When Called Upon

As a member of Toastmasters International and my club, I promise:
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To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so
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It's that time of year again! Time to figure out who will be the club officers for the next term! Will you be one?

Here are some of the reasons I have heard from Toastmasters members for not taking on a club officer role:

• I don't have the time.
• I'm not ready.
• I don't think I will do a good job.
• That's too much responsibility.
• I don't know how to do it.

In essence, all of these reasons boil down to: "I am afraid to fail." I believe this indicates a deeper misunderstanding of what being a club officer actually means.

Remember what Toastmasters is about! From the club mission (I prefer the old wording, but the new wording says the same thing):

We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

The key phrases I want to point out are "supportive and positive learning experience" and "empowered to develop ... leadership skills".

I certainly do not expect anybody to be a world-class public speaker when giving the first Icebreaker speech. As a Toastmaster, I note the skills the speaker already has and suggest what skills can be developed and ways to develop them. I encourage everyone to get up and speak again, even to give the same speech again. As Toastmasters, we are all familiar with this, and that is what we expect when it comes our own turn to speak.

Here is the misunderstanding from all of those reasons given above:
The underlying assumption is that one must already have the leadership skills BEFORE taking the office!

That is the same as expecting every Icebreaker to be a world championship speech!

I do not expect ANY officer to do a perfect job. I don't even expect an officer to do a good job. I just expect them to be willing to do the best job they can. As a Toastmaster, I am more than willing to help any officer with their duties. I am happy to provide feedback as well, even to suggest how to develop the skills they feel they are lacking.

As an aside, what I love about the High Performance Leadership program: the guidance committee provides feedback about my leadership skills. I believe every club officer should have similar, formal, regular feedback. That is something I intend to try doing at my clubs.

At times, I have heard a member express discontent with how a particular member is performing their office duties. My question to that member is this: "What have you done to help that member succeed?"

I am not saying to take every office offered to you. I have turned down offices before, but not for fear of failure. I have also taken on certain offices because I felt I was lacking the skills necessary for that office, and I intended to use that office as an opportunity to develop those skills. After all, training is provided, you can't be fired, and everyone wants you to succeed.

So when a member says to you that they are not ready to hold an office, simply respond with "That is exactly why you are!"