“Everything rises and falls on leadership.”
These are the words of my favorite leadership author, Dr. John Calvin Maxwell. He continues to say that when things continue to go wrong in an organization, the first thing to do is fire the leader because the leader is responsible. After all, everything rises and falls on leadership.
Many things continue to fall in Africa, our beloved Continent. In South Africa, for instance, men are slaughtering and raping women and children. Our continent is desperate for leaders, and more importantly it is desperate for that person or group of people that can fire the leaders by being vocal.
You may be familiar with the saying famous saying by Napoleon, “The world suffers a lot. Not because the violence of bad people. But because of the silence of the good people.” This statement is true today in South Africa, in Africa and the world at large.
As a member of Toastmasters International you are the hope that our continent has been waiting for. This is because you are in the process of being crafted into the leader our continent needs. Toastmasters is where leaders and made, and you are in the process of being made.
Before we get over excited, we need to ask ourselves a simple question: what kind of a leader am I being made into be?
When I was a member of my High School Drama Group my Director then, Jonathan Gecko, used to say, “What you rehearse is what you are going to perform, there is no magic on the stage.” The same is true in Toastmasters, what you prepare in Toastmasters is what you will do in the world. If you remain quiet in Toastmasters, you will remain quiet in the world. That is the kind of leader you will become.
Clubs have been given the opportunity to influence the direction of our District by voting for or against items on the District Business. As a member, your voice matters, it is important that you ensure that your Club President and Club VPE vote represents your voice. Learning to voice out begins by deciding on the leadership of your Club, District Leadership and District Business. We cannot remain quiet even when we are learning, we need to practice in this safe environment Toastmasters has created for us. We need to remember that what we rehearse is what we are going to perform, that there is no magic on the stage.
As a Club Officer, it is your responsibility to ensure that your members voice is heard. As a Club President and Club VPE, a member of the District Council, it is important that you become the leader that you will be in the world, listen to your members and ensure that you represent them when making decisions as part of the responsibility as a member of the District Council. We all have to learn by doing.
Has your club voted? Do you care? What kind of leader are you going to be in the world?
We have until Friday, 27 August 2019, to vote.
Everything rises and falls on leadership.
Gaoretelelwe Molebalwa DTM