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This
is understandable; most people join Toastmasters to become better
speakers. The leadership skills we develop during our membership seem a
byproduct of the overall program. For example, we’re scheduled to be
Toastmaster of the meeting and suddenly, we’re up in front of the
group, introducing people, leading the applause, monitoring the time:
We’re leaders!
這是可理解的；大部分參加演講會，是為了精進成為較佳的演說者。在我們成員之間所發展的領導能力技巧，似乎是整個課程裡的副產品。例如，我們被安排當會議總主持人;突然間，我們要站在群眾面前、介紹演講者、引領拍手、掌控時間：這時候，我們是領導者！
After a while, we find ourselves being elected to a club office and more
skills come our way. As club president, we can add our own touch to make
our club even better, bigger and more fun.
一晃眼後，我們發現自己被選為幹部，更多的技巧擺在眼前要我們學習。當分會會長時，我們可以加入自己的風格，使我們的分會更好、更強壯、更有趣。
Some people take to leadership like a cat to a warm windowsill. Others
reluctantly take on an officer role to fulfill a requirement. Even those
hesitant officers, however, usually start to enjoy the role once they
see how they can positively impact their club and, in turn, the personal
growth of their fellow members. But getting to that point can seem
overwhelming to those who are trying a club officer role for the first
time. How does a new officer arrive at that happy state of
accomplishment? Good news! It’s not as hard as it might seem.
一些人視領導能力，像一個溫暖窗台上的貓。其他人，則不情願地承擔幹部角色，來應付需求。然而，甚至那些猶豫不決的幹部，一旦看到自己的行為，可以正面的影響他們的分會，反應在會員們的個人成長，就開始享受他們的成果。要達到這個目的，首先必須接受擔任幹的角色。對一位新進的幹部，要如何有如此的成就呢？好消息，看起來並不太難。
Be
Creative and Everyone Wins
有創造性，眾人皆贏家
No matter how an officer begins his or her term, one thing is certain:
The excited, creative, forward-thinking officer will help develop a
thriving club, recognized for its quality and high-energy meetings. It
will be a win-win-win situation: The club will continue to grow and
achieve Distinguished status, the members will benefit from a well-run
meeting and achieve their own goals, and the officers will improve their
own leadership and team-building skills.
無論幹部是如何開始他或他的任期，有件事是確定的：熱情、有創造力、以及向前看的幹部，將會使該分會更興旺，特別是有高品質及高能量的例會。這將是一個贏-贏-贏，三贏的情況：分會將繼續成長，達到傑出分會的程度，會員們從運成良好的例會，達到他們的目標，幹部們也會增進他們自己的領導以及團隊管理的技巧。
I’ve seen positive changes take place in my own club and can attribute
many of them to two recent club officers. In the two years they served
together, they made an enormous impact. Emi Bauer and Liz Shaw (both
newly minted DTMs, by the way) worked well together, and along with
their team of officers, developed some new,
never-before-tried-in-our-club ideas. They also revived programs that
had been unsuccessfully attempted in the past – and made them work.
在我的母會，我已經看到正向的改變，都歸功於最近兩位分會幹部-鮑爾和蕭(順便一提,他們是新出爐的傑出會員）。他們一起工作服務二年，造成一個巨大的影響。他們在一起工作，和與他們的小組幹部相處都很好，發展某種新的，以前從未試過的想法。他們也恢復以前嘗試失敗的計畫，使它們可以運作。
Bauer and Shaw took turns serving as president for a year and vice
president education (VPE) for another year. They implemented programs
such as these:
鮑爾和蕭輪流當會長和教育副會長各一年。他們執行的計畫諸如：
• A monthly orientation
class
每月一次召開新會員及來賓新生訓練
for members and guests, which included a packet for new members. The
orientation had been tried once or twice before, but was never handled
with regularity. owever, once it was automatically scheduled for the
last meeting of every month, we started seeing more guests become club
members among the guests who had attended the class. In addition, new
members understood more about the educational awards, as well as the
scope of the Toastmasters organization outside the club.
