January 2009 - Issue 1
The Toastmasters Magazines that you have finished reading may help our club to grow! Yes, on January 10th when I attended (TLI)Toastmasters Leadership Institute, I attended a session about, "How To Put On An Open House." The speaker, Lanie Duran, suggested saving all the old Toastmaster magazines at your club location. Prior to the open house, she suggested we paste the flyer on the first page of the magazine. When you visit a doctor's office or other lobby with magazines, read through the magazine. When your name is called, subtly drop the magazine off on the magazine table for others to read.
Article - Ann Macfarlane's Keynote Address 1/10/09 - Emotions & Leadership: Fear, Shame and Guilt
Ann Macfarlane delivered a fabulous key note address on January 10th at the Toastmasters Leadership Institute. She shared three things that can affect leaders negatively. They were: fear, shame and guilt.
Leaders can communicate with people in their organization in many ways. There are methods of communicating which can help others from feeling fear. They can exaggerate and dramatize information which may cause the receiver to feel fearful, or they can provide the information in a less exaggerated way. Ann gave an example of someone who would leave dramatic voice mail messages that would make the receiver think the sky was falling. Had the leader left a message that just stated the general problem and a possibility for rectifying it, the receiver likely would have experienced less stress or fear when hearing the message. She also shared with us the importance for leaders to create a safe environment for their team where everyone felt comfortable. Ann said many leaders are fearful of leading. They are afraid to step up and lead. When this happens, the team can be frustrated. Teams want a leader who will lead. Ann shared a great example of a choir director. The Director lead the choir from the back of the room. She knew how to lead a choir, but she was afraid to lead it. The choir asked her to step up and lead, and she finally did.
Leaders often experience shame. We tend to judge ourselves far more harshly than others judge us. Ann explained that, Zen philosophy sees mistakes as steps toward enlightenment. That is right, the more mistakes we make, the more enlightened we become. When discussing shame, she also talked about "life balance." People often have difficulty prioritizing things. She said we need to prioritize in the following order: yourself, your family, your work and then your club. Although club duties are important, if you are not caring for yourself, your family and the roof over your head, you don't have energy to give to your organization.
Leaders often feel guilt. Sometimes we think of things negatively or in a "less than perfect way." She mentioned the example of Jimmy Carter admitting his feelings of lust. He was later crucified by the press and public. Sometimes an individual has a negative thought about another person and feels bad about it. We are not perfect and we do not have perfect thoughts. We need to forgive ourselves for the thoughts we have and move on.
As leaders we need to remember that each club is a group of human beings and that none of us are perfect. Each club is unique and the people in the club, will determine the direction it will go. As leaders we will grow and learn in the process of leading. We will each experience fear, shame and guilt. As leaders, we need to be aware of our fears, the shame we feel, and the guilt we experience. With this knowledge, we can become better leaders and team members.
Ann suggested two books: "Every Time I Get Stabbed I the Back,My Fingerprints Are On the Knife" By Jerry B. Harvey and "Taboos Of Leaders" – By Tony Smith
Free Training For All ToastmastersToastmasters Leadership Training is coming up on January 31st. Anyone in our club is welcome to attend. The program will be from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The last one covered topics such as: "How to Transform you Club to the top and enjoy doing it" by our own Dzung Vuong, "Public Relations - Hosting an Open House," Sharing Your Toastmaster Passion," by Michael Sun, District Governor. If you would like to attend, click here to register.
President's Breakfast
The President's Breakfast will be held on February 7th at REI and you are invited! It is open to all Toastmasters members in our district. It's $20 in a lovely café with a view. It is a great way to show support for our beloved President, Dzung.
Speech Contest Coming!!!
The Inspirational Speech and Evaluation Contest for our club will be held on Februrary 19th. Start thinking about an inspiring topic you might like to share with us for this contest. The winners will progress to Area 53/54 Contest which will tentatively be held on March 13th or March 14th. The winner from the Area Contest will progress to the Division E Contest, which will be held on April 24th. The winners from it, will progress to the Division 2 Contest which will be part of the Spring Conference on May 1st and May 2nd at the Lynnwood Convention Center.
Nominate your Leaders
You can nominate leaders for awards such as Best President, Vice President Education or Toastmaster of the Year. Susan Swift can answer any of your questions regarding this. There are forms available on the District 2 Website. The awards will be made later in the year.
Links of Interest
District 2 Toastmaster Website
Toastmasters International
URL Link to Press Release of Raul Munoz Winning Humorous Speech Contest - Kirkland Reporter
Please submit articles and suggestions for articles for the February issue to margo.wei@gmail.com
