Today’s guest post is from Bob Jensen, a fellow Champions’ EDGE Member. In his post, Bob discusses Club Coaches and how a coach can assist struggling Toastmasters clubs. Bob’s article is a great overview of the club coach program and I am grateful for his contribution.
Toastmasters International recognizes that there is a natural ebb and flow to club membership cycle. Unless proper care and feeding is given to a Toastmaster club’s membership program, an otherwise strong club might find itself facing a precipitous decline in membership in a relatively short period of time.
Once a club has 12 or fewer members, the chances of the entire club folding are very high. “Club Coaches” are promoted by Toastmasters International as the official remedy for clubs on life support.
Why does club membership decline?
Toastmasters International points out that there are many factors affecting club membership, such as unexciting/routine programs, layoffs in corporate clubs, etc.
What I’ve noticed are several distinct trends, in particular:
- Corporate clubs start out very strong, but around the 18 to 24 month mark in a club’s lifecycle, membership drops off as members get their Competent Communicator award and do not wish to pursue any of the advanced manuals. This is typically around 35% of a club’s membership! Without a steady stream of replacements within the company (new hires and newly interested employees), a club chartered at the usual strength of 20 can dip down to a precarious 12 or so members very quickly.
- Some clubs have a number of “grizzled veterans” who have plans to become professional speakers. They have completed many advanced manuals and now use their club to practice their off-manual speeches. New members may join but often get frustrated after delivering their icebreaker speeches and disappear.
- Many clubs will have a year being led by very successful “Type A” leaders. These leaders often do a less-than-adequate job of grooming their successors, or promote “followers” who lack the leadership experience to continue a club’s success in subsequent years.
Enter the Club Coach
A club that hits the magic 12 member threshold can (and should) request a club coach from their District Governor as soon as possible. A District Governor can appoint up to two club coaches to a specific club.
I’ve seen three types of club coaches:
- The hard-charging energetic newcomer, relatively inexperienced in Toastmasters (maybe has a CC) but has the enthusiasm to make a difference.
- The midlevel Toastmaster, three to five years experience, who is looking for the checkoff required on the DTM requirement to serve successfully as a club sponsor/club coach.
- The Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), who has done this before and enjoys doing this….or is doing a favor for the District Governor.
Each of the above club coach types has its own unique benefits and pitfalls. A DTM, for example, while having a wealth of experience, may be somewhat older and set in his/her ways.
It is vitally important to negotiate a good fit between the club coach and the toastmasters club. It is perfectly acceptable to ask the District Governor for a trial period (60 days should be fine) to see if a Club Coach is agreeable to your members. Make it very clear to the District Governor that your club reserves the right to seek a replacement club coach if it feels there is not a good fit!!
Club coaches do receive training from Toastmasters International, however, a good many coaches tend to disregard some or all of this training. Some club coaches arrive at a club with the intention of remaking the club into the image of their “home” club, in direct contradiction of Toastmaster policy.
Members should realize that the primary function of club coaches is to provide advice and direction.
Beware the Ides of ….APRIL?
Toastmasters collect club dues in October and April of each year. Quite often, club membership will decline in the April dues period to the magic number of 12.
There is a special situation you should watch out for in April: there is a certain type of Toastmaster who sees an opportunity to get a “quick” club coach credit by volunteering in April with the intent of manipulating the system to get a quick DCP credit by June 30th (the end of the Toastmaster year). In essence, these Toastmasters want to compress a year’s assignment into a few short months. Be particularly wary of accepting any club coach in this period. They’ll often join your club and contribute a CC or an advanced award they’re working on, and will focus almost entirely on membership building, including applying heavy pressure on former members to rejoin (offering unofficial “club discounts” for renewals) and occasionally signing “phantom members” (club coach spouses being first and foremost). These club coaches won’t fix underlying issues, they merely supply a fresh coat of paint over a rickety foundation.
Club coaches CAN help
Like everything else in life, there is a vast range in the quality of Toastmaster club coaches. Some Toastmasters can give great speeches but cannot supply club leadership, and vice versa. A club coach is only as good as the Toastmaster filling the role. Make sure you have a good fit with your club, have expectations discussed and agreed to in writing, and work as equal partners with your club coach and a faltering club can right itself and become successful once again.
Bob Jensen is a District 14 Toastmaster living in Peachtree City, GA. He is a member of the Peachtree City Toastmasters club.
Great article about the pitfalls of a club coach. How about a post about how to be a successful coach?