This last week I've seen great camaraderie at work and the lack of camaraderie painfully revealed. As one of the principles of 1000 Cranes is "Success Comes from Cooperative Relationships," I've found that when you don't get along with someone or another organization, it's best to move on and either look for another partner or leave that organization behind.
On the other hand, when you have a band of people that get along well together, you get so much more accomplished. People work harder. People make progress toward goals, and people have fun and look forward to seeing each other! Toastmasters is such an organization for me. I've been currently serving as the Public Relations Officer for District 37 (the State of North Carolina), and every time I see my colleagues, it makes me smile. We are all volunteers in this organization, and we are all driven to be excellent speakers and leaders.
One example of camaraderie at work, is my interaction with my fellow Toastmasters. One our colleagues, Hudson Griffin, III, is helping with an improvisation activity for the upcoming Region VIII conference in Greensboro on June 26-27. Griffin drove from Winston-Salem to Raleigh for a Toastmasters Leadership Institute event and during a hallway conversation, he mentioned that he was low on volunteers to help with the improvisation activity that's scheduled for Friday night.
My friend and colleague, Bryan Walsh, looked at me with a big smile and said, "well, Naomi, I'm in if you're in." We looked at each other, started laughing, and agreed we'd do this together and help Hudson out. One thing about Toastmasters, we don't let each other down and have fun with it. Part of the culture of Toastmasters is the supportive nature of helping each other through challenges.
Later that day, I had lunch with Kimberly Langley who is only 20 speeches away from earning her Distinguished Toastmaster designation. I told her, I would support her to achieve her goals, and if she gets through her speeches by the middle to end of October, I would "walk the DTM Gauntlet" with her at the upcoming Fall Conference in Asheville this November. This will be a really special event for both of us as she and I started Toastmasters 3-1/2 years ago in the same Toastmasters club, RDU Toastmasters!
When camaraderie is at work, you look forward to seeing your colleagues and friends. It isn't torture or a bear, it's enjoyable. Work becomes fun. Leadership comes naturally, as people are willing to follow you. Just as Hudson and Bryan took the lead on the improv work and I followed, and I gave Kimberly an incentive to achieve greater goals, and she followed. Leadership comes naturally to Toastmasters.
What do you do to demonstrate leadership?
How does camaraderie work within your organization?
Are you having fun with what you do and why?
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