I have a story: it may be a 2nd or 3rd hand, I don't know. I find it
interesting. I have some idea of what I would do, but I am interested
in gaining different perspectives.
Here is the story:
Your club president has not responded to queries -- e-mail, IM, phone
calls, smoke signals, etc. -- for roughly 6 weeks. The disappearance
came without warning. One of the officers happen to encounter the
president at the 4 week mark and explicitly tell them that the lack of
communication was a problem and they it should be addressed,
immediately. Nothing changed.
The first correspondence was an e-mail from the president which said
"Yippee" I am ready to get back to club business. No apology was
given.
I would address it with the President at the next officer's meeting, and leave it at that. Of course, I doubt I'd let that person take much of a position of responsibility in the future without a decent explanation. How many meetings were missed in the 6 weeks?
On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 11:48 AM, Jeff <sas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
> I have a story: it may be a 2nd or 3rd hand, I don't know. I find it > interesting. I have some idea of what I would do, but I am interested > in gaining different perspectives.
> Here is the story:
> Your club president has not responded to queries -- e-mail, IM, phone > calls, smoke signals, etc. -- for roughly 6 weeks. The disappearance > came without warning. One of the officers happen to encounter the > president at the 4 week mark and explicitly tell them that the lack of > communication was a problem and they it should be addressed, > immediately. Nothing changed.
> The first correspondence was an e-mail from the president which said > "Yippee" I am ready to get back to club business. No apology was > given.
Honestly, I would have said "Welcome back, we missed you!"
I can see getting upset if you didn't have the VPE filling slots at the meetings for six weeks, or the SAA not bringing the club paraphernalia to meetings for six weeks, but I think that the President could step away for that long and not have it make a big dent in the running of the club. Life happens, and this is a volunteer position.
Anyway, that's what I think, so it's really just one opinion.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com> To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 12:48 PM Subject: What Would You Do?
> Hi,
> I have a story: it may be a 2nd or 3rd hand, I don't know. I find it > interesting. I have some idea of what I would do, but I am interested > in gaining different perspectives.
> Here is the story:
> Your club president has not responded to queries -- e-mail, IM, phone > calls, smoke signals, etc. -- for roughly 6 weeks. The disappearance > came without warning. One of the officers happen to encounter the > president at the 4 week mark and explicitly tell them that the lack of > communication was a problem and they it should be addressed, > immediately. Nothing changed.
> The first correspondence was an e-mail from the president which said > "Yippee" I am ready to get back to club business. No apology was > given.
On Sep 6, 1:53 pm, "Rich Hopkins" <rich.hopk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I would address it with the President at the next officer's meeting, and
> leave it at that. Of course, I doubt I'd let that person take much of a
> position of responsibility in the future without a decent explanation.
> How many meetings were missed in the 6 weeks?
I am not sure. I think that they were all missed. I do know that there
were no officer's meetings.
I agree Barbara - but I think the issue is more lack of communication than the absence. Life happens, but so does a quick email that says: I can't be there - I'll be back in 6 weeks.
Rich.
On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
> Honestly, I would have said "Welcome back, we missed you!"
> I can see getting upset if you didn't have the VPE filling slots at the > meetings for six weeks, or the SAA not bringing the club paraphernalia to > meetings for six weeks, but I think that the President could step away for > that long and not have it make a big dent in the running of the club. Life > happens, and this is a volunteer position.
> Anyway, that's what I think, so it's really just one opinion.
> Barbara
> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com> > To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com> > Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 12:48 PM > Subject: What Would You Do?
> > Hi,
> > I have a story: it may be a 2nd or 3rd hand, I don't know. I find it > > interesting. I have some idea of what I would do, but I am interested > > in gaining different perspectives.
> > Here is the story:
> > Your club president has not responded to queries -- e-mail, IM, phone > > calls, smoke signals, etc. -- for roughly 6 weeks. The disappearance > > came without warning. One of the officers happen to encounter the > > president at the 4 week mark and explicitly tell them that the lack of > > communication was a problem and they it should be addressed, > > immediately. Nothing changed.
