Pass It On!

Cathy Vandall describes herself as “a wallflower” when she joined Framingham Natick Toastmasters in 2018. Shy and very quiet, Cathy found a mentor within the Club who was there to support her through the onboarding process, teaching her how to navigate Pathways, encouraging her to sign up for meeting roles and, very critically, coaching her as she prepared to deliver speeches.

Trouble is, Cathy was too shy to take enough initiative to get the most from her mentoring relationship. Over time, as she witnessed the progress of her fellow Toastmasters, she began to realize her mistake.

It was a tough lesson, but one that inspired her to act. The next year, Cathy stepped into an important Club officer’s role, VP Public Relations, and the year after that, Secretary. Last year she served on the executive team again, as Sergeant at Arms. She participated in Meet Your Match!, a district-wide self-matching mentoring program, to identify a mentor who would suit her. Surprising herself, she competed in a speech contest and advanced to the Area level! By all accounts, Cathy is an active and dependable team player, always showing up, doing what has to be done.

Ever helpful to others, Cathy became the Mentor Coordinator, a special role in her Club and a unique role among Toastmasters Clubs everywhere. Having nearly squandered her initial opportunity to reap the full benefits of mentorship for herself, she became highly committed to providing a mentor to every new member who wished to have another Club member’s guidance, not only while becoming familiar with the educational program and Club practices, but through the first six months or so to serve as a count-onable and helpful advisor. And yes, of course, Cathy became a mentor herself, many times over, in fact. The chance to support another’s growth and development inspires her still. 🙂

Cathy is convinced: “People who use mentors actually do more … and they move faster on their Toastmasters journeys. They step up to do things they never imagined they could do before.”

Toastmasters is an exciting journey. And, as Cathy experienced, learning is not linear. We each learn at our own pace, and progress is extremely personal. That we learn at all is really all that counts.

How about putting a Mentor Coordinator in place in your Club to ensure that new members get what they need to accomplish what they came for? Having the role be the designated responsibility of someone other than the VP Education makes good sense. It is certainly worthy of someone’s full attention.

The tough problem is not in identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people. — Patricia Cross