Introduction to RDG TM Officers

1. What is a RDG officer?

Back in 2005, my club at the time (HP Houston Toastmasters) had a vacancy for its VP of Membership position. I decided to step up for it, and subsequently helped get membership in the club from the low 20s to around 30. From there, I became president, and I've ended up being an officer in my clubs almost every year since. Being a club officer has dramatically improved not only my leadership skills, but also my speaking skills as well. I know I'm not the only one; several others I've known have improved as well as a direct result of being an engaged, active officer.

In that time, I've seen (and delivered) training and mentoring for club officers. Because there's often only one day of official training most officers receive, many struggle with what they're supposed to do, when to do it, and so on. I've seen strong officers, and I've seen weak ones. I've been both, as well -- VP PR is not my strong suit. This training is meant to be a supplement that all of your officers can use so your club is stronger and your members are better served (and you don't have to keep doing the same office year after year if you don't want to, because there will be replacements ready and able to serve).

My goal with any of the RDG series is to cut your Toastmasters learning curve so you can have a better club quicker. Whether you were "voluntold", whether you stepped up into the role, or you were simply the only one left, this course is for you. This course is meant to turn you from an "ordinary" officer into a RDG (Really Dang Good) one. What do I mean by RDG in this case, though?

Even in strong clubs, many officers suffer the following symptoms:

• Only a vague, generalized idea of what they're trying to accomplish, but little in the way of concrete plans 
• Scrambling in the last few months of the year to secure the last few members and goals for DCP that they need
• Officer meetings happen almost randomly or not at all
• Mentoring of new officers by the old officers is inconsistent
• VPs don't have their own committees to support them
• People (usually other officers) have to pick up the slack constantly on dropped officer duties

In contrast, RDG officers have the following traits:

• Month-by-month plans and objectives with consistent, quality action to meet these goals
• Consistent involvement of the club's members in working on the club to continuously improve it to better serve everyone
• Ongoing mentoring of old to new officers
• Consistent executive meetings, as well as one-on-ones between the president and the other officers, with the members invited
• Officers take initiative to develop improvements for the club, whether or not their field of responsibility
• Officers keep each other encouraged, honest, and on-track, and communicate early and clearly that they need help with their goals
• Serve as role models by completing educational goals and by being outstanding members
• Make serious improvements in their leadership and speaking skill

The goal of this officer training program is to turn regular officers into RDG (Really Dang Good) officers, by providing the knowledge and motivation needed to do so. It does require you to step up, however - you'll need to plan, strategize, and execute consistently. The results will be worth it: a better club, and a better you.

Please note: This is NOT a substitute for club officer training; it is a supplement. If you would like to use this material in your club officer training, feel free to do so; all I ask is for your feedback on the material presented here. Also, clubs have different ways of doing things; this is meant to be a broad-based program that can apply to several clubs but has room for modification.

DISCLAIMER: This material is not Toastmasters International-produced or endorsed. The "RDG" label is not an official Toastmasters designation of any kind. This material represents over a decade of Toastmasters experience that is made available here to help members and clubs shave months if not years off their learning curve.

2. What do the officers do?

This section will provide a broad overview of what officers are responsible for. Future lessons will be going more in-depth. If you're familiar with the officer roles, you can skip this. We'll start from Sergeant at Arms, and work our way up.

A useful framework for understanding officer roles is to find analogues for them in Star Trek. In Star Trek, you need a ship (or space station) for the crew to occupy, and you need people to maintain and repair these systems. Engineering does this role. Similarly, in a Toastmasters club, you need someone to maintain, setup, and tear down the room you use, which is what the Sergeant at Arms does. 

Next up, on Star Trek you have a department that protects the crew, its equipment, supplies, and so on from intruders. This role is handled by Security. In a Toastmasters club, you need someone to secure and track your funds. That's what the Treasurer does.

Now that your ship is secure, you need someone or something to save records of what the club does and take care of administrivia. This is handled by the computer as officers record logs and request reports. Similarly, the Secretary maintains club records, such as executive meeting minutes.

So you have people maintaining the ship, security, and record keeping; what's next? You'll need to communicate with not only your own crew, but also the outside world, whether hostile or friendly. On Star Trek that's handled by communications. Your club needs to be broadcasting to the world to make it aware of its existence and draw in new members. That's what the VP of Public Relations does.

Sometimes making that alien contact can sometimes be hazardous to the crew's health, which is why there's always highly trained medical staff on any vessel in Star Trek. They're responsible for the crew's health and well-being. Keeping an eye on your club's members and helping to familiarize new guests and members is what the VP of Membership is all about.

The main mission of almost any Star Trek series is to be explorers and be learning, which is what your club members should be doing as well. The first officer or science officer is a good fit on Star Trek as the former usually arranges duty rosters, and the latter provides information about planets, alien species, and so on. In your club, you'll want a good first officer in the form of the VP of Education to help arrange agendas and motivate people to reach their educational goals.

Finally, the linchpin officer of the ship (and likely what you associate Star Trek with)...the captain. They take missions from Starfleet, then use their discretion to guide their ship and crew to complete them. Your President is similar in that they have objectives from Toastmasters International that they need to guide the officers and members into achieving. 

3. What can you expect from this course?

There are some tenets and values of RDG that I've tried to apply evenly to each of the courses, and they'll be used here too.

• Comprehensive. I've been in Toastmasters for over a decade and earned my DTM. I've served in every club office, and learned from dozens of other club officers. This course is meant to give you everything you need to be an effective club officer.
• Battle-tested. There's hundreds if not thousands of books on leadership out there, never mind several different takes on officer training. I'll give you what's worked for me and others.
• Time-efficient. Toastmasters is meant to make you a better person out in the real world, not be a second job. Every club is different, so you may need more "spin up" time to get things moving, but once you do, you should spend only 1-2 hours a week on officer work.
• Always improving, always learning. RDG clubs aren't perfect, they're just trying to get there. There may be some situations I haven't talked about yet in this course or that don't make sense. I encourage you to talk about it in the provided forums so everyone can learn.

If your officers take what's here and consistently apply it, I promise you that you'll not only have a stronger club with stronger members along with a few new ribbons to show for it at the end of the year, you'll avoid officer burnout, confusion, lack of direction, and end up a better speaker and leader by the end of your term.

Let's get started.