On Saturday, November 17, we had our third DEC meeting. It began at 9:30 a.m. and lasted until 5:00 p.m. Although people were in good, professional spirits throughout the day and the collegiality among the DEC members is quite high, it wasn't enough to overcome total exhaustion.
Personally, I did not feel this DEC meeting was time well spent. Most items were required formalities that we have to update on that don't have any impact on our work as DEC members at the moment, such as approving prior minutes and mentioning the current status of the budget. There were a couple training sessions on member retention (stock presentation from WHQ) and emotional intelligence (a custom presentation). We also had a special visit from our Region Advisor*.
If you've been in all-day meetings before, you probably know what this is all about. If not, imagine sitting in a seat and listening to people conduct formalized business for eight or more hours with just a few brief breaks in between. It wasn't worth the physical exhaustion, which a single night of rest was not able to cure. The ill physical effects last for days.
In past years, this DEC meeting would have been part of the fall conference. This year, WHQ ended such conferences worldwide. Instead, there will only be a spring conference in May. The details of this conference were just being finalized, so we did get some insights into the potential price and location. One point of interest is that all District-level contests must take place at the spring conference this year. That means an extra day needs to be added to the spring conference schedule (to make up for the fact that no contests are held at the fall conference this year).
One of the more interesting status updates was on the adoption of Pathways within our District. A volunteer team has been assembled with the goal of getting more people into the new program. I am collaborating with another Area Director in our Division to make use of this team's expertise in helping us encourage our clubs to get on board with Pathways. This is likely to be our last major effort for the year. After the holidays, there are tons of things to do as soon as the new year begins.
*A Region Advisor oversees a collection of Districts and helps all of the District leaders achieve their goals.
The Fall Division Contest
On one hand, it is fortunate that I had a bit of rest leading up to the Division contest on November 3. During the Area contest, a huge amount of the burden was on me to find volunteers and attendees, while advising the Contest Chair and Chief Judge who were coordinating the agenda. This time around, I did some promotion of the contest among my clubs, but didn't have to worry about managing the volunteer roster or agenda.
On the other hand, this period wasn't entirely peaceful, as the individuals managing this contest were far less organized and timely than our team during the Area contest. As Area Directors, we received flurries of last-second "emergency" emails and requests. This unfortunate lapse in leadership no doubt left certain people, such as contestants and volunteers, less than satisfied with the event. For example, contacting people less than a day before the contest to provide key details and materials is disrespectful. The coordinators could have reached out one or two weeks in advance, especially to contestants, who were known as early as October 13 when the Area contest ended. Moreover, a sloppy event with unprepared participants and disorganized agenda isn't much fun for attendees.
To be honest, the lack of preparation showed in the quality of the event. Previously, I noted that the Area contest was one time when I could see my efforts come to fruition. The venue was packed with an overflow of 20 people in standing room only. That's for an event that featured just 13 clubs (Area 20 and 21). This time, we had about one-third the number of attendees at the same venue for a Division event comprised of 26 clubs. Most of these were the District leaders and functionaries running the contest, rather than members of the participating clubs. Nevertheless, a number of those members that did show up were from clubs in my Area. They were in good spirits as our Area competitors took first place in both the Evaluation and Humorous Speech contests.
I still strongly believe that individual club members should run their own special events, as they did in our Area contest, rather than expecting the same group of people who "have to be there" to do everything. Indeed, this culture of "just get the Area Directors to do everything" is pervasive throughout the Toastmasters hierarchy. I also suspect it is a primary reason most Area Directors refuse subsequent leadership roles.
To make the Area Director experience a bit more palatable during the hard times, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a strong team. Having an organized, well-informed, and communicative Division Director, alongside fellow Area Directors who manage their fair share of the responsibilities, makes the system reasonable for everyone. Of course, there are additional factors, such as processing times and protocols all the way up to WHQ and then down to the District leaders, that come into play. Once any of these pieces, big or small, starts to slip, the burden on Area Directors spirals out of control, since they are stuck with the majority of the tasks and given the fewest resources.