> > The first correspondence was an e-mail from the president which said > > "Yippee" I am ready to get back to club business. No apology was > > given.
On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Jeff <sas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sep 6, 1:53 pm, "Rich Hopkins" <rich.hopk...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I would address it with the President at the next officer's meeting, and > > leave it at that. Of course, I doubt I'd let that person take much of a > > position of responsibility in the future without a decent explanation. > > How many meetings were missed in the 6 weeks?
> I am not sure. I think that they were all missed. I do know that there > were no officer's meetings.
I guess I'd have to know more details of the expectations of the group. I'd probably also have to know how many people ran for President. If he's the only one who volunteered, knowing that he is still working on his communication and leadership skills, then I don't think they should be upset at a less than perfect performance. After all, club offices are for learning responsibility, and everyone learns at a different rate.
----- Original Message ----- From: Rich Hopkins To: toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 1:24 PM Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
I agree Barbara - but I think the issue is more lack of communication than the absence.
Life happens, but so does a quick email that says: I can't be there - I'll be back in 6 weeks.
Rich.
On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net> wrote:
Jeff,
Honestly, I would have said "Welcome back, we missed you!"
I can see getting upset if you didn't have the VPE filling slots at the meetings for six weeks, or the SAA not bringing the club paraphernalia to meetings for six weeks, but I think that the President could step away for that long and not have it make a big dent in the running of the club. Life happens, and this is a volunteer position.
Anyway, that's what I think, so it's really just one opinion.
Barbara
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com> To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 12:48 PM Subject: What Would You Do?
True - club culture is different everywhere. In every club I've been a part of (only about 10 as a member over the years, over 3 states - so not that many) even the flakiest members would still communicate regarding a long absence. I've never been part of a club that actually had people RUN for president - they are too busy running AWAY from folks trying to find people to fill roles.
Upset is not the emotion I would lead with. Expecting/teaching accountability is more my gist.
But there's no consequence to be meted out.
Rich.
On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:35 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
> I guess I'd have to know more details of the expectations of the group. I'd > probably also have to know how many people ran for President. If he's the > only one who volunteered, knowing that he is still working on his > communication and leadership skills, then I don't think they should be upset > at a less than perfect performance. After all, club offices are for learning > responsibility, and everyone learns at a different rate.
> Barbara
> ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Rich Hopkins <rich.hopk...@gmail.com> > *To:* toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com > *Sent:* Saturday, September 06, 2008 1:24 PM > *Subject:* Re: What Would You Do?
> I agree Barbara - but I think the issue is more lack of communication than > the absence. > Life happens, but so does a quick email that says: I can't be there - I'll > be back in 6 weeks.
> Rich.
> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
>> Jeff,
>> Honestly, I would have said "Welcome back, we missed you!"
>> I can see getting upset if you didn't have the VPE filling slots at the >> meetings for six weeks, or the SAA not bringing the club paraphernalia to >> meetings for six weeks, but I think that the President could step away for >> that long and not have it make a big dent in the running of the club. Life >> happens, and this is a volunteer position.
>> Anyway, that's what I think, so it's really just one opinion.
>> Barbara
>> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com> >> To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com> >> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 12:48 PM >> Subject: What Would You Do?
> depending on the club, that could be 6, 3, 2 or 1 meetings. I assume it was
> 6.
> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Jeff <sas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Sep 6, 1:53 pm, "Rich Hopkins" <rich.hopk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > I would address it with the President at the next officer's meeting, and
> > > leave it at that. Of course, I doubt I'd let that person take much of a
> > > position of responsibility in the future without a decent explanation.
> > > How many meetings were missed in the 6 weeks?
> > I am not sure. I think that they were all missed. I do know that there
> > were no officer's meetings.
> True - club culture is different everywhere. In every club I've been a part
> of (only about 10 as a member over the years, over 3 states - so not that
> many) even the flakiest members would still communicate regarding a long
> absence.
> I've never been part of a club that actually had people RUN for president -
> they are too busy running AWAY from folks trying to find people to fill
> roles.
> Upset is not the emotion I would lead with. Expecting/teaching
> accountability is more my gist.