類似活動，以前已做過一二次，但未規律性在運作。一旦自動安排在每月的最後一個例會，我們將遇見更多以前參加課程的來賓，成為正式會員。此外，新會員也了解更多有關教育獎項，和分會以外演講會的組織。
• A mentoring
program
指導員課程
in which mentors were assigned right away to new members, informed of
their mentee’s scheduled Toastmasters activities, and encouraged to
contact them and offer assistance with speeches and meeting roles.
新會員加入時，馬上指派一位指導會員。告知他們的會員既訂的演講會的活動，鼓勵多與他們聯繫，和提供演講和會議角色的協助。
• A monthly new
member induction
每月舉辦新會員入會儀式
made festive with the addition of light refreshments. This, too, had
been done sporadically, but now that it was regularly scheduled, it was
easy to know who had been inducted. New members were now presented with
a certificate and a copy of the Toastmasters Promise card, and their
mentor stood with them during the induction.
準備輕食點心。這個也是過去偶而會做的事，但是現在被定期安排，如此，才很容易知道誰已經經過入會儀式。在入會儀式中，新會員將會接受證書，以及演講會會員承諾事項的卡片，而且他們的指導會友，會和他們的新會員站在一起。
• Optional social
events
分會例會結束後
held
after the club meetings at a local fast-food restaurant, so members
could get to know one another on a more personal level. This helped
newer members feel like a part of the group much sooner than they would
have by simply attending the weekly meetings, where we have to rush to
leave when the meeting ends.
於分會例會結束後，自由參加在附近的速食餐廳，所辦理的會外活動。如此可以讓新會員，很快的感覺到是團體的一員。如果只是單純參加定期例會，會後又馬上離開的話，是不會讓新會員有這種感覺的。
• A defined method
for tracking member progress
會員成長的步驟
toward the various educational awards. This way, members scheduled the
functions or speeches necessary to reach their particular goals. The
process helped the club reach its Distinguished Club Program goals, but
more importantly, it helped each member reach their individual goals and
be recognized for such accomplishments.
並邁向不同的教育獎項，有很明確的方法。這個方法，也可以幫助分會達到傑出會員計畫的目標，但更重要的是，它幫助每位會員達到他們個人目標，和被承認他們的某種成就。
“When you know who is close to achieving the different educational
awards, it makes club success planning easy, and in order to know who is
close, you must track progress,” says Bauer. She also helped members
plan ahead by creating an “In Line to Speak” feature on the club agenda,
so members could see at which meeting they were scheduled to give a
speech.
「當你瞭解，那一位會員會先完成不同的教育獎項，將會很容易規劃分會成功計畫，為了要瞭解會員的進度，你必須要追蹤」鮑爾說。藉著創造一個「預先排隊演講」，形成分會議程表上的特色，使會員計可以在議程表上，看到自己在那一次例會上，發表什麼進度的演講。
• A systematic way
to make a big deal of every achievement
一個有系統的方法，使每項成就都是件大事
helped
them discover the joys of celebrating their fellow members’
accomplishments. “People who are recognized for what they do will do
more,” Liz Shaw says. “As everyone does their part, the DCP goals will
be met.” When the club thrives and the members do well, it’s a powerful
creative stimulant for club leaders. In fact, this is one of the most
popular and successful tactics that club presidents and VPEs employ
throughout Toastmasters. The Dobson Ranch club in Mesa, Arizona, also
believes recognition is important. They even re-award plaques, trophies
or other honors earned outside the club, such as district awards.
幫助他們察覺到，會員們慶祝達到成就的喜悅。「被表揚有做為的人們將會做更多，」蕭說。「當每個人各盡其責，傑出分會計畫目標將會達到。」當分會興旺，會員做得好，這是對分會領導者有力的創造激勵物。事實上，這是所有演講會會長，和教育副會長最常使用，也是最成功的策略之ㄧ。亞歷桑納州梅塞市山多布森農場演講會，相信表揚是重要的。他們甚至在分會之外，像是地區總會的場合，另外頒發獎牌，其他榮譽。
•
Set the
tone.
設定風格
“If the
president has a laissez-faire approach to running the club, that
kind of energy is communicated to the members,” Shaw notes. “But if the
president communicates commitment, enthusiasm and professionalism, that
is what the members will respond to.”
