To my post on Parliamentary Procedure (which is both a post and a permanent page) First Oakville President Matt Wagner has left a very thoughtful comment which I encourage you to read in full.
And I do want to comment on one point that Matt makes as follows:
The question begs to be asked is: why does Toastmasters have Parliamentary Procedure in the agenda? What purpose does it overtly and covertly fulfill? Where else other then a Toastmaster meeting is it useful to my career or to progress in my life?
Think about our Toastmaster clubs and who attends. Every club needs at least 20 people to join before it can be granted a charter from Toastmasters International. These 20 people need to find a way to create a club that works for them. Everyone of these individuals has something to offer and may have very strong opinions about how “their” club should run.
Toastmasters International, in its wisdom, does not dictate the exact manner in which a club should operate. It does provide guidelines and there is a club mentoring program to help new clubs get off the right foot but when it comes to the details, it’s up to us.
Consider how people get things done in today’s workplace. Or consider how decisions were made in your family. My experience is that for the most part decisions are made by leaders (the boss, mom or dad) and the rest of us (employees, family members) go along for the ride. Sure there might be some discussion and maybe even dissent but “father knows best” seems to be the overriding operating principle.
In Toastmasters there are no leaders. Our executive members are trusted servants. They do not make decisions for the club. They carry out the decisions that the club mandates to be carried out.
This means we are all responsible for the success (or failure) of our club and our own educational program. There is no dad or boss to appeal to. No one is there to “fix” anything.
If we want to see a change, we need to find a way to convince our fellow members that our idea has merit. This is a new concept for many.
Trying to get our way (which may in fact be the better way) by forcing decisions or complaining just isn’t going to work in a Toastmaster club. We have to learn how to cooperate with each and use the power of debate to sway opinion.
And how do we do that? We use a set of rules. They are called Robert’s Rules of Order and, as I said elsewhere, they are used by governments, churches, non-profit agencies, public companies, hospital, library and school boards to reach decisions that affect all.
Parliamentary Procedure using Robert’s Rules is designed to speed up meetings and limit fractious and protracted debates.
Without Parliamentary Procedures and Robert’s Rules we are left to be governed by whoever has the most power or force of will. We may find ourselves at the mercy of tyrants and cliques who may or may not govern with the best interest of Toastmasters in mind.
This is not the Toastmaster way.
