By Greg Pick, DTM, Pathways Coordinator

I know that I struggled – at first. But with a little bit of effort, I learned just how practical Pathways can be.  Pathways has many practical applications at work, in the community, and in the club. We can even take credit for our routine activities related to leadership; some examples include charity fundraisers, leading a booster club at school, presiding over a lodge, or coordinating a girl scout troop cookie sale.  Work activities include leading any small team from 3-5 coworkers in any area.  Leadership in Toastmasters can be inside or outside the club, a club Open House or club Contest, a club fundraiser or an Area Contest.  Let’s explore Pathways projects that directly apply.

Club Related Projects

In addition to delivering speeches in our club, a couple of Level 2 and Level 3 projects can be credited when we perform the role of Table Topics Master or Toastmaster.

Club Projects
Title	Overview
Active Listening	As Topics Master, comment on each speaker’s response to demonstrate your active listening skills then transition smoothly to the next question.
Successful Collaboration	Work with a small team and collaborate to make decisions. Your goal is to apply the collaboration strategies you learned to a small-scale project, such as planning a club meeting.

Leadership Projects

Whether at work, in our personal life, or in our club, we can credit many Level 4 or Level 5 leadership projects after delivering a speech related to the project, particularly our learning or experience.  The educational content is easy to read, learn, and implement in our lives.

Leadership Projects
Title	Overview
Leading Your Team	Lead a team of two to four people to the completion of a project of your design.  A club-specific project, such as hosting an open house, organizing a speech contest, or coordinating a membership-building campaign.
Leading in Difficult Situations	Design and complete a project plan for any event or set of goals. Share your plan at a club meeting.  After club members identify potential plan disruptions, discuss how you might handle the challenges.
Motivate Others	Lead a team of two to four people to complete a project to benefit your club.  Develop motivational strategies for each team member. After the project, team members and at least one club officer evaluate your communication and leadership capabilities.
Lead in Any Situation	For at least six months, take on a leadership role in Toastmasters (at any level), within another volunteer organization, or in your career. While serving in your role, ask your peers to evaluate your skills.
Manage Successful Events	Plan, coordinate, and complete an event of your choosing. Tools for planning the event are included in this project. Share the impact of the planning process, your team, and the organization for which the event was held.
Leading in Your Volunteer Organization	Serve in a leadership role in Toastmasters or another volunteer organization for at least six months.  Ask members to evaluate your leadership skills. Create a succession plan to aid in the transition after you leave your position of leadership.

 

Summary

By working your Path and working the Projects, you can learn many practical leadership skills.  The rich content in each path can help us in developing specific leadership and communication skills.  By sharing what occurred and what we learned, you reinforce the abilities and share the possibilities with your fellow Toastmasters.

I encourage everyone to look at their path here under the Research the Pathways Paths and make plans to improve themselves.