> But there's no consequence to be meted out.
> Rich.
> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:35 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
> > Rich,
> > I guess I'd have to know more details of the expectations of the group. I'd
> > probably also have to know how many people ran for President. If he's the
> > only one who volunteered, knowing that he is still working on his
> > communication and leadership skills, then I don't think they should be upset
> > at a less than perfect performance. After all, club offices are for learning
> > responsibility, and everyone learns at a different rate.
> > Barbara
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > *From:* Rich Hopkins <rich.hopk...@gmail.com>
> > *To:* toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com
> > *Sent:* Saturday, September 06, 2008 1:24 PM
> > *Subject:* Re: What Would You Do?
> > I agree Barbara - but I think the issue is more lack of communication than
> > the absence.
> > Life happens, but so does a quick email that says: I can't be there - I'll
> > be back in 6 weeks.
> > Rich.
> > On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
> >> Jeff,
> >> Honestly, I would have said "Welcome back, we missed you!"
> >> I can see getting upset if you didn't have the VPE filling slots at the
> >> meetings for six weeks, or the SAA not bringing the club paraphernalia to
> >> meetings for six weeks, but I think that the President could step away for
> >> that long and not have it make a big dent in the running of the club. Life
> >> happens, and this is a volunteer position.
> >> Anyway, that's what I think, so it's really just one opinion.
> >> Barbara
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com>
> >> To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com>
> >> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 12:48 PM
> >> Subject: What Would You Do?
I can imagine work or family taking up six weeks of time, and I can imagine getting so busy that the next thing you know, six weeks goes by. Perhaps he didn't realize that it was going to be six weeks before he came back to a meeting.
I was LGET when Chris Ford did our Top Three training. His first question was, "Who here considers Toastmasters to be the Number One thing in their life?" There was a lot of mumbling, and looking around to see what other people were going to do. Then, Chris said, "I hope the answer is 'none of you.' I hope you all have family, careers, friends, and perhaps churches that come ahead of Toastmasters." Chris indicated that Toastmasters is an enhancement to life, and I agree with him that it shouldn't be one's whole life.
That being said, if someone doesn't contact their Toastmasters club for a mere six weeks, even when serving as President, I don't see it as a fatal misstep. After all, there's a reason that the VPE is "second in command."
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com> To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 1:56 PM Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
I can't imagine not letting people know that I would be away that long. I imagine that is the real issue here.
On Sep 6, 2:48 pm, "Rich Hopkins" <rich.hopk...@gmail.com> wrote: > True - club culture is different everywhere. In every club I've been a > part > of (only about 10 as a member over the years, over 3 states - so not that > many) even the flakiest members would still communicate regarding a long > absence. > I've never been part of a club that actually had people RUN for > president - > they are too busy running AWAY from folks trying to find people to fill > roles.
> Upset is not the emotion I would lead with. Expecting/teaching > accountability is more my gist.
> But there's no consequence to be meted out.
> Rich.
> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:35 PM, Barbara Kryvko > <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this. Even beyond responsibility this fall into common courtesy. As president of a club, even if you say that the responsibility is secondary to anything else in life, courtesy to the team that elected him should still be reasonably expected.
On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 1:44 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
> I can imagine work or family taking up six weeks of time, and I can imagine > getting so busy that the next thing you know, six weeks goes by. Perhaps he > didn't realize that it was going to be six weeks before he came back to a > meeting.
> I was LGET when Chris Ford did our Top Three training. His first question > was, "Who here considers Toastmasters to be the Number One thing in their > life?" There was a lot of mumbling, and looking around to see what other > people were going to do. Then, Chris said, "I hope the answer is 'none of > you.' I hope you all have family, careers, friends, and perhaps churches > that come ahead of Toastmasters." Chris indicated that Toastmasters is an > enhancement to life, and I agree with him that it shouldn't be one's whole > life.
> That being said, if someone doesn't contact their Toastmasters club for a > mere six weeks, even when serving as President, I don't see it as a fatal > misstep. After all, there's a reason that the VPE is "second in command."
