Sustainable Toastmasters Experience

I had always thought and still think that Toastmasters club experience is profound. The members or participants of a club experience learning in a unique way.

The Distinguished Club Program may be a bit ambitious on the part of Toastmasters International w.r.t building member base and to increase the Path purchases by members.

Everyone aims for the coveted DTM award.

Toastmasters is a self-paced program which gives dividends when practicipated regularly, like any other aspect of life. Consistency is the key.

Personally, I have seen many Toastmasters take up the voluntary role of a leader and they try to meet the goals. Whether it be Club DCP goals, Area, Division, District, Region or International goals.

The problem arises when there is too much focus on the numbers than the experience.

For e.g. many districts around the world have recognition program of some sort for motivating members to achieve their goals, and hence in turn helping the District achieve it's goals.

It is a great way to motivate members to do more. However, focusing on mere numbers had led to a fall in excellence and a general perception that leaders are mostly behind achieving targets set by TI.

As a leader, did you at any point of time think that, what exactly is your job?

Is it to meet targets? Is it to set an exemplary example? Is it to make more better leaders than you are? Is it to help others achieve excellence?

The answer is all of the above. However, the path to excellence is a long and tedious one. 

One year might not be sufficient to meet the targets set by TI.

Nevertheless, as all good leaders know, that they play a part in a bigger picture over time. It is important to play our part to inching forward towards that goal of excellence.

We may not achieve the high targets, but we would have definitely laid the foundation or improved what was existing to move forward. It is like a brick in a wall. Every brick counts.

May be you might have mentored better leaders who focus on excellence and improving member experience than on meeting mere targets.

In short, it is a long-term endeavour to create something amazing. Focus on improvement and excellence. Rest will follow.

If the future leaders achieve the targets, then it is a resounding success of all the leaders who had worked before.

This my friends is a sustainable way to improve and grow with excellence in mind.