Seeing the contrast between what was accomplished by our team at the Area level compared to the Division level makes me all the more grateful for the people I worked with to execute the Area contest.
Future Area Directors beware - the people you work with make a big difference.
On the other hand, this period wasn't entirely peaceful, as the individuals managing this contest were far less organized and timely than our team during the Area contest. As Area Directors, we received flurries of last-second "emergency" emails and requests. This unfortunate lapse in leadership no doubt left certain people, such as contestants and volunteers, less than satisfied with the event. For example, contacting people less than a day before the contest to provide key details and materials is disrespectful. The coordinators could have reached out one or two weeks in advance, especially to contestants, who were known as early as October 13 when the Area contest ended. Moreover, a sloppy event with unprepared participants and disorganized agenda isn't much fun for attendees.
To be honest, the lack of preparation showed in the quality of the event. Previously, I noted that the Area contest was one time when I could see my efforts come to fruition. The venue was packed with an overflow of 20 people in standing room only. That's for an event that featured just 13 clubs (Area 20 and 21). This time, we had about one-third the number of attendees at the same venue for a Division event comprised of 26 clubs. Most of these were the District leaders and functionaries running the contest, rather than members of the participating clubs. Nevertheless, a number of those members that did show up were from clubs in my Area. They were in good spirits as our Area competitors took first place in both the Evaluation and Humorous Speech contests.
I still strongly believe that individual club members should run their own special events, as they did in our Area contest, rather than expecting the same group of people who "have to be there" to do everything. Indeed, this culture of "just get the Area Directors to do everything" is pervasive throughout the Toastmasters hierarchy. I also suspect it is a primary reason most Area Directors refuse subsequent leadership roles.
To make the Area Director experience a bit more palatable during the hard times, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a strong team. Having an organized, well-informed, and communicative Division Director, alongside fellow Area Directors who manage their fair share of the responsibilities, makes the system reasonable for everyone. Of course, there are additional factors, such as processing times and protocols all the way up to WHQ and then down to the District leaders, that come into play. Once any of these pieces, big or small, starts to slip, the burden on Area Directors spirals out of control, since they are stuck with the majority of the tasks and given the fewest resources.
Seeing the contrast between what was accomplished by our team at the Area level compared to the Division level makes me all the more grateful for the people I worked with to execute the Area contest.
Future Area Directors beware - the people you work with make a big difference.
The November Area Newsletter
With the Division contests just days away, there was a rare upcoming moment of rest for club leaders. I highlighted these items in my November newsletter:
- Area Contests: I thanked everyone for their efforts in making the event a success and reminded them of the winners from our Area.
- Division Contests: I provided the event details for the Divison B contest and invited all to attend. Further, I noted who they could contact if they wanted to volunteer.
- Smedley Award: The final data on the Smedley Award was still not processed by WHQ at this time. Nevertheless, we expected one club to be eligible after recently adding six new members. In addition, I recognized two other clubs that added four new members.
- Club Focus: I noted that the Division contest was the last major event on the District agenda for the calendar year. I suggested that clubs take this time to focus on internal matters of interest. Moreover, I gave examples that I saw the different clubs considering, such as open houses, social events, mentorship strategies, and the Moments of Truth* program.
- Outline of 2019 Events: After, I provided a list of the major milestones coming up in the new year, which included the club contests, TLI, Area contests, dues renewal, Division contests, and District conference/contests.
- A Request for Feedback: Lastly, I invited all of the club leaders to provide feedback that would be valuable to my professional development. Asking for feedback was part of my Level 5 Pathways project in this case, but I think it would be a wise thing to do at mid-year for any Area Director. There is an added benefit to the people providing feedback, since we still have plenty of time to improve our future interactions based on their current feedback.
*Moments of Truth is part of The Successful Club Series. The program encourages clubs to reflect on key areas that are critical to maintaining a quality member experience. It is recommended that all clubs run the program at least once per year.