1 year as Division Governor (Tamilnadu) for Toastmasters International

Imagine that you are in the beach, admiring the beauty of the sea and enjoying the waves that come to the shore, to drench your feet. Suddenly, you were thrown into the water and that too into the middle of the sea. You don't know how to swim. You are beginning to sink. The fear of death urges you to flap your hands and legs very fast. You notice that you are starting to come to the top of the water. Within moments, you realize that you are beginning to float. You try harder and start flapping your hands and legs faster, with a little focus. You realize that you are able to swim. You begin to advance to the shore with every wave that pops up from the middle of the sea. In no time, you come to the shore. Wow! That is unbelievable. There was a bigger surprise waiting for you at the shore. You see an army of people gathered at the shore, cheering you ... and congratulating you for the record that you've set in crossing the sea. This is exactly what happened in the last 1 year.

I was not thrown into the waters. But, I took up a major leadership role in Toastmasters International. I was literally thrown into the role and I learned to live as a leader of a large organization. I enjoyed everybit of the role. A role that taught me several leadership lessons, which ... even my MBA degree didn't teach. I served as the Division G Governor for all the toastmasters clubs in Tamilnadu from July 2011 to June 2012.

Looking back, I couldn't believe what I accomplished, together with my team of toastmasters, in the last 1 year. The following are some highlights of my term as the Division Governor of the toastmasters clubs in Tamilnadu:

1. Division G was the best performing division in the whole of District 82 (which includes all the clubs in South India and Srilanka)
2. We grew the number of clubs in Tamilnadu from just 21 to 35 (60% growth in a year)
3. We increased the membership from nearly 600 toastmasters to 900+ toastmasters (50% growth in a year)
4. We started a Gavel's club in Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School (for toastmasters under age 18)
5. We conducted 2 Youth Leadership Programs (YLP) for training young students in school on communication & leadership
6. We conducted 2 division conferences which was attended by record number of 275 toastmasters
7. We created a 650+ members strong Facebook community for Tamilnadu toastmasters
8. 7 out of the top 10 clubs in District 82 are from Tamilnadu (based on educational awards/membership)
9. 25% of the educational awards in District 82 were produced by Division G (District 82 had 9 different divisions)
10. We set new records in membership, educational awards, and new clubs creation thereby achieving the #1 status in the whole of District 82

Now you can imagine what I was doing during my weekends and at times, during my weekday evenings. When somebody says, "I don't have time, it means that they haven't prioritized a particular activity. They might've had time, but they would've used it for something else". I wasn't able to write even a single blog post in the last 1 year, because I didn't have time :) I was spending most of my spare time for toastmasters activities.

I got a unique opportunity to meet 1000s of people and deliver speeches in front of audience of varying sizes / age groups. The skills that I developed in a year couldn't be acquired even if I spend a million dollar in academic institutions. Thanks to Toastmasters International for offering me a platform to develop my skills and thanks to my fellow toastmasters for helping me in my leadership journey.

Now, I'm back to my good old days, doing my good old favorite activity - blogging ! You can expect to see regular blog posts from me on subjects related to R2I and my experience in India.

Time, Cost, and Quality - Pick any two

Building a product and nurturing a plant have lots of similarities. You need to invest sufficient time and resources (i.e., money) to get quality in the output. Time is indeed money. When you spend a lot of time on the project, the cost of the project goes off the roof. Though you might have built a high quality product, the product won't be appealing enough - because it will be COSTLY. On the contrary, if you rush to deliver something in a short time, compromising on the quality, the product still won't be appealing enough - because it is BUGGY. So, you need to strike a balance between these 3 factors - Time, Cost and Quality. Most of the times, you may have no choice but to select 2 of the three. You would have to compromise on Time or Cost or Quality. Based on my experience, companies often try to compromise on Quality as it is not very visible when the customer begins to evaluate a product/solution. However, it doesn't take you very long. Customer will soon figure out that the product is BUGGY and it will come back to haunt you. Successful companies have learned to strike a balance between these 3 factors. So, if you want to be successful, you should be too.

Leadership without authority

If you are working for a 'service' company, don't be surprised if you are expected to lead a small team in the first few years of your career. If you have inherited some leadership skills during your college days, it would be a boon. If not, its high time you start to focus on it.

Even before you were given the title of a 'Team Lead/Manager', you would be asked to play the 'role' of a 'Team Lead/Manager' for a short time (few months or so). That is the most challenging period for several folks. You won't have any people reporting to you. But you'll be asked to manage their deliverables. This is were you have to practice 'Leadership without authority'. You may run into a variety of challenges - based on the company, product, work culture, seniority level of your team, team member's attitude, your relationship with the team members, your skills etc., So, how do you handle those challenges? How can you be a perfect leader? I've given some tips below.

1) Role is not Title - People have complained to me in the past saying that they weren't given the title, but only the role to play. They've to be mindful about that. You were just given the 'role' & not the 'title'. So, don't start to boss around.

2) People have to accept you as a leader. You should demonstrate that you are a 'Go TO' person for problems. You don't have to solve all their problems. But, you should be in a position to suggest/guide them towards solution. At times, it is a matter of just redirecting them to the right people.

3) Listen to people's issues. You have to be a good listener.

4) Take actions - don't wait for things to escalate. You shouldn't lend a deaf year to people's concerns. Just let them know that you are working on it. People like to know the action you're taking against their requests/concerns. So, keep them posted.

5) Be organised & disciplined. These are some good traits of a good leader/manager. People should feel that you are good at tracking items/activities to completion. You should also provide a status update to folks, regularly.

6) If there are 'people issues' between your team members - try to understand the concerns of the parties. Do not take a 'one-sided' approach. Do what is good for the product/project/company. That way, it is easier to make an 'unbiased' decision.

7) Treat all your team members as 'equal'. You may have some buddies within the team. Do not share 'confidential' information even with your buddies.

8) Undergo leadership trainings & read books related to team building, leadership etc., You have to continuously 'sharpen the saw'.

9) Be pro-active & not re-active. Don't always work in fire-fighting mode. Always, think ahead & anticipate things. Be prepared.

10) Maintain good 'rapport' with all your team members. Try to interact with all of them to the extent possible. Don't always interact with them only about 'official' things. Check with them how they enjoyed their weekend. Go out with them for coffee/tea or for lunch. Have conversations & discuss about things other than work. If possible, plan for team building activities with your team.

11) Don't micro-manage people. Folks like to have freedom. At the same time, don't let them loose. Be assertive 'instead' of being 'authoritative' when communicating deadlines, expectations etc.,

12) Don't be submissive. I've seen some folks falling on the feet of their team members to get things done. This is not good. You need to demonstrate that you are a 'capable' leader.

13) Communication is key. "What", "How" & "Where" you communicate is very important. If you think you need to improve your communication skills, join Toastmasters.

14) Impress your 'boss' & your 'team members'. Don't just try to impress your boss, alone. At the end of the day, your team members are also the decision makers. They should feel comfortable working for you.

15) You may even realize that 'leading/managing a team' is not the right job for you. If so, don't pretend that you can do the role. Go and talk to your boss. See if he/she can help you in any ways. Contact other peers who have done similar roles in the past. Get guidance from them.

The best example that I can give for 'Leadership without authority' is Gandhi's efforts towards India's independence. He did not have the title, but he had the power. He was able to motivate folks to get things done towards a common cause. Your task as a leader is not very different from what Gandhi did.