One thing that did not surprise me today when I attended the District 30 Winter Toastmasters Leadership Institute is that the team put together by the TLI Dean includes a couple who are current Division Governors, each holding two major positions.  One Division Governor was the Assistant Dean and Publicity Chair, the other was the Registration Chair and Program Editor.  While the two belong to the same club as the Dean and understandably they are close friends she felt comfortable working with, it does give a bad impression of the talent base that District 30 has in which the powers that be seem to rely only on a few people who are already overloaded with District 30 work, while neglecting other talent who are not doing anything for District 30 and perhaps could do a more effective job as they could focus solely on helping an event such as the Winter TLI.  The last District 30 conference two months ago was another example in which at least 5 of the committee chairs are either an Area or a Division Governor, and many events before that had similar examples.

One reason I think loading committee chairs and other volunteer positions with those currently serving a major role in a District is not a good thing is that any District role, be an officer or in a committee, requires plenty of time and energy for the person to perform well.  Having more than one responsibility could result in the person neglecting one of his or her responsibilities and perhaps dilute the person’s performance in all Toastmaster roles.  The results could be devastating for the District – the conferences and TLIs may not be conducted as well as they could have, those with multiple roles could get burned out and disillusioned with Toastmasters perhaps even before their terms as District officers expire (I’ve seen this with some people here in District 30), those on the outside that wanted to help but were not offered anything could feel neglected by their District and may no longer consider volunteering for a District role, resulting in a depleted pool of talent the District could use in recruiting future Area Governors, conference chairs, TLI Deans and many other roles.  The District may end up going back to square one and take more riskier chances in recruiting new talent.

I would urge anyone who is running an event such as a District Conference or a TLI to expand their pool of potential chairs and other volunteer roles by looking past those currently with a District role, ignoring them altogether if possible.  I think those who have served as Area or Division Governor the previous year or two and are not serving a District role to be better candidates as they could continue contributing to their District in a different capacity with a much shorter time commitment.  Those who never were involved beyond the club level but have shown a passion for Toastmasters are great candidates as they could learn more about the organization, perhaps motivating them to take more responsibilities in their own clubs and Districts.

In a volunteer organization like Toastmasters, the future can be as important or even more so than the present.  It is up to those running their Districts and their events to ensure that the ride can be easier later on than it is now by making talent development one of their top priorities.