What I learned at Toastmaster's officer training

We attended a wonderful officer training program in Lemoyne, PA. The keynote speaker was Dr. Dilip Abayasekara, Ph.D. He had a lot to say. What really struck me was his comment on learning leadership skills. The best place to do it? In a volunteer organization. We have all heard that learning to speak at Toastmasters is a good idea, since you can mess up and your boss will never know. But learning leadership? Well, in the working world if you are the boss, employees will do what you tell them, because their paycheck depends on it. With volunteers, you have to make people want to help you, make them share your dream and vision.

In organizational behavior, there is a lot of talk about theory X and theory Y. In brief, Theory X employees work to avoid punishment and Theory Y employees work because they love to and enjoy their job. The real world is in between. In Toastmasters, we have only the carrot and not the stick. Being a club president or other leadership role, can help anyone learn the art of positive motivation.