Crucial Leadership

Greater Stamford Toastmasters (GST) is a thriving club in Connecticut with over 65 members. The club prides itself on producing many seasoned speakers who competed in International Speech Contests, wrote famous books on Public Speaking, and some even became Professional Public Speakers and many other accomplishments. As successful as the club always is, it has experienced setbacks during leadership team transitions which diminished its growth and the membership.

In 2014, a new leadership team came together with a positive attitude but the energy did not stick. Because the president of the club was hindered by some personal commitments during the last few months of his tenure and the second ranking club officer-the VPE-still growing in the role as a leader, the entire leadership team was crippled. Soon, the meetings were disorganized, lifeless, and the attendance dropped from an average of thirty members to ten members. Guests were not returning, and the future did not look bright for the club. However, a year later a new leadership team was elected and hit the ground running. Almost miraculously, through the presence of strong leadership, the club turned around, returning to heights that GST was always capable of.

I interviewed the immediate past President Raffi Setrakian and the current President Sharon Todd to find out what led to the club's outstanding success under their leadership. Raffi is a Cost Analyst with no prior experience in leadership roles and Sharon Todd is a Marketing Strategist and an Executive Coach who has decades of leadership experience in Corporate America.

When Raffi started as president, he reminded himself that "Members are the heart and soul of the club." To this point, the leadership team has rolled out several events to get the members better engaged. Some of these activities have included creating a guest welcome package, a bi-monthly new member induction ceremony, a mentorship program and quarterly ice breaker nights. The leadership team also organized advanced speaker nights to keep the advanced members engaged and on track to DTM. Of the many lessons learned, the most important lesson Raffi learned as Club President was the value of listening to others, which he says is the core quality of a successful leader.

Sharon Todd also gave terrific insights on how she has to think outside the box to lead the Club. Having worked in Corporate America and now running her own business, Sharon always had the skills to motivate her direct reports or employees beyond bonuses and promotions. Her direct reports knew that if they didn’t perform at their highest level, their ability to succeed would be limited. However, in Toastmasters the president doesn’t have any decision in selecting the Leadership Team and so she says, “I have to lean in on my corporate experience even more. It is extremely important that everyone has the opportunity to shine and that Officers are recognized for their contributions.” In this role, she has learned to step out of the way so that they can excel. Her biggest learnings have been accepting the limitations that come with the role, creatively motivating the Leadership Team, and leaning in on her corporate experience as needed.

Both these leaders have the drive to make Greater Stamford Toastmasters successful. They have figured out different ways to make GST the success it once was through their diverse leadership skills and insights. Having reclaimed its past glory with the help of a strong Leadership Team, GST once again takes pride in accomplishments like winning the District 53 Humorous Speech Contest in Fall 2016, becoming the first club to achieve President Distinguished in 2016 and many more. So in conclusion, what does it take for a club to be successful? A committed and action oriented leadership team is what it takes.