> Barbara
> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com> > To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com> > Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 1:56 PM > Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
> I can't imagine not letting people know that I would be away that > long. I imagine that is the real issue here.
> On Sep 6, 2:48 pm, "Rich Hopkins" <rich.hopk...@gmail.com> wrote: > > True - club culture is different everywhere. In every club I've been a > > part > > of (only about 10 as a member over the years, over 3 states - so not that > > many) even the flakiest members would still communicate regarding a long > > absence. > > I've never been part of a club that actually had people RUN for > > president - > > they are too busy running AWAY from folks trying to find people to fill > > roles.
> > Upset is not the emotion I would lead with. Expecting/teaching > > accountability is more my gist.
> > But there's no consequence to be meted out.
> > Rich.
> > On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:35 PM, Barbara Kryvko > > <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
I don't think that we disagree that it would have been better to let people know, since obviously people were upset for whatever reason. It seems that what we're disagreeing about is the severity of the crime.
----- Original Message ----- From: Rich Hopkins To: toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 2:58 PM
Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this. Even beyond responsibility this fall into common courtesy. As president of a club, even if you say that the responsibility is secondary to anything else in life, courtesy to the team that elected him should still be reasonably expected.
On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 1:44 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net> wrote:
I can imagine work or family taking up six weeks of time, and I can imagine
getting so busy that the next thing you know, six weeks goes by. Perhaps he
didn't realize that it was going to be six weeks before he came back to a
meeting.
I was LGET when Chris Ford did our Top Three training. His first question
was, "Who here considers Toastmasters to be the Number One thing in their
life?" There was a lot of mumbling, and looking around to see what other
people were going to do. Then, Chris said, "I hope the answer is 'none of
you.' I hope you all have family, careers, friends, and perhaps churches
that come ahead of Toastmasters." Chris indicated that Toastmasters is an
enhancement to life, and I agree with him that it shouldn't be one's whole
life.
That being said, if someone doesn't contact their Toastmasters club for a
mere six weeks, even when serving as President, I don't see it as a fatal
misstep. After all, there's a reason that the VPE is "second in command."
Barbara
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com>
To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 1:56 PM
Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
I can't imagine not letting people know that I would be away that
long. I imagine that is the real issue here.
On Sep 6, 2:48 pm, "Rich Hopkins" <rich.hopk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> True - club culture is different everywhere. In every club I've been a
> part
> of (only about 10 as a member over the years, over 3 states - so not that
> many) even the flakiest members would still communicate regarding a long
> absence.
> I've never been part of a club that actually had people RUN for
> president -
> they are too busy running AWAY from folks trying to find people to fill
> roles.
> Upset is not the emotion I would lead with. Expecting/teaching
> accountability is more my gist.
> But there's no consequence to be meted out.
> Rich.
> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:35 PM, Barbara Kryvko
> <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
I think that not making contact in 6 weeks is a pretty disrespectful,
self centered and rude. It is a breech of trust. It takes two minutes
to dial a phone and say "Hey, I am in a bind. Can you run the club
while I deal with this problem that I have." Keep in mind, you choose
to be president of a club. It simply sets a terrible example for
others to follow -- very unleadershipy!
I feel pretty confident that no one on this list would not make the
call, answer the call, or reply to the e-mail, etc. ... you get the
idea. Most people have two minutes over the course of 6 weeks.
I wonder what impact this type of thing has on a club. While there may
be no "punishment for the crime" there are repercussions, what do you
think they are?
Jeff
On Sep 6, 4:02 pm, "Barbara Kryvko" <barbara...@charter.net> wrote:
> I don't think that we disagree that it would have been better to let people know, since obviously people were upset for whatever reason. It seems that what we're disagreeing about is the severity of the crime.
> Barbara
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Rich Hopkins
> To: toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 2:58 PM
> Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
> I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this. Even beyond responsibility this fall into common courtesy. As president of a club, even if you say that the responsibility is secondary to anything else in life, courtesy to the team that elected him should still be reasonably expected.
> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 1:44 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net> wrote:
> I can imagine work or family taking up six weeks of time, and I can imagine
> getting so busy that the next thing you know, six weeks goes by. Perhaps he
> didn't realize that it was going to be six weeks before he came back to a
> meeting.
> I was LGET when Chris Ford did our Top Three training. His first question
> was, "Who here considers Toastmasters to be the Number One thing in their
> life?" There was a lot of mumbling, and looking around to see what other
> people were going to do. Then, Chris said, "I hope the answer is 'none of
> you.' I hope you all have family, careers, friends, and perhaps churches
> that come ahead of Toastmasters." Chris indicated that Toastmasters is an
> enhancement to life, and I agree with him that it shouldn't be one's whole
> life.
> That being said, if someone doesn't contact their Toastmasters club for a
> mere six weeks, even when serving as President, I don't see it as a fatal
> misstep. After all, there's a reason that the VPE is "second in command."
> Barbara
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com>
> To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com>
> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 1:56 PM
> Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
> I can't imagine not letting people know that I would be away that
> long. I imagine that is the real issue here.
> On Sep 6, 2:48 pm, "Rich Hopkins" <rich.hopk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > True - club culture is different everywhere. In every club I've been a
> > part
> > of (only about 10 as a member over the years, over 3 states - so not that
> > many) even the flakiest members would still communicate regarding a long
> > absence.
> > I've never been part of a club that actually had people RUN for
> > president -
> > they are too busy running AWAY from folks trying to find people to fill
> > roles.
> > Upset is not the emotion I would lead with. Expecting/teaching
> > accountability is more my gist.
> > But there's no consequence to be meted out.
> > Rich.
> > On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 12:35 PM, Barbara Kryvko
> > <barbara...@charter.net>wrote:
I guess I'd be curious about what happened in the conversation when
the other officer ran into the President at the 4 week mark. Did the
President tell the officer anything that the officer could have
carried back to the club?
> I guess I'd be curious about what happened in the conversation when
> the other officer ran into the President at the 4 week mark. Did the
> President tell the officer anything that the officer could have
> carried back to the club?
If Toastmasters are the same world over, I'd say that the repercussions are that people will talk about this six-week thing for the next 30 years, and he'll never be offered another leadership position as long as he lives, will never learn to be a good leader, and will probably quit Toastmasters.
That was a little tongue-in-cheek, of course, but I don't think that this infraction should be fatal. Tell the guy, "Hey, next time, can you drop us a note?" Tell him what fell on the floor during the six weeks that he was gone (did the club fold? did you run out of ballots? did people worry about his health?). Then say, "No hard feelings...here's what's been going on, and let's move on from here..." Then forget about it, and move on.
Give him a chance to learn from his mistakes in the supportive atmosphere that Toastmasters should be.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff" <sas...@gmail.com> To: "ToastmastersPrime" <toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 4:21 PM Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
Barbara,
I think that not making contact in 6 weeks is a pretty disrespectful, self centered and rude. It is a breech of trust. It takes two minutes to dial a phone and say "Hey, I am in a bind. Can you run the club while I deal with this problem that I have." Keep in mind, you choose to be president of a club. It simply sets a terrible example for others to follow -- very unleadershipy!
I feel pretty confident that no one on this list would not make the call, answer the call, or reply to the e-mail, etc. ... you get the idea. Most people have two minutes over the course of 6 weeks.
I wonder what impact this type of thing has on a club. While there may be no "punishment for the crime" there are repercussions, what do you think they are?
> I don't think that we disagree that it would have been better to let > people know, since obviously people were upset for whatever reason. It > seems that what we're disagreeing about is the severity of the crime.
> Barbara
> ----- Original Message ----- > From: Rich Hopkins > To: toastmastersprime@googlegroups.com > Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 2:58 PM > Subject: Re: What Would You Do?
> I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this. Even beyond > responsibility this fall into common courtesy. As president of a club, > even if you say that the responsibility is secondary to anything else in > life, courtesy to the team that elected him should still be reasonably > expected.
> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 1:44 PM, Barbara Kryvko <barbara...@charter.net> > wrote:
> I can imagine work or family taking up six weeks of time, and I can > imagine > getting so busy that the next thing you know, six weeks goes by. Perhaps > he > didn't realize that it was going to be six weeks before he came back to a > meeting.
> I was LGET when Chris Ford did our Top Three training. His first question > was, "Who here considers Toastmasters to be the Number One thing in their > life?" There was a lot of mumbling, and looking around to see what other > people were going to do. Then, Chris said, "I hope the answer is 'none of > you.' I hope you all have family, careers, friends, and perhaps churches > that come ahead of Toastmasters." Chris indicated that Toastmasters is an > enhancement to life, and I agree with him that it shouldn't be one's whole > life.
> That being said, if someone doesn't contact their Toastmasters club for a > mere six weeks, even when serving as President, I don't see it as a fatal > misstep. After all, there's a reason that the VPE is "second in command."
You'd certainly want to know what happened, but having said that, it
IS a volunteer organization. Contact with membership would have been
easy and nice. Life does get in the way, but this will have to be
dealt with on a club by club case by case basis.
Mike
http://www.tucsonmike.wordpress.com
On Sep 6, 10:48 am, Jeff <sas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have a story: it may be a 2nd or 3rd hand, I don't know. I find it
> interesting. I have some idea of what I would do, but I am interested
> in gaining different perspectives.
> Here is the story:
> Your club president has not responded to queries -- e-mail, IM, phone
> calls, smoke signals, etc. -- for roughly 6 weeks. The disappearance
> came without warning. One of the officers happen to encounter the
> president at the 4 week mark and explicitly tell them that the lack of
> communication was a problem and they it should be addressed,
> immediately. Nothing changed.
> The first correspondence was an e-mail from the president which said
> "Yippee" I am ready to get back to club business. No apology was
> given.
1. I see the VPM's role, as being the one, who after three dozen other
methods of trying to contact the president, should have gone over
there after he missed the second or third meeting, banged on the door,
and said "hey, we care, we want to know if we can help, I'm a friendly
face, talk to me". In all the times I've been a VPM, or a Memebrship
Chairman of some description, it was hammered into us, that we must
look after the existing members first, and I think that this should
have been done. ** If ** the President wasn't home, I would go to his
place of work or someone outside of Toastmasters, and ask for advice
on why he was absent.
2. As Barbara has said, the VPE should step up. I am the VPE of our
club, we have a President, but he is also our shire mayor. A busy man,
who is very impressed with Toastmasters, and is very proud of his
involvement. We have a standing arrangement as to his absences - we
assume he will be there, if he hasn't turned up by the time I have
started to read any changes to the agenda - he is an apology. It also
works with others in the group, whom we know have a hard time getting
to a meeting, for example three others, whom, if there is enough rain
(yes, it does occasionally!!) may not be able to get in because of
roads, and other issues in their 1 hour trip to Toastmasters. (We live
in a rural shire - Google Banana Shire if you want a look.)
3. Toastmasters is a communication and leadership organisation. As
others have said, it is courtesy to inform if you are going to be
away. You can understand one, maybe two meetings, but six is
stretching any friendship too far. Even a quick note, taped to the
door of the meeting room, if you are technologically challenged - hell
it worked for Martin Luther!! - is better than being that absent for
that long. I am sure any club would cut someone slack, if there was an
emergency that required undivided attention, but some form of "hey,
this is what is happening, won't be back for a while" is still
required. You don't even need specifics. Just a simple form of "family
emergency" or "work reasons" would suffice.
> I have a story: it may be a 2nd or 3rd hand, I don't know. I find it
> interesting. I have some idea of what I would do, but I am interested
> in gaining different perspectives.
> Here is the story:
> Your club president has not responded to queries -- e-mail, IM, phone
> calls, smoke signals, etc. -- for roughly 6 weeks. The disappearance
> came without warning. One of the officers happen to encounter the
> president at the 4 week mark and explicitly tell them that the lack of
> communication was a problem and they it should be addressed,
> immediately. Nothing changed.
> The first correspondence was an e-mail from the president which said
> "Yippee" I am ready to get back to club business. No apology was
> given.
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