Do you belong to a community club or organization? If so, have you taken the opportunity to be a leader for your club or your organization?

Leadership is rewarding

Being a leader is a rewarding experience, especially in a community club or organization. I should know, as I have served for several years as an officer for my Toastmasters club and district.

One of the rewards for me is that serving as a volunteer leader gives me something meaningful to do with my time outside of work. Instead of spending all my time on entertainment, I get to organize speech contests, plan club meetings, and support my fellow club and district members. This gives me stories I can talk about with other people.

Another benefit to serving as a volunteer leader is that it looks great on a resume. It shows that you are willing to dedicate your time to helping other people. It will also help you to develop new skills that you can share on your resume.

For example, I am a computer programmer, which gives me technical skills. I can also put leadership skills on my resume from my time serving as a volunteer leader. This includes skills like coordinating teams of volunteers and organizing events. I have also learned how to chair business meetings.

Building relationships

One of the greatest benefits of serving as a leader for your community club or organization is the new relationships you will develop, and the existing relationships you will strengthen. By serving in leadership roles for my Toastmasters district, I have met many people I would not have met if I had just stayed as a regular member. These relationships have enriched my life.

I have found people I can call on for support with club and district events. For example, I recently organized two area speech contests and because of the relationships I developed with other leaders in my organization I was able to find all the contest officials and volunteers I needed to run my area contests.

I even had help last year from a fellow club member at a Chamber of Commerce tradeshow. My friend Ian from my Toastmasters club agreed to stand with my me at my tradeshow booth. It was great having his support. I promoted my company while Ian was there to promote Toastmasters. It was a team effort, and I was not alone at my booth. I really appreciated his support, and it was because of the relationships I developed by being a leader for my Toastmasters club that I had people to call on for support outside of Toastmasters.

Conclusion

Leadership in a community club or organization is definitely worth it. It will give you something meaningful to do with your time outside of work. It will strengthen your relationships with your fellow members. It will also look good on a resume.

I encourage you to step up and take the lead in your community club or organization. Who knows what you will achieve when you do?