I’ve just visited a lovely club where I’d been invited to speak about my learnings from being an International Director. Here’s what I shared:
Self-Acceptance
I met with another Past International Director this week who knew me from before I had served on the board. “You are much more… relaxed now”, she said. “You were a bit… intense before.”
I laughed and agreed. I remembered how it felt at first to step into the spotlight as a candidate to serve on the Board back in 2021. Having all that attention made me feel very self-conscious!
Soon after I joined the board I attended a leadership book group in one of the Districts I am a member of. Our book was Patrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Team Player*. The book talked about great team players having humility.
I wondered… What did humility really mean? I realised it meant being capable but not necessarily perfect, still open to not knowing, open to other people’s perspectives. To be this way, I realised, meant I needed self-acceptance. This felt like a huge shift for me. I could just be me, and it would be ok, because I am ok.
Openness
The next key learning moment arises from doing yoga every day and being open to noticing and adapting in the moment. So, in my board working, I realised that rather than being focused on me and my views I could be focused on listening actively, and show I am open to what others have to say.
In one of my early Board meetings there was a recommendation that I wasn’t so sure about. I spoke early on about my concerns. Then I heard from two other people I had not heard from before. They talked about a whole new angle I had not considered before. This angle was a big deal! I realised it was much more important than the thing I had been concerned about – the problem was much smaller than the opportunity.
So in that moment I decided I would vote for it after all. But I realised I needed to be open about having changed my perspective. I noticed I would normally have felt some discomfort in admitting my view had changed. But now I found over my term being open and adaptable was an important way for me to make a contribution to the group.
Discovery
I also experienced the power of being immersed in a context – it enabled me to notice things I hadn’t noticed before. Before serving on the board, I had always thought of Toastmasters being made up of the membership organisation with the Headquarters team as the operational arm.
Once I was immersed in board working I realised that actually we have two operations, not just one. As well as Headquarters we have our leadership operation. The leadership operation is huge! It is made up of everyone who serves as an Area, Division, District, Regional and International leader. Everything we do in the Districts – building new clubs, supporting all clubs to achieve excellence, is part of that leadershop operation. So when we look at how we can achieve success, we can work with both operations to make great things happen.
What energises me about this is that I could have known this before I joined the board, but only came to realise it because I was immersed deeply in it.
Reflecting on learning
As I shared with the club members I visited this week, like every role we each do in Toastmasters, we grow in some way, and this role has been no exception for me. As I step forward in this campaign to serve on the Executive Committee, I wonder what I will learn next and how I will grow from the experience. I am keen to discover!
* The Ideal Team Player, Patrick Lencioni https://www.tablegroup.com/product/ideal-team-player/