It is June, so that means it is time to elect a new slate of officers for the next Toastmaster year. If your club is like many I have worked with, this is crunch time. You have a few officers that want to stay, a few new candidates, but there are some glaring gaps in your officer list. Maybe you don’t have someone that wants to step up and be President, take on the task of Vice President of Education, or show up and be Sergeant At Arms. Why are people not stepping up and taking a greater role in the leadership of the club?

1. You Haven’t Explained What is Required of Each Officer’s Role

Your club members might not know what each officer in a club does. As part of your club succession planning, you should have each of the current officers explain what their position entails and how they help the club. You should also provide written and spoken overviews of each officer role and how it contributes to the success of the club.

2. The Unfilled Roles Have Too Much Responsibility

Clubs put a lot of work on a few key roles. The executive team in the club should make every attempt to spread the work of the club across officers and committees. Not doing so could leave one or two positions open because people have the perception that it is too big of a job for one person.

3. The Current Person in that Role Did Not Fulfill Their Obligation to the Club

Did you not fill an abandoned officer position? Not doing so during the year might have left a gap that another officer or team of officers filled. Without that person there supporting the club, people might think that the position is undesirable or they don’t feel that the club needs that person anymore.

4. You Haven’t Asked People Personally

There are people in your club that want to help out, but you just need to ask. Whether they are shy, or just don’t know the role. You need to add a personal touch to get them to step up and take on additional responsibility.

5. Current Officers Have Not Developed Committees of Successors

Each of your officers should be building a team of potential successors. Toastmasters wear many hats outside of their clubs, so building a team helps spread out the work of running a club. It also makes succession easier, because committees are filled with people that understand what the officer does and how they can step up and fill their role.

6. You Have Not Demonstrated How Officers Benefit the Club

When officers do a good job, you should recognize the impact their role has on the club. If the work the club officers do is invisible, then your club members will not know how they contribute to the success of the club.

7. Leadership Program is not Stressed in Your Club

If you are not highlighting the Toastmasters Leadership program, then you are not demonstrating how being an officer helps members get their Advanced Leadership goals. Not doing so can hurt the growth of your club and accomplishment of club goals.

8. There Was No Nominating Committee

Having a nominating committee of past officers and mentors helps your club select the officers that will lead in the future. Nominating committees are important, because they take the burden off of the current leadership and gives impartiality to the process.

9. You are Scrambling at the Last Minute to Fill Roles

It is June and you haven’t talked about filling the roles. Getting all of the officers assigned can take time, so you should have started your planning before April in order to make sure you have the right people in the right positions before the July 1st deadline. It also gives current officers time to mentor new officers and transition responsibility cleanly.

10. The Club Does Not Understand How Officers Help Accomplish DCP Goals

If your club is not emphasizing the DCP program, then your members don’t know how officer selection affects their Distinguished Club Program Status. Having an officer list submitted is one of the goals of the DCP program and not having it stymies your goal accomplishment for the coming year.

Being an officer can be a very fulfilling task in any organization. Make sure that you are demonstrating the role you play in your club and how being an officer gives you deep satisfaction in helping a club reach its goals.

I hope you are doing well in finding officers to lead your club this year.

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