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The more you become involved in Toastmasters, the more you will benefit from the Toastmasters programme. There are a number of leadership learning experiences available to extend your skills and knowledge both within and outside the Toastmasters Club environment.
The Toastmasters Competent Leadership Manual consists of 10 leadership projects. Each project focuses on a different leadership skill, providing background information and an assignment that requires you to serve in one or more specified meeting or club roles in which you may learn an aspect of that skill.
An evaluator will give you verbal and written feedback on each leadership role you complete in the manual. The evaluator provides a personal opinion of your leadership role, pointing out strengths and offering suggestions for improvement for your next role.
You can complete the Competent Leadership manual at your own pace, and you can work on it at the same time as you are working on the Competent Communication manual or Advanced Communication manuals.
The ten projects cover the following skills:
- Listening and Leadership
- Critical Thinking
- Giving Feedback
- Time Management
- Planning and Implementation
- Organising and Delegating
- Developing your Facilitation Skills
- Motivating People
- Mentoring
- Team Building
Case Study
This Case Study document lists the project activities completed, along with snippets from evaluators - Completing the Competent Leader Manual, by Dale Hartle DTM, Spinnaker/WOW Toastmasters Clubs.
Competent Leader Guide
This Guide published by Mark Cross from a Wellington club outlines what the Competent Leadership Manual is all about, and how you can successfully complete the manual in about a year. This was prepared to assist local clubs, but all Toastmasters are welcome to download and review the Guide for ideas and information when working on the Manual. Download and print Competent Leader Guide (21 page pdf) and refer to the Competent Leader Matrix.
The Successful Club Series is a set of modules you can present to your Club that address various aspects of quality Club meetings, emphasising what every member can do to help the Club and other members.
Modules include:
- Moments of Truth - how to capture your visitors as members
- Finding New Members for your Club - proven methods to seek out vital new members
- Evaluate to Motivate - teach your club members how to give effective evaluations
- Closing the Sale - exercise your powers of persuasion during those moments when a guest is deciding to join
- Creating the Best Club Climate - techniques for creating and maintaining a healthy club environment
- Meeting Roles and Responsibilities - how members can successfully fill each meeting role
- Mentoring - defines mentoring, explains benefits, and discusses responsibilities of mentors
- Keeping the Commitment - discusses the 10 standards that comprise "A Toastmasters Promise"
- Going Beyond Our Club - learn about the leadership opportunities available outside the club
- How to be a Distinguished Club - a tool to explain and promote the Distinguished Club Program
- The Toastmasters Education Program - find out what it takes to be a Competent Communicator, and achieve other Toastmaster awards
Presenting any two of these modules completes one of the requirements of the Advanced Leader Bronze Award.
The Better Speaker Series is a set of 10 minute educational modules on speech preparation and presentation that you can present to your Club.
Modules available are:
- Beginning your Speech - suggestions for starting off right
- Concluding your Speech - tips for ending your speech with power
- Take the Terror Out of a Talk - techniques for overcoming nervousness when speaking
- Impromptu Speaking - how to speak off the cuff
- Selecting your Topic - ideas for speech topics
- Know your Audience - how to relate to your audience
- Organising your Speech - know what to say and how to say it
- Creating an Introduction - great introductions should precede great speeches
- Preparation and Practice - techniques for preparing and rehearsing your next speech
- Using Body Language - explains how to use facial expressions, gestures, and body movement to enhance a speech
Completing any two programs from the Better Speaker Series completes one of the requirements of the Advanced Communicator Silver Award.
You can learn valuable communication and leadership skills by conducting or participating in these modules. Each module or seminar can be conducted within the Club for members' education or outside of the Club in your organisation or community to build goodwill.
