It’s that time of the Toastmaster year that the new leadership team of your club, division and district step forward.  I recently found a Toastmasters magazine from 1994 and a manual from 1984 and it reminded me that we are part of an organisation that keeps taking a step forward and this is thanks to leaders, who choose to step up and take the organisation, brand and club forward.

There is a clear plan for success. You can call it succession planning. The key to succession planning is to select a team that will build on the previous year success.

You want to know that your club is in good hands and the legacy and hard work you put in will continue. The best way to do this, is to select a team that you know will live the Toastmaster values of integrity, service, excellence and respect. “Dig deep foundations, if you want to go high.” Individuals who will put the values into action is the team that will move forwards and upwards.

It’s not about starting over but adding more bricks to a firm foundation…

As a leader, it’s important to do a handover of the roles with excellence. Communication and records such as a club file is a good way to physically handover information or an electronic file or even selecting leaders who are committed to the success of the club.

It’s about continuous progress, improving and not starting from scratch. Records of members goals, campaigns, website login’s and minutes of the previous meetings, branding templates and tools are all part of building a club that members can grow and thrive in both leadership and communication. 

It’s wonderful having a title but titles don’t build career skills but action through service will. Robin Sharma an extraordinary leadership author also reminds us that “Leadership is no longer about your position. It’s now more about your passion for excellence and making a difference”

Taking a step forward in your leadership role requires:

• An understanding exactly what your club officer role is
• Focusing your efforts by having a plan of action
• Be part of the solution to build a winning team
• Working towards the same vision

Leadership Central has both a summary and tutorial for the club officer roles available here: https://www.toastmasters.org/leadership-central/club-officer-tools/club-officer-roles

Area 3 Director – Division A – District 74

Carla Wasserfall