.

I hope I'll hear from you soon!

Thank you very much!

Best regards,
Karin von Kaenel

P.S.: This is also an opportunity to do your HPL, e.g. on being a facilities coordinator for all TLIs.

Nominations for District Officers... by March 30th, 2007

If you or someone you know would be interested in running for a District Officer position for the coming Toastmaster year (2007-8), the form is available on the District 53 home page or by clicking here (Word Version).

The Chair of the Nominating Committee, Immediate Past District Governor (IPDG) Paul Young, DTM is asking that nominations for the 2007 - 2008 slate of District 53 Officers be submitted to the committee by March 30, 2007. Paul's email address is paulyoung53@cox.net.

The District 53 Council will elect the District officers (DG, LGET, LGM, Division Governors) at the Spring Conference in May 2007. The 2007-08 Area Governors, District Secretary, District Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, and additional committee chairs are appointed by the 2007-08 District Governor, and if you are interested in any of these positions you should speak up now !

If you would like to learn more about District offices... talk to your current Area Governor or Division Governor. I'm sure they would be happy to tell you what is involved and everything that they learned in their year of service. You can see the current officers in Division A on the District web site as well as their email addresses in case you would like to contact any of them. (Click here for the Div. A page on the District web site).

There are also a couple District Executive Team meetings between now and the Spring Conference and you are welcome to attend as the guest of one of the current officers to see what goes on and to meet some of the great people that help run District 53.

Serving as a District officer is an incredible learning experience as well as an opportunity to grow your leadership skills in a safe and supportive environment.

I highly encourage you to consider running for office !

Dave Wheeler
Division A Governor, 2006-7
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6