Get Involved- It'sContagious
I have to admit that I participated in the obligatory walk-a-thons, bowl-a-thons, and everything-else-a-thons because I was asked—or told in some cases—to attend. I worked for a company that encouraged involvement in the community and helping others, almost to a fault. I felt forced, at times, to participate. Many times, I just went through the motions. I donated money to causes and donated my time based on whichever path the company took me. My heart was not in it early in my career because, selfishly, I did not see what was in it for me. I saw many smiling faces from appreciative people and saw large amounts of money raised to help special causes. However, I could not see, yet, what I got out of those events.
After I got married, I watched my incredible wife selflessly give up her time and effort to help out children, neighbors, communities, and schools. All were done unconditionally and with an admirable eagerness. I, again selfishly, did not appreciate her efforts all the time and found myself getting upset when she would invest significant amounts of her time to a cause I did not truly understand. I had yet to identify with the contagious nature of voluntarily getting involved. I mean getting involved not because I was told I should, but because others needed the helping hand and it was the right thing to do.
My previous employer was a company dedicated to helping developmentally challenged individuals right across the street from my house. I slowly started to understand the meaning of some of the smiles on my neighbors’ faces when my wife spent a lot of her time helping to raise money for their facilities. They, in turn, went through a daily ritual to feed my dog biscuits. It was comical and hit a chord with me. My message here is to not necessarily find the one cause and dedicate all of your time (although this is a great option). The message is to find a place in your heart where the unconditional aspects of your involvement come flooding out.
My first real taste of pure enjoyment in volunteering came when I was asked to participate in a small town group of people interested in bringing the sport of lacrosse to our community. I had played in high school in Pennsylvania at a time when there were approximately twenty teams playing in the entire state. My high school coach learned the game from clinics and from a book he carried in his back pocket. He dedicated his time to teaching us something we all grew to love. We weren’t very good, but we became a team of great friends, learned about sportsmanship, and were able to give a virtually unknown local sport a little attention.
The new volunteer group created a nonprofit organization, received donated equipment, and held clinics for young kids. I had a blast for the year of my involvement. When I taught the younger kids how to play, I saw a look on their faces that showed me how excited they were to begin something special. Less than five years later, the effort grew to a club team at the high school level, prior to becoming a varsity program for boys and girls. As my kids grew older, I started to assist with the youth soccer programs. The pure enjoyment of watching kids learn and play an organized event is unbelievably contagious.
On the work front, I previously noted in other posts that I joined Toastmasters International to boost my own résumé. Part of my reasoning was the pull to get more involved in newly developed groups at work. Toastmasters was one of a few new clubs that came as an offshoot of a small group of grassroots leaders from the company who felt we had to do more on site. The goal of this grassroots group was to advance diversity and get more people involved in things they believed in. I knew that I could lead the new Toastmasters group after it had stalled for almost a year since originally being chartered.
The company encouraged Toastmaster’s participation, so I knew it would be a positive step for me professionally. I was almost instantly obsessed with the start-up Toastmasters operation. I was amazed at how quickly people started to get caught up in the benefits of Toastmasters. There were multiple people who were hesitant to even show up as guests, let alone stand up in front of a group of people. Yet, when they did, their mistakes turned into learning, which turned into greater confidence in ability. I saw people who said over thirty “um’s” and “ah’s” in their first four-minute speech, provide a perfectly organized and formulated seven-minute speech with proper grammar (and no filler words) less than three months later.
Toastmasters challenged my abilities to effectively balance work, family, and other obligations. I found, with smart planning, that I could do them all effectively. My wife unconditionally supported every move I made with the club. I started to emerge as a respected leader on the work campus, and I found that my communication skills improved and were getting noticed. I was getting something out of it, but that was no longer my sole motivation to be there. I saw the value of teaching others and watching them gain self-confidence. Because of Toastmasters, I even wrote a speech about my first visit to the Maine State Special Olympics that turned into befriending the company’s Special Olympic team and becoming a committed volunteer.
Our Toastmasters club had an active military person who had presented his manager with a prestigious national award. He was embarrassed for himself and knew he could improve his presentation skills. He joined our group and went after his personal goal to achieve his communication certification with fervor and impatience. He had a lust to learn and improve. He was called to active duty and brought his Toastmasters manuals with him and still pursued his goals to get certified. He was the third person in the club to achieve this certification. He achieved his own personal goals, and I burst with pride watching the drive to accomplish something that meant so much to him and his family.
I saw people in our club get involved in order to build up their leadership and communication skills and then became successful club officers. The club grew from the original two people to a fairly consistent level of twenty-five members in less than eighteen months. Our club partnered with other internal work groups to assist them with their communication and leadership skills, and soon we found ourselves expanding beyond our original vision. I joined for myself and found myself staying for others.
It was contagious.
Tom Dowd, AKA Transformation Tom?, runs his own company Thomas Dowd Professional Development & Coaching, LLC with the mantra, “Transform into who you really want to be professionally.” He is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a Communication degree, concentrating on interpersonal and organizational communication. Tom is a prize-winning speaker, an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author, trainer, coach, and radio host. His books include “Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success,” “The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World,” “From Fear to Success: a Practical Public Speaking Guide,” "Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job," “Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance,”and “The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood.”
Learn more about Tom and how to start your own transformation at www.transformationtom.com.