Dave Curry
Concept Five - Add A Spark To Club Officer Training
One detail to better understand this concept is that Montana
does centralized Club Officer training on the day prior to
our District Convention. This is to encourage convention attendance,
establish camaraderie, use designated funds to reward attendance,
and give the governor an opportunity to sell their goals and
objectives. The training is at the convention site and parallels
the District and Foundation Board meetings. I know that club
officer training is not done at all district conventions,
so the concept may not directly apply to your district, but
you can still take this principal, or other thoughts generated,
and add a spark to your club officer training.
We all want club officers to succeed and to know that they
are an integral part of our leadership team. At the 1999 training,
in addition to presenting District goals and objectives, each
individual received a sheet of 15 ideas to help make their
year a success. It only takes five minutes to review the most
important items on the sheet (we reviewed the five most important).
An idea sheet is a simple way to show interest in THEIR success
as you emphasize the importance they have in OUR success as
a district. I have enclosed a copy of that sheet and have
taken it with me to every district that I had the opportunity
to counsel, giving a copy to any incoming club officer that
wanted one. Here's an example of how I presented one of our
five emphasized ideas:
- "Work With The Workable" - Over the years I
have watched as folks try to get a group excited by trying
to motivate someone in the club (usually past presidents
or long standing members), figuring that if they can get
this individual excited, they'll be able to get everyone
excited. It doesn't work and tends to get the "motivator"
de-motivated, and the "non-motivatable" justified
in their lack of excitement. The solution? Focus on one
effort, drive that to success with a few members who are
interested (often new members, ask for a show of hands),
reward, and watch the skeptics suddenly be interested in
participating in the future as the number of motivated and
involved individuals in the group grows. As club president,
we had a highway cleanup effort during my first month of
service. I asked for volunteers, but only two individuals
showed up. The three of us cleaned the highway, and at the
very next meeting I gave "the two individuals who were
the most helpful" a coffee cup, with lots of appreciation
and recognition. I did this with all our projects. The result?
At the second highway cleanup we had 17 members there -
Work with the workable.
Some considerations:
- Present your ideas about half way through training so
that folks have a break from a straight KI program.
- Present ideas from the heart - include examples of things
that worked for you, not just ideas from others.
- Think outside the box for ideas with spirit, they already
get trained for logistic and operational information.
PS, at the next Club Officer Training (2000) we had an increase
in attendance of 50% in the number of officers than had been
trained in the previous years. I attribute this increased
attendance primarily to three things:
- Club Officer's evening dinner & hotel stay were paid
as part of the dues increase (discussed last month).
- There was a special event (the Governor's Roast) held
at the completion of the days training session.
- This training & Gov. Roast were heavily promoted at
the Town Meetings and Official Visits that prior fall.
It was heartwarming to see a room overflowing with interested
individuals, ready to serve, it's worth your time!
Sometimes the most effective leadership requires concentrating
on the success of those that surround you.
Fifteen Ideas For A Great Year As A Club President
- Wrap YOUR Goals Around The Goals Of Others - Personalize
the goals of others that you are serving with. For example,
if the Lieutenant Governor has established a goal of a 3%
increase in membership, and you have a club size of 66,
you only have to increase by 2 individuals. Why don't you
set your growth goal to having a club size of 70? The Lieutenant
Governor should be quite pleased that your goal is double
their expectations, and you have your own goal to shoot
for, and one that sets a milestone for the club.
- Set Goals For MILESTONES - You will be more excited
to reach a milestone than an incremental increase. For example,
"having a club size of 70 members" is a more exciting
goal than "having an increase of 3% in membership".
- Shoot For A Legacy - Make a lasting impact by selecting
some goals that will have an enduring effect on your club
for years - For example, start a program like One-A-Year
to bring in new members, or a new service project, or (insert
YOUR idea here). Folks are more excited if some of their
efforts are for something new and enduring.
- Plan Your Work And Present Your Plan At Your Installation
- Be ready to present a vision for the club at your Installation
Dinner or first meeting, and then have a plan to show that
you are serious with some steps toward your goal at some
of those first meetings.
- Start Early To Set The Tone - You will go far in
attaining your goals if you start "before you start".
For example, if your goal is membership, have a prospective
member ready to attend your first meeting so that you are
prepared to start with success and set the example.
- Learn To Turn Your M's Upside Down - Turn your
ME's to WE's. Instead of "My year", this is "Our
year". This little communication tool will go far in
presenting a team feeling instead of "my year syndrome".
- Focus, Focus, Focus - One of my favorite sayings
is "If you chase two rabbits, both will escape".
Although concerned with many things as a club officer, we
need to focus on one major item at a time to achieve success.
- Give New Folks A Chance To Lead - Newcomers as
club leaders? They can be just as excited as anyone else,
and they are not usually as "burned out" as some
leaders that have been around for a while.
- Work With The Workable. It is so much easier, and
more rewarding, to work with the ones who are actually performing
instead of trying to drag the uninterested along. If you
are working together with interested members, and are obviously
enjoying the process, others will join in.
- Do Twice As Much Yourself - It is too hard to
convince others to do more than you are willing to do -
Do you want an average of everyone putting in 3 hours on
a project? Then you should promise to spend 6 and tell them
so!
- Reward, Reward, Reward - After your first club
project (hold one your first week in office), reward the
two most helpful individuals with a coffee cup. Continue
that and watch in awe as others start to assist more.
- Be Positive, Even When You Shouldn't Be - The
easiest trap to fall into, as a club president, is agreeing
with the negative comments of other club members - be sensitive
to finding the reasons why it can be done."
- Persevere, Persevere, Persevere - A significant
difference between Distinguished Club Presidents and others,
is that they often all start with a bang, but a Distinguished
President usually continues to lead during the "middle
months", when everyone thinks that no one is listening
- February, March, and April are your keys to success!
- Promote Conventions By Being There - To really
"go wild", bring someone new with you to share
expenses!
- Start Meetings With Humor - Start all meetings
with humor, set the mood. Not good at jokes? Recruit someone
who is, assign a story teller of the week. Make your meetings
fun and others will start showing up more often!
For more information contact:
Name: Dave Curry
Address: 1204 W Woolman
 Butte,
MT 59701
Phone: (406) 723-8067
email: Dave Curry
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