Editor’s Note
In this issue of Club Coach Weekly, we hear from Bill Brown, who applies his consulting skills to the Reddy Talkers club. The club had chartered recently, but many of the charter members had already left, leaving only a small number of members attending. Those still participating didn’t have a full understanding of the Toastmasters program, and sometimes personality clashes would arise.Bill created communications channels amongst the officers, and helped the club understand Toastmasters customs, like lectern etiquette and applauding speakers. Meetings soon became entertaining but focused.
The club then ran several membership drives, though some members didn’t seem to understand why a membership drive was needed. Multiple forms of social media were used, previous guests were invited back, and slowly
the membership grew, and the club reachedDistinguished.Bill notes that getting the club to understand the need to fix problems is critical, starting with the basics, how they talked to each other, and respect for differences of opinions. The coach has to show the club the value of the plan and lead with it.
Club Coaching: Initial Thoughts and Initial Realities
I was happy to serve as the club coach for the Reddy Talkers. A consultant by trade, I believed that those same skills would easily transfer to club coaching. I initially believed that there would be membership issues with members not renewing and a small number of people attending each meeting. To correct these issues, I would work for better meetings, get people engaged, and determine ways to get people to attend the meetings.
When I attended my first meeting, the scenario was more involved. This club seemed to be formed as a project which chartered in 2010 rather than an organic or grass roots club. This was a great idea, however, most of the chartering members, including those who spearheaded this project, had moved on. This left the new and eager group floundering. There was a sense they didn’t completely understand the Toastmaster system. There were also many strong personalities constantly exercising their right to express opinions. They didn’t seem to know the way forward because of the personality clashes and a lack of familiarity with the Toastmaster program. The personality clashes were disruptive, and often the members were caught in the middle. You never knew what behavior would surface in a meeting. For example, members would say negative comments indirectly toward each other in speeches. Individually, the members were the nicest people that I ever met. But something was happening. There was a lack of leadership training. The lack of training led to an unwanted dynamic that was causing struggle.
Focus the Member’s Attention on the Plan
I saw the challenge as a two-fold project. One, to keep the officers, then members, engaged. Two, stop the infighting so the club could move forward.
Because the club met every other week, I needed to open another line of communication. I decided to begin with the club officers because the majority of people attending meetings were the club officers. Once we started working together, we would bring the improvements to the remaining members. We set up weekly emails where every club officer was copied. We tried a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis. We talked about ideas for a membership drive. Unfortunately, there was some unkind exchanges in the emails. Recognizing that we couldn’t move forward, I changed the selected communication from emails to conference calls believing that people would be more civil. It was a round robin format where everyone gave reports, then I would make comments. Then I asked what I thought was a very harmless question. There was silence. After a long pause, one officer sensing the question was not going to be answered, gave their input about the question. Then there was a loud click, and another officer hung up. Stunned, I immediately ended the call. I then called the officer who hung up, and I mentioned that I thought it was inappropriate to hang up on the conference call. I asked what the problem was about. I was told that in their opinion the other officer needed to mind their own business and not answer for others. I acknowledged that they were upset and that we needed to work it out. We agreed, but I felt that we were walking on eggshells throughout the rebuilding process.
Instead of focusing on animosity, I asked members to remember why they joined Toastmasters in the first place. We would apply that concept to improving the club. We would build on that principle to become a welcoming community club and focus on that identity.
I began work as coach. The club was very casual in their meetings. I explained some basic lectern etiquette. I asked them to applaud at the appropriate times. It was a commitment to become a structured club. It was also important to become more structured, and once that commitment was seriously addressed, they created a hybrid casual/structured club, which works well for them.
