Page 7 - January 2019 Voices

Keep the Focus!

Pat Johnson, DTM, PIP

Recently two young men in my Toastmaster club signed up for
flying lessons. They wanted to become pilots.
They started out with ground school where they studied

materials and gained knowledge. They practiced under the
watchful supervision of experienced pilots and were eventually,
after many hours of flying with instructors, allowed to take the

controls and fly the plane. They sat in the pilot’s seat, in control
of the plane and responsible for their passengers. They filed a
flight plan and assumed that they were prepared for the journey
to their final destination, which had been clearly articulated
during the planning process.

So what does this have to do with you and your leadership
journey in Toastmasters? I see a strong correlation.
Let’s compare your leadership journey in Toastmasters,

whether at the club, area, division or district level, to becoming
a pilot and flying that plane. The steps and actions are very
similar and there is joy when everyone arrives on time and in
the correct place.
On July 1, 2018 you assumed a leadership role either through

election or appointment by your fellow toastmasters. And the
first six months have flown by.

Pat Johnson with new book, A Handbookfor Building and
Sustaining Vibrant ToastmastersPrograms in Corporations

VOICES! | JANUARY 2019 7