「假如會長以自由放任的方式去經營分會，這種是對會員傳遞的能量。」蕭提起。「但是如果會長傳遞承諾，熱情和專業。這將是會員所要回應的。」
“If officers are enthusiastic and excited about meetings, they bring the
fun with them,” Shaw says. “Members sense that and respond in kind.
Pretty soon everyone comes expecting to have fun and their own energy
fulfills their expectations.”
「假如幹部對例會是熱情且興奮的，他們會帶來趣味的事物，」蕭說。「會員感覺到其中趣味性，實際地做出回應。每個人很快的期待到有趣，他們自己的能量就會實現他們的期待。」
Enjoying
the benefits of the leadership experience
享受領導能力經驗的好處
Not all of these programs were easy to incorporate, and not all became
permanent club routines. Sometimes a club simply needs to overcome
resistance to change. But leadership can be about taking risks and
thinking outside the box – merely trying something new helps build
excitement. As Bauer points out, “When you simply follow in your
predecessor’s steps, are you really experiencing and learning as much as
you could be? An important aspect of innovation is to try new things and
not be afraid to fail.”
不是每個方案都容易結合起來，也不是都可以變成永久的慣例。有時分會僅僅需要克服阻礙來做改變。但是領導能力可是要冒些險，和跳脫思考模式
-
只是些新的事物幫助建立驚喜。當鮑爾指出，「當你僅僅跟著前輩的步伐走，你的體驗和學習到的，真得會如你期望嗎？一個重要的創新局面是，嘗試新事物，不怕會失敗。」
While they believe that Toastmasters club officer training is important,
they also say that sharing ideas with other club officers – and visiting
other clubs – provides invaluable learning and the brilliant spark of
new ideas. All clubs are not the same, so one-size-fits-all training
doesn’t always help. Talking with members from similar clubs whether
in size or geographic location, can provide solutions to unique
situations that may not be covered strictly in training. However,
training events often provide a good opportunity to network, where you
can meet other club officers and trade ideas. The best part about doing
this at a training event is that you can run ideas past more
experienced district leaders and learn how to best implement those gems
discovered in networking.
同時他們相信演講會的幹部訓練是重要的，他們也說，與其他分會分享看法，和拜訪其他分會，提供無價的學習，和擦出新看法得燦爛火花。每個分會都不一樣，使用相同的標準，是行不通的。與類似的分會會員聊天，不論分會大小，或所處地理位置，都可以提供對獨特的情況，提出不同的解決方法，不需硬性拘泥於訓練活動中。然而，訓練活動經常提供人際網路一個很好的機會，在那裏，你可以與其他分會幹部碰面，和交換看法。在這訓練活動裡，最精采的部分，是你可以與有經驗的地區領導者交換運作想法，學習如何執行從人際網發現到的領導精華。
As a
final note on becoming an effective and comfortable leader, Bauer is
also convinced that everyone – not just new members – should have a
mentor. “Every leader should have at least one mentor,” she notes. “And
the higher you go in leadership, the more mentors you should have.” With
ideas to try and mentors to guide a new officer, anyone can shake off
those fears and jump in to club leadership!
做為成為有效及愉快的領導者最後一個提示，鮑爾也承認每一位，不只是新的會員應該要有一位指導者。「每一位領導者，應該至少要有一位指導者，」他提示。「你在領導能力上位階越高，你應該要有更多的指導者。」隨著有想法去嘗試，有指導者引導新幹部，任何人都可以甩掉那些恐懼，晉升分會領導能力。
Dee
Dees, DTM, is a
30-year member of the Gilbert Toastmasters club in Gilbert, Arizona, and
served on the Toastmasters International Board of Directors from 1994 to
1996. She is a Personal Historian and the author of two books on
life-writing. Reach Dee at
deedees@lifestorylady.com.
作者：Dee
Dees, DTM，是位於亞歷桑納州吉爾伯特市，吉爾伯特演講會會員，有30年的會員經驗。1994到1996年擔任國際演講會理事，她是一位史學家，和兩本書的作者。她的電子郵件信箱deedees@lifestorylady.com.
譯者：鄭小玲
Sherry, Hsin Chu Toastmasters Club |
