Have you ever noticed that often people are willing to take on a role or assist in some way, if only someone would ask for help? Well, District 60 needs your help, and there are several benefits to saying, “YES!” to this wonderful challenge.
Being a club Coach does take a special skill, and true, it’s not for everyone. But is it for YOU?
Answer these key questions to determine if this opportunity might be the one that you’ve waiting for… and all you needed was someone to ask.
- Are you an experienced Toastmaster who has a positive attitude?
- Do you want to develop your leadership skills and really raise your own bar?
- Do you want to make a great contribution to a club, but don’t want to start a brand new one?
- Do you want to get the Club Coach education credit towards your DTM?
If you answered ‘YES’ to the first 3 questions, this just might be the perfect opportunity for you. If you answered ‘YES’ to the last question, but ‘NO’ to any of the first 3, then this probably isn’t the opportunity you’re looking for.
First, What is a Club Coach?
A club Coach is an experienced Toastmaster who helps a struggling or weak club get back on its feet. The club must have 12 or fewer members, and they must be willing to have someone who is not currently a member of their club to come in and help them.
The last point is critical, because if a struggling club isn’t willing to do the work, or isn’t motivated to make the club successful, then the best Coach in the world probably isn’t going to have much success.
So the first thing is to match up an experienced Toastmaster with a club that wants some help. This matchmaking is done by Michelle Warren, DTM. Michelle’s role this year is Club Retention Chair, and she’s part of my District 60 Marketing team.
Michelle needs some help, because there are currently 53 clubs that are eligible for a club Coach, and only 19 of those clubs have Coaches.
Second, What does a Club Coach Do?
The main responsibility of the club Coach is to help the club reach Distinguished status by June 30th of either the current, or the next, Toastmaster year. This means that the club needs to have at least a net growth of 5 new members, it needs to pay its membership dues on time, and it needs to accomplish 5 or more DCP goals.
How do you do that? Well, it starts by attending the club meetings and helping them figure out a plan to get the club healthy again. This means asking questions, listening, and assessing the challenges the club is facing… and then helping come up with a plan to overcome those challenges.
But it’s not enough to just come up with the plan. The club Coach will help them implement the plan. This means helping them find new members by promoting the club, holding special events, and having high-quality club meetings. It means looking after the guests who do come so that they want to come back again. It means having a vibrant club meeting that encourages, inspires and energizes the members who are attending. It means being able to provide clear direction, and help create a positive and supportive environment.
Third, How Do I Get Involved?
If you’d like to know if there’s a club in your vicinity that could use some help, email Michelle or Dawn and ask. If you’d like to get more information about what else might be expected of the role, let us know that too. Want to compare the Coach role to the Sponsor, Mentor or Advocate role? Click here for a description of all four roles.
If you’d like more information, check out the Toastmasters International website https://www.toastmasters.org/leadership-central/club-officer-tools/club-management/club-quality/club-coach-program.
P.S.
If matchmaking is your thing, consider taking the role of Club Quality Chair for yourself next year! It might be a great step to get you into, or back into, helping out at the District level.
