Nature VS Nurture, Are leaders born or made?
I had not attended D67 Spring or Fall Conferences for the past two years. I was no longer progressively improving myself as a Toastmaster. I just kept myself involved in some supporting roles and kept abreast of world trend. This year because of a special DTM gathering program designed in the conference, I was persuaded to attend.
The District 67 Spring Conference held on April 17th and 18th became my own, personal renewal in Toastmasters. Our honorable guest and Keynote Speaker from Toastmasters International convinced me that leaders can be made. President Elect, incumbent Senior Vice President of T/I, Pat Johnson gave two speeches on the first day – “What Leaders Are Made Of?” and “You Raise Me Up” . She was confident, amiable, witty and composed - all are qualities practiced by a good leader. She is an excellent role model for T/M world wide.
I was so impressed that I attended the two additional events. They were held in Taipei for T/Ms who wished to further benefit from Toastmaster Pat Johnson's speeches. Why shouldn’t I? The events were just a 20 minute drive away. It was absolutely worthy of my attention. The two speeches – “The Honor of One Is the Honor of All” and “How to Deliver a Good English Speech” were impressive and inspiring. Leadership and speaking is not simple. The ideas in her speech met what we'd learned in T/Ms trainings. What made her speeches so impressive was the right number and passion of the audience that stimulated her to radiate her sense of humor, quick wit and charm, and generated great interaction from the audience.
I will have to work and make some mistakes along the way, but with commitment and effort I can keep improving. Just when I was about to spend less time in T/Ms, I have been motivated to continue my endeavor to be a competent and inspiring leader.
Good leaders must first become good servants. – Robert Greenleaf
Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach. – Rosabeth Moss Kentor.
Trini
