President's Tip of the Week

De-Mystifying the Competent Leadership Manual
Part 1
(2/4/09)

Our club is very good at utilizing the Competent Leadership manual (kudos to us), but we are the exception and not the rule. I thought I would spend a couple of weeks further explaining the purposes and benefits of the manual, as well as how to best get through the manual.

There are two main purposes for the CL manual: To strengthen the club and, of course, to improve leadership skills. The club is strengthened through projects that require members to conduct PR or membership campaigns, mentor other members, improve the quality of feedback, and in other ways. But if you’re thinking more along the lines of what’s in it for you, rather than what’s good for the club, then you’re in luck as well.

At our recent round of officers’ training sessions, LGET Trish Blackwelder discussed the real-life example of a Toastmaster she called Art. Art’s job as a phone salesman was on the line and he was ready to give up Toastmasters in favor of putting more time in at the office to show his boss he was putting in an effort. Trish approached him with a different solution—to work through specific projects in the CL manual targeting specific skills.

As a phone salesman, listening (project 1), critical thinking (project 2), and giving feedback (project 3) were the most valuable skills Art could use. He worked carefully through those specific projects, implementing what he was learning into his sales calls, and improving his sales numbers in the process. He is still employed today.

While your current situation may not be exactly the same as Art’s, chances are there is quite a bit of real-world application for you available in your CL manual. What we do know is in this job market in these though economic times, having solid communication and leadership skills is vital to the stability of our jobs. So keep working both tracks of the Toastmasters program!