From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Senator Michael Pintard Speaks on Effective Leadership During Toastmasters Month
Oct 28, 2014 - 2:15:47 PM
It was in
1924 when Ralph C. Smedley held the first Toastmasters International meeting in
a YMCA in Santa Ana, California. Over the past 90 years of the organization’s
existence, it has rapidly grown with the reputation as the pinnacle program for
developing effective communication and leadership throughout the world. The
organization is said to have more than 313,000 members in over 14,650 clubs in
126 countries.
The month
of October is observed as Toastmasters Month as Toastmasters International
celebrates its 90th birthday. On August 1st, 1972, the first club in
Grand Bahama was established, Freeport Eagles Club 1425. During this
Toastmasters' Month the Club has had a series of educational sessions teaching
new Toastmasters and guests more about the organization and also guests
speakers were invited to motivate the members in areas such as leadership. On
Thursday, October 16th, 2014, Club 1425 had the privilege of having
Senator Michael Pintard as a guest speaker. Speaking on the topic, "What
makes an effective leader", Senator Pintard inspired the members and
guests in attendance. See speech below.
Are leaders born or are they created? While some
argue that they are born, they can be created, as demonstrated in the
Toastmasters program. Leadership is the quality of mastering ourselves. It is
often measured by the person’s characteristics, style, or function. However,
leadership should be measured by the balance of the three.
What is leadership? Leadership is the ability to
motivate and coordinate persons to move in a shared direction towards a common
goal. But our challenge is that some leaders believe that they should only show
up and function –coordinate persons – which is not sufficient. We must accept
the fact that we have to motivate and inspire some people. At some point, all
of us need some motivation.
Leaders who are seen overtime as effective and
transformational are those who have a clear vision. They think “end game”. What
is it I am going to do and toward what end? What are the motives? When people
think of end game and motives, that is when the fire is kindled inside of them.
That is when we should evaluate leadership. What is it that is motivating the
decision made by the government, or the CEO of the company? Sometimes when
motives are pure and execution is bad, you give them a pass. But when you
perceive that motive is wrong we then begin to distrust leaders.
Leaders ought to have a clear
vision of themselves. Vision is having
a mental picture of an ideal scenario in the future that is much better than
right now. Everyone needs that vision check. Where do I see myself, what kind
of person would I be and what will I be doing 5, 10, 15 years from now? In the
absence of a vision we neatly fit into somebody else’s vision or plan. So, a
personal vision is not optional, it is necessary and imperative. If you have
not defined who you are and what you are about, people will tailor-make your
life for you and you would be amazed how many persons fit the mould created by
somebody else for them. It is most important to be you – have a time of
introspection determining who you are.
Leaders are
goal
oriented. Organizations you work with, companies you work for, The Bahamas,
we are all screaming for visionary leadership. We are unable to see how our
individual function ties in with the overall function of the organizations we
are a part of.
Leaders are
passionate.
Passion is that ingredient that makes you do a certain job whether you are
being paid for it or not. Passion is indispensable to the project of
leadership. Leaders who don’t have it
tend to not resonate with people. A good indication that you may not be within
your assignment in life is if it does not set you on fire or move you. Do not find
yourself 10-20 years working in a job or holding a position that you have no
passion for.
Leaders
care.
Effective leaders are able to communicate that they care. In business
communication, there is a fundamental difference in saying to a colleague or
co-worker, “You did a good job” which is intellectual analysis compared to, “I
felt so good as a result of what you did” which is emotional and intellectual
analysis. To say you were moved, shows that you care.
Leaders are
focused
and
disciplined; not being all
things to all people. Be focus on your assignments and tasks. Those who focus
on many things accomplish very little. Effective leadership gets members of an
organization or group to think broadly and long-term. Leaders have a far
reaching view.
What is the
most effective style?
Sometimes persuasion, coercion and leading by
example can be the best way. You may have to choose styles that are unpopular
but necessary. Styles that are unpopular and difficult should not be the ones
that dominate your existence. If you are
dominantly using coercion, you may be considered a tyrant. It is important to
use various styles depending on which situation demands it. That is why
leadership is an art.
What is your leadership style? Are you hands-off?
Or, do you dictate? There are some
leaders that are so effective that at the end of the day, though they are
without title, they are able to get results from people by virtue of who they
are and how they function. Steve Covey says that leadership is not a title, it
is a choice. You have the capacity to lead from wherever you are. In HR
there is a term called “
lead up” meaning you can be anywhere in
the organization but you command a measure of respect where people would work
overtime for you for free and they would work overtime for the manager for more
money. So, we have to determine what type of leaders we are going to be.
It is about seeing the end game. Our success as a
country will be determined by to what extent we can find common ground to fight
issues that are bigger than the individual problems. We have to find common
ground, ways to work beyond our safety zone to make it happen. That’s the kind
of leaders we need, the transformational leaders who see a national life that
needs to be fundamentally reordered and we as effective leaders are offering
ourselves to participate in that project. Ralph Smedley, the founder of Toastmasters,
said, “We learn best when we are having fun.” We have one country to build and
one key way to do that is to find common ground where we can work together
across political, religious, gender differences so that we can transform the
country not just for us but for our children unborn. If not you, then who? If
not now, then when?
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