Friday, August 03, 2007

2007/2008 COTs Round #1

The Club Officers Training Round #1 for Division P and W was held on Saturday 28 July 2007 at the Help Institute at Jalan Dungun, KL. More than 200 Toastmasters were there and I was glad that MII and Maisca was highlighted as the clubs with 100% of its Club Officers present. Thank you Sherine, Leong, Joyce, Ho, Levine, Monsiuer and Mohamad. With this perfect attendance our Club was Awarded a Manual from TI. Check it out with President Sherine. In addition to this we have also ou PP Mike Teng there as one of the organiser. FYI he is now the Assistant Division Governor for Division P. Congratulation Mike.

For the benefit of the members, it is a requirement for Club Officers to attend two trainings and in our District the training must be conducted by the Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) from the District. With a minimum of 4 Club Officers attending the COTS the club will earn half a point.

The format of the Session is the same as last year when it first started with some basic common talk by some prominent Toastmasters and some mandatory talk for the Club officers. Actually, members of the club can also attend such session but I understand you may have to pay to attend. The training starts t 2pm and ends about 6.30 pm with a lucky draw where the winners have to pay RM100 to get the benefit.

If I may offer my view of the TLI, I must say that the concept is excellent but having two Divisions have defeated the purpose of the training. Here TI wants every member to be trained not only as participant but also as trainers. I am sure there are many capable trainers in the respective Division that provide the training. There is no necessity to borrow from other Divisions or combine the Divisions for economy of scale. TLI should also train more trainers so that the pool of trainers will multiply and Toastmasters will grow.

The second issue is about the quality of the training. I have observed that the contents are so basic that some trainers decided to put them aside and share their experience. To me we go there to learn how to be effective Club Officers but I felt cheated that we got more confused than learn new things.

Anyway, it is the learning process for the organisers and I hope they will learn and make some progress for the next training. Don't just organise it for club to earn the half point but seriously to impart to the club officers the skills and knowledge to carry out their job more FREE (Fun, Relevant, Efficient and Effective).

I guess, MII Exco need to really sit down and find ways to make our Exco FREE otherwise people get burnt out and disappointed with the organisation.

Members if you are reading this please understand that the Exco is there to serve and they too need to be served. You have to help them in order for them to help you so in the end all of us will have fun in the club and cherish this time we are together in Toastmasters.

If you have comments please share it.

Mohamad Abdullah

3 comments:

Sherine Lim said...

Dear All,

I do agreed with Mohamad on the quality of the TLI Training. We have Exco who was so angry and burst out during the training on the quality and organisation of the training.

What we need now is to have more Exco's feedback on the training to be posted up to the Blog in order for our Division Governor - Azmi or Assistance Division P Governor - Mike Teng to help us to convey our messages to the Division for their consideration and improvement.

For me, I have been joining the trainings for more than 6 times, I have prepared myself before I go as I know there will be nothing much changes or surprises on the content. I told myself to be there to networking, to know all the Club Presidents and Exco in order for us to invite them in future for role plays. This is the only target that I set for myself.

And, it's true, there is no surprises in the content. Still, the trainers were not well prepared, not sharp enough in answering quetions, not get to the point while briefing. Some important role plays even disappeared from the trainings while their names are still in the Programme.

To be frankly, I enjoyed very much and learnt a lot at the internal Exco Training conducted by our Founder, I was especially impressed with his tactics where he involved all the Exco to prepare their roles and be part of the training, not only the observants.

Maybe our Assistance Division P Governor who was with us during our internal Exco Training could share a little of the tactics with the Division for their reference.

All in all, the Club belongs to all of us, we need your feedback for better improvement and for all future benefits. Otherwise, you could only expect to experience the same at the second round of TLI Training if you didn't voice out ................

I leave this to all the Exco.........

Regards,
Sherine

leong said...

Dear DTM En.Mohamad Abdullah and
President Miss Sherine Lim CTM,

The EXCO member who attended the "so-called TLI training" with a scowl on his face was undoubtedly the VPE. I offer no apologies for that and I am glad that the both of you have spoken what needs to be said.
I had actually prepared my own BRUTAL assessment of what the entire charade was all about and that scathing review is now in the trash file.
As the VPE,I will observe club protocol and toe the line.

But if our club were to have the misfortune of electing me as president one black day, trust me -" Hell hath no fury like a President scorned !!! "

Azmi Shahrin said...

Dear MII Exco,

There are of course no surprises in the TLI content. However, please bear in mind that the content was prepared with the lowest common denominator in mind - the first time club officers. There were many club officers who did not have a single clue about club officer roles and responsibilities.

I have considered your suggestions and would like MII to present a topic during the 2nd TLI on 1 Dec 2007. I will provide more details later.

regards
Azmi