Leadership Lessons Learned from Radiosport and Toastmasters

When I first started serious radiosport activities, I just wanted to operate; actually organizing an event (or even a station setup) DiD NoT interest me.  In Toastmasters, I just wanted to work on speaking-improvement; the idea of becoming a club officer (much less, an Area Director), initially seemed beyond my interest-level and what I perceived my capability-level to be.

Since then (2000 for radiosport and 2014 for Toastmasters) I have discovered that taking a more proactive role in BOTH of these activities has actually upped the excitement-level considerably;
after all, if it ain't exciting, it ain't worth doing.

In radiosport, I have organized Field Day events, made CQP Expeditions to Mammoth, Modoc
and the Sacramento River, as well as regularly making the ~500-mile driving trips to join up with
the crew @NX6T in Fallbrook.  In Toastmasters, I quickly discovered joy from the various "flavors"
of speech contests throughout the year.  Then again, as an Area Director, I have organized and hosted speech contest events.

These events have in common, the need for me to connect-up with (what turns out to be) an innate ability to motivate people and organize events.  It's actually very easy; simply delegate all the tasks
to others, motivating them to discover their innate ability to succeed.  However, overall event success relies on your keeping the momentum happening and stepping-in (where/when necessary) to insure
it all goes right.

In a radiosport contest, we know the starting time, as well as the number of hours allotted for us
to make it all work.  In Toastmasters speech contests, we know the start time and the fact that we
have 5 - 7 minutes to make it all work.  Before each event comes a lot of Practice and Preparation. 
I even wrote Blogs about the 6 P's ([CLICK HERE]) and the 3 P's ([CLICK HERE]).

LooKing back on years of engaging in BOTH Radiosport and Toastmasters, I come to realize that learning leadership abilities is an integral part of success in these events overall.  While competition participation is what it's all about, if no one steps up to organize these events, they don't happen.  

While I was bummed when as Area Director I was NoT allowed to compete, it was an equally satisfying experience to host an event, experiencing it from a [so to speak] behind-the-scenes perspective.  Working "both sides" of the Game is a rewarding way to take radiosport and
speech contests to the next level.

What about YOU?

Have You ever run both sides of the Game?