Success/Leadership modules available are:
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How to conduct Productive Meetings
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Parliamentary Procedure in Action
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Leadership, Part I: Characteristics of Effective Leaders
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Leadership, Part II: Developing your Leadership Skills
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Leadership, Part III: Working in the Team Environment
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Improving your Management Skills
Success/Communication modules available are:
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Running a Speechcraft Course
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How to Listen Effectively
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The Art of Effective Evaluation
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Building your Thinking Power, Part I: Mental Flexibility
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Building your Thinking Power, Part II: The Power of Ideas
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From Speaker to Trainer
Completion of one of the Success/Leadership or Success/Communication modules completes one of the requirements for the Advanced Communicator Gold Award.
The Leadership Excellence Series is a new series based around building leaders for tomorrow. These modules are ideal for Area Governors to present to clubs when doing their club visits. Modules available include:
- The Visionary Leader - discusses how leaders create and communicate a vision for their organisation to help it be successful
- Developing a Mission - addresses how successful leaders create and communicate a mission
- Values and Leadership - examines values and how to employ them as you lead a team toward achieving a goal
- Goal Setting and Planning - reviews the processes leaders use to set goals and develop plans to achieve these goals
- Delegate to Empower - discusses how to effectively delegate tasks and responsibilities
- Building a Team - reviews how to create and lead a team
- Giving Effective Feedback - provides succestions for offering feedback to others on their performance
- The Leader as a Coach - discusses how to work with a team to help them improve
- Motivating People - examines how to be sensitive to your team members' needs and create an environment that will motivate them
- Service and Leadership - discusses how leaders actually serve team members
- Resolving Conflict - reviews why conflict occurs and what a leader can do when it happens
Presenting any two of these modules completes one of the requirements of the Advanced Leader Bronze Award.
This is a hands-on, 5 project skill-building programme that requires you to conduct a project of your choice in which you serve as a leader. Reflecting your own goals, the project may be affiliated with your participation at Club, Area, Division, District, business or community level.
The High Performance leadership manual walks you through the project's different phases, providing study material and activities to complete. As you progress you'll learn about:
* The need for leadership, the six dimensions of leadership, your current leadership skills and becoming a more effective leader
*Developing a vision and a mission
* Building a team and creating an action plan
* Helping the team accomplish its mission and dealing with setbacks
* Analysing efforts
Providing help through each phase is a Guidance Committee - people you select to counsel you and evaluate your work.
The High Performance Leadership Programme is part of Toastmasters' leadership track and is one of the requirements for the Advanced Leader Silver Award. Read about some of the projects other Toastmasters have completed, and some case studies about their experiences.
Go to the District Supplies Catalogue for full details and an order form.
Competent Leadership Project: Members serving as mentors on a Guidance Committee for Toastmasters completing the High Performance Leadership Project gain credit for a project in the Competent Leadership Award. Please refer to Project 10 in the manual for more information.
The Youth Leadership Programme is an opportunity for you to work with young people, helping them learn speaking and leadership skills they will need to be successful adults. This Programme is ideal for teaching youngsters who are under the age of 18 years how to prepare and deliver short speeches on topics of interest.
 The November 2003 issue of "The Toastmaster" has focusses on leadership, including several articles about leaders which you will find interesting.
- Leadership from A to Z, page 14
- When Leadership Finds You, page 17
- Lead by Example, page 20
- 10 Commandments of Ethical Leadership, page 22
In the February 2007 issue you will find an excellent article entitled:
"What to Do after you receive your DTM".
What's the difference between leaders that are great and other leaders?
Wally Bock, author and keynote speaker, studied 36 great leaders in the United States, and asked,
"So, what do they DO different?"
He summarised the results of his research into 5 main areas:
- Great leaders show up a lot - they are everywhere, all the time, and know everyone
- Great leaders rehearse mentally - they play "what if" in their head
- Great leaders manage the consequences of performance - they model the behaviour they want and practise leadership by example
- Great leaders do lots of performance interviews - they spend up to an hour per person discussing and agreeing the behaviour and performance they want
- Great leaders critique their own leadership performance - they are always seeking ways to improve or change to get the results they want
Visit Wally Bock's website (http://www.bockinfo.com/docs/dodiffer.htm) for the full article on Leadership.
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