Leadership Opportunities:

My journey in Toastmasters has been a fascinating one. I will never forget the day my club President was asking for people to step up to Club Officer roles. She said:

‘There is no team of fairies that put every meeting together! We have a team of club officers who make these meetings come alive’.

All of us join Toastmasters to ‘get’ – skills, experience and encouragement. At some point you need to be the one to ‘give’. When you make that transition, you will truly get the full benefit of the programme.

Little did I know that my decision to attend my first meeting ten years ago would have had such an impact on my life. As a result of raising my hand again and again to take on roles, I have published two books, started a new business and travelled to 21 countries speaking and training. Each time I raised my hand to take on a role, I learned about myself and about others. My confidence grew and I expanded my capacity. In the process, opportunities I could never have imagined came my way.

No doubt you are already really busy – the thought of taking on a role is daunting! We can all make excuses as to why we cannot possibly take on a role. I can assure you that you are capable to doing far more than you give yourself credit for. I urge you to be brave, raise your hand and commit to learning and contributing to your club, area, division and district. I can guarantee that you won’t regret the time and effort you put into any role you take on. That learning and confidence you’ll take back home, to your career and to your community. So many people will benefit when you raise your hand to take on a leadership opportunity.

Aletta Rochat, DTM

Leadership Mentoring  Coordinator