Musings on Leadership

Sir Isaac Newton was one of the greatest minds in human history. Some of his contributions were: The modern telescope. Spectral analysis and identifying the seven colors in the rainbow. Calculus. The law of universal gravitation. And, to explain the motion of the planets, he created his 3 laws of motion. It's these 3 laws that I will be talking about. They are: An object will continue in its state of rest or uniform motion unless compelled to change that state by an external force. (Also known as the law of inertia.) If a net force acts on an object, it will cause an acceleration of that object. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. You may be asking how this has ANYTHING to do with leadership, motivation, or Toastmasters. Let me give you some examples. Newton's 1st Law of Motion: An object will continue in its state of rest or uniform motion unless compelled to change that state by an external force. I love the fall - especially college football! Saturdays...

The quality of your club meetings will drive your membership levels. I firmly believe this. Think about it logically. People seek out Toastmasters because they have a goal to achieve or they've identified something about themselves they'd like to change. They're at your meeting to see if you can help them achieve their goal. If you show them an enjoyable meeting that starts on time, stays on time (and track), and ends on time, with helpful evaluations - they'll join. Put yourself in their shoes. You want to become more confident professionally so you attend a meeting. When you get there, no one greets you because the members are running around trying to fill roles at the last minute. When it starts, it doesn't seem like they have an agenda or know what's coming next. No one even acknowledges your presence. How confident would you be that these people, and this organization, will be able to help you achieve your goals? Remember, guests don't join Toastmasters...

 That sounds like a bold claim, doesn't it? Eight new members - guaranteed - every single year? Sound too good to be true? It's not! Before we talk about membership, let's talk about your car. Let's say your car has a 15-gallon tank (that's 56.8 liters for our friends outside the US) and it gets 20 miles to the gallon (or 8.5 kilometers to the liter). How far can you go on one tank of gas? 15 gallons x 20 miles per gallon = 300 miles (or, 56.8 liters x 8.5 kilometers per liter = 482.8 kilometers) Another way you can look at it - if you just drove 300 miles and it took 15 gallons to fill up your tank, then you know you averaged 20 miles per gallon. 300 miles / 15 gallons = 20 miles per gallon (482.8 kilometers / 56.8 liters = 8.5 kilometers per liter) It's the same concept when it comes to guaranteeing 8 new members every year. You need three numbers from last year: The number of times your club met. The number of guests you had at your meetings. The number of ne...

 During my campaign for International Director, I am frequently asked about my views on the challenges facing Toastmasters. I thought I might take a break from my leadership posts to talk about my views on the future of the organization and the challenges facing us. Retention In my opinion, the biggest challenge facing Toastmasters isn't COVID - it's member retention. It's only natural that a club will lose a certain number of members every year. People move, they experience life changes, their priorities change, etc. The number most commonly mentioned in Toastmasters is that we lose 40% of our membership every. single. year! If you run a business, and you lose 40% of your customers each and every year, you won't be in business for long. People in sales know this adage but, the least expensive customer to get is one that's already purchased from you. While we may not spend actual money to get guests to attend our meetings (although some may), we spend time contactin...

  I do a lot of reading on leadership, management, and motivation (and HIGHLY encourage you to do the same). The current book I'm reading is Simon Sinek's "Leaders Eat Last". This week's tip comes from this book. Remember the ancient Spartans? (From the movie, "The 300", about the Battle of Thermopylae?) The Spartans were the special forces of their day. If a Spartan soldier lost his shield he would be severely punished. He could lose his helmet or breastplate and no one cared. But lose that shield and he would be stripped of his Spartan citizenship. Why? The reason is that the Spartans viewed the helmet and breastplate as providing personal protection. The shield? The shield was viewed as protection for the entire line. Remember the scenes in the movie where they locked their shields together to form the phalanx? Lose one shield and now there's a weak link in the line. If you were able to ask a Spartan soldier why they fought, I doubt they'd tel...

  Even the smallest of forces can cause monumental changes. If you don't think so, consider this: If your task looks impossible, just remember the water dripping on the stone and keep at it. If your club hasn't been Distinguished in years, earn an education award yourself. Then persuade another member to earn one, then another. Bring a guest yourself. Then encourage others to bring a friend, family member, or co-worker. Keep at it. If you're an Area Director and all of your clubs are struggling. Hold Area council meetings and talk about what the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) means for the individual members. Hold a contest for clubs achieving DCP goals. Stay in contact with your clubs and let them know you're there for them. Keep at it. And even if what you're trying to change never changes - you do. You become stronger and more resilient!