Results Along the Road to Improvement
This commitment led to entertaining, focused meetings. We had a setback early on, when one of the officers left the club. This individual had a number of in-club and out-of-club issues, that are in some respects, still a mystery. Relying on my improv theatre background, I simply validated concerns, remarked when behavior was not helpful, and asked everyone to focus and move on. Some wanted role reinforcement, and for me to say: “stay in that corner.” I didn’t want to put people in their place. I felt that it was difficult enough to light fires and to inspire passion in people. Rather than squelch the fires, I wanted to get the team working together. I felt that the coach must help focus people on what’s important. The other stuff, such as passive aggressive behavior, was destructive when we’re trying to rebuild. Even though this unproductive behavior represented missed opportunities for communication, I had to move on. As coaches, having tough conversations is part of the coach’s job – it is also part of life. It makes no sense to avoid these conversations. Running away accomplishes nothing. But how do we solve problems that no one wants us to solve?
We never completed an educational plan. The club needed an intervention. As a coach, I felt the need to talk to each member and say, “This is what you need to do.” This type of dialogue helped us work the plan.
We had several membership drives. However, we could never agree on their motivation. Why should we have a membership drive? Interestingly, when I promised to continue helping the club (even past the duration of my club coaching appointment) I believe the club found their motivation. It seemed to me that they saw my commitment to the club, in turn, inspired their commitment. Or it was a great coincidence?
We used Facebook, LinkedIn, and sent emails to guests saying that we missed them and invited them back. All of these approaches created a slow drift of new members. We got just enough members to win the Distinguished Club Award.
Lessons Learned
You can only fix the problems that the club wants you to fix. I wanted to fix how they talked to each other. How to be aware of each other’s differences of opinions while focusing on the plan. Work the plan, always work the plan. You will improve. Members who don’t get anything are not working the plan. The genius of the Toastmasters program is the plan. The coach needs to show the value of the plan. If you lead with the plan, the problems will resolve themselves. If people remember why they joined, it will help them make the experience better for others.
Contributed by
William “Bill” Brown ACB, CL
Successful Coach of the Reddy Talkers #1366689 District 37
Speakerpreneur Toastmasters President
District 37 Certified Trainer and Area 54 Governor
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”–Peter Drucker
A Letter of Praise
It is my pleasure to submit a letter of praise for our wonderful Club Coach, Bill Brown. Bill came to our club in the spring of 2012 because we were struggling to both meet our goal of 20 members and to maintain our current members. Our president explained that clubs with less than 12 members could request the help of a Club Coach to help stabilize and improve membership levels. Although we felt that we were doing everything that we could to advertise and encourage new visitors and members, we were open to receiving any help we could get.Chartered in July of 2010, our club was still new when I joined in July of 2011. I now better understand that we really hadn’t established our club’s identity. I had only been the Vice President of Membership for a few months, so I was still learning my role and the dynamics of the leadership team. Very soon after Bill came on board, there were some serious communication breakdowns among the officers. I was quite surprised by what was transpiring. It became apparent that although people were being civil to one another in person, there were a lot of stifled emotions, resentment, and misunderstandings that had been festering for some time. The dynamics quickly became intense and heated. Although it was difficult, Bill’s presence as our Club Coach created an outlet for officers to communicate their unexpressed feelings and to finally get things out in the open. I was continually impressed with Bill’s composure, calm demeanor, and patience. At times, I was embarrassed by what our group was experiencing, but Bill acknowledged, encouraged, and validated us, both as individuals and as a club. It was clear that Bill genuinely wanted us to succeed.
Although our members had been working hard since our club’s inception, we needed direction; we needed someone to be our compass in the storm, and Bill compassionately offered us his guidance and advice in ways that were non-threatening and inspiring. Ultimately, with Bill’s care, the growing pains that our club experienced helped galvanize us; we have become more united, stronger, and more focused. At the eleventh hour, our club attained the membership needed to earn the Distinguished Club Award for the 2011-2012 Toastmaster year!
Our club is now embracing our new-found identity and success. We pride ourselves on being an encouraging, friendly, nurturing club, and we are excited about our future.
We are very thankful that Bill was willing to be our club coach, and that he didn’t give up on us when the going got tough. His service and commitment were invaluable to us. We needed Bill, and we hadn’t even realized how much. We extend our sincerest thanks to Bill Brown for serving as our Club Coach and for helping us achieve Distinguished Club status. Most of all, we thank him for being our greatest cheerleader and esteemed friend.Most Sincerely,
Katie Brown – Reddy Talkers Toastmasters Club