Editor’s Note
A Toastmasters club is like a one-room schoolhouse. It is a place where people of all ages and abilities gather to learn and improve. Laura Ingalls Wilder described a one- room schoolhouse in her popular Little House on the Prairie series. Lucy Maud Montgomery describes a slightly different schoolhouse in Anne of Green Gables. Each author has a different perspective, similarly, each group of Toastmasters has a slightly different perspective on the ideal learning environment. The members of the Hugo Business Association wanted a Toastmaster club to improve their speaking abilities without doing a lot of paperwork or administrative work. In other words, the members wanted to maximize communication training, but minimize leadership training and perhaps leadership obligations. For many, it makes sense to teach both communication and leadership in a Toastmasters meeting. Yet, these members felt they already had mastered leadership in their jobs and did not want additional burdens that may distract them from their job. The first coach left because of differences in goals. The second club coach, Lisa Burnside, arrived to reconcile the situation. She resolved the conflict using a collaborative win-win approach. After a discussion of goals, they found common ground, proceeded with a four- part plan and won the Distinguished Club Award Read this edition for more details.
Getting to Know the Club
Two years ago I was asked to help out at a demo meeting for a potential new club. The meeting went well because they were ready to become a club. They had the need, the interest, 20 potential members, the location, and the desire to do the work. The person that asked me to help at the demo meeting also asked me to help the club become reality. Under that guidance, we got the materials together, the officers were elected, and the meetings were scheduled. Since another club was going under, instead of losing the club from the roster, the district decided to give the charter to the new club rather than creating another club. The club mentor was not thrilled with this decision, but it was done – time to get to work.
In the early days of the club there was a lot for the members and particularly the officers to learn. We worked diligently to make sure everyone knew the ins and outs of Toastmasters. However, a problem ensued. The club members were part of a business association, knew each other and their only goal was to improve their speaking skills. They felt they already had the leadership skills. The then-club coach was worried that the club would not meet the Toastmasters requirements because it is about communication AND leadership skills and there are reports to file and goals to attain. The goals of the club members were not meshing with the goals of the club coach and I was asked to step in and replace her. That was extremely difficult, because she is a friend of mine and she worked so hard to make this club into reality. The club did not make distinguished that year.
Let’s Talk About the Club’s Future
On June 7, 2010, I stepped in as their club coach at their request. I met with the officers and got a commitment to three questions:
- Exactly what goals does the club want to attain? The initial club members were made up of members of the Hugo Business Association (HBA) so they knew how to put together a working group. They wanted to create a safe and fun environment for everyone to improve their speaking abilities. They did not want to have to fill out a lot of paperwork and put a lot of effort into things they were already doing in the HBA.
- What goals do the members want to attain? They were business people that wanted to improve their speaking skills and not run another business. So, we planned for the communication track and made sure the members had ample speaking opportunities. We added a backup speaker in case someone had to cancel last minute.
- What goals do I want to attain as their club coach? As their coach, I wanted them to make Distinguished that year thereby growing in all of their skills. My challenge was that they didn’t think they needed the leadership piece. I set a goal of making sure they understood the entire program and to help them create a plan to accomplish it without doing double duty with their current responsibilities in the HBA.
Once we answered these three questions we created a plan to get there. We broke the plan down into quarters so we could check our progress as we went. We started with the first quarter focusing on training on the program and setting up easy ways to get things done. We created templates for the agenda, grammarian report, timers report, etc. The second quarter focused on adding members so we made sure all of the officers knew their job and everyone was pitching in with ideas on membership. The third quarter focused on the dreaded leadership skills. Although the club wasn’t interested in the leadership part of the Toastmasters program, I showed them an easy way to use the leadership program during the regular meeting (an idea shared by their previous coach). When they did introductions, I encouraged them to pass the Competent Leader manual to the person next to them so those manuals would be worked on during the meetings. Since some of the new members were not part of the HBA, I focused on their interest in the leadership part and it caught fire in the rest of the club. The fourth quarter was a focus on preparing for the next year and closing down the current year with ending it as distinguished. Each quarter we reported on the progress of the DCP and got commitments as to who was going to accomplish which part. At the meetings we reported on who had a skill-enhancement experience outside of the club. These stories were inspiring to the entire club as they could see the growth and that the program was working.
Closing the Deal
Coaching entailed a lot of hand-holding and checking in. I went to as many meetings as I could. During my absences, we stayed in communication, I showed I cared about the club (always with positive comments about their progress), and we had fun. I was on their email distribution list so I knew what they were up to. Every month I pulled their DCP report from the TI website and sent it to the club officers. I worked with the Area Governor to see how we could make them successful, i.e. meet the goals outlined above.
We were coming down to the wire and I noticed that the officers didn’t get trained, the dues were being submitted slowly, the education awards were not being submitted and they weren’t adding many new members. What happened to our plan? I sent out an urgent request to the officers and asked how we were going to attain our goals. I didn’t ask them what happened as there is nothing we can do about it now; I did ask them how they were going to make me look good before June 30th. I went to the next meeting, challenged them to get it done, and got the commitment from the entire club to get their work submitted on time. They already did most of the work, they just didn’t hand it in. At that same meeting, I gave a demonstration of how to close the deal by signing up two guests. I stayed in constant contact during May and June to make sure the club business didn’t get shoved on the back burner again. By the skin of their teeth, they became distinguished. I was proud of their accomplishments. They became better speakers and even though they didn’t think they needed it, they also improved their leadership skills.
Lessons Learned
When I first agreed to this coaching assignment, I thought it would be pretty easy. After all, they were business people and knew how to run a successful group. The biggest challenge was to get them past their view that Toastmasters was for speaking skills only. I wish we would have put more emphasis on turning in their accomplishments throughout the year rather than waiting until the end. Breaking the goals up by quarter rather than trying to accomplish everything at once was a good idea; however we needed to keep in mind that they needed continual encouragement of learning the entire program and the importance of training the officers. They relied on me too much for my knowledge of the program rather than taking the time to learn it themselves and take responsibility for it. Coaching this club gave me unscheduled benefits. Of course it allowed me to practice my own leadership skills. I also got the opportunity to get to know some really wonderful people. Because the club was relying on my knowledge of the Toastmasters program, I got to know the program even more in depth. It was great to see the growth by the individual members and feel the accomplishment of bringing a club that only wanted part of the program to Distinguished thereby getting more out of the program than they bargained for.
By Lisa Burnside, Successful Club Coach of the Hugo Toastmasters #1187545 District 6
A Letter of Praise
Dear Ms. Burnside, On behalf of the Hugo Toastmasters, I would like to thank you for serving as our coach during the last couple years. We have progressed as a Toastmasters club because of your hard work and efforts for us to become a Distinguished club. You created a positive atmosphere within our club that has carried on to our members. You provided the club with pointers on how to evaluate speakers to ensure they get the feedback they need to give a successful speech. At the end of each meeting you spoke on the items that went well at the meeting and encouraged us to keep it up. You were a pleasure at each meeting and we were excited when you were able to attend. We all appreciate your patience with the club as we learned the ways to become a great Toastmasters club. Thanks again!
Best Wishes, Rachel Juba, CL, CC Vice President of Education, Hugo Toastmasters