Program Understanding for District Officers
If you read my previous blog, Club Growth Director (CGD), you may be asking, Why do I stress maximum use of district officers to accomplish district goals?
The answer is that Toastmasters International has done a good job of designing the Distinguished District Program because this design includes recognition given to district officers for accomplishing their program goals. These district officer leaders include the Area Directors, Division Directors, and the Top 3 district officers: CGD, Club Quality Director, and District Director.
To accomplish with maximum effectiveness the program goals, all goals should be incorporated into the Area Directors’ and Division Directors’ tasks. Why? Because club membership growth, member Pathway advancement, and club officer growth all contribute to healthy clubs. The work of the Area Directors and Division Directors should focus on and contribute to these outcomes.
Well, what about other tasks of committees like Club Coaches, Club Sponsors, Club Mentors, etc.? How do these roles fit into the Distinguished District Program? My answer: unfortunately, not very well. Why? Because they are not part of the Distinguished District Program. They are not made up of district officers and their success is not recognized by the Distinguished District Program.
In addition, they may actually interfere with the district officers’ work, since it is the district officers who are charged with club success. To be fair, however, unless the Top 3 make it very clear what the district officers in their charge are tasked with, confusion will ensue. For example, if an Area Director’s club needs a club coach, what will the Area Director do? Will she say, Well, that is the job of the Club Coach committee? Or will she take charge and find a club coach herself? Does the district even have such a committee? There are many ways to kick the can down the road; what’s needed is action(!), not committees! Committees and lack of progress can cause delays of weeks and months – a district officer who wants to be successful will chafe at such bureaucratic delays.
The District Leadership Handbook clearly says the Area Director’s job is to serve the needs of the clubs in his/her area. Just do it. If the district is organized, it will be the job of the Division Directors to help the Area Directors achieve their goals. The Division Directors need to be activated in this task much more than previously done.
Example. As District Director in 1999-2000, I asked myself, What one goal would make the most impact? Answer: Don’t lose so many clubs! Yes, we gained clubs every year, but the lost clubs (averaging about 8) would offset new club gains.
Back then, the Club Coach Program was called the Club Rescue Program. As the new District Director, I told all the district officers: This is how we will do club rescue. Instead of waiting to get down to “officially” 9 members for a club to be eligible for the Club Rescue Program (and thus to activate the formal Toastmaster Club Rescue Program with the District), we would form a club rescue team. When the Area Director reported that a club’s participating membership was down to 12 members, the team would immediately be formed. The team would include the Area Director, her Division Director, and two other interested Toastmasters willing to attend club meetings until membership rose. I was actually surprised at the excitement and action the Area Directors took implementing these teams. They were excited about the action they could take to help their club so quickly. After this practice was initiated, the District lost no clubs.
The TI program was flawed. By the time the club showed 9 or fewer members on the District Performance Reports (October or April), actual club attendance could be half that – it was just too late! To that delay of perhaps months, could be added delays by the district trying to find and train Club Rescue Program Toastmasters to help the club. After all, at the normal June/July training period, who would know where and when these Toastmasters would be needed?
The moral of this story is to take action as a leader, when and where you can, to help your clubs. The Top 3 officer tasks are to solve problems and organize the Area Directors and Division Directors to do the work, so that the clubs in need of members, trained leaders, more Pathways participation, etc., can be helped asap! Then the clubs, Area Directors, Division Directors, and Top 3 will be recognized for meeting Distinguished District Goals, as they successfully help their clubs.