Finding the Time to Lead with Technologh

Finding the Time to Lead with Technology Jennifer Schmidt, EH1

I had no idea that our club would still be meeting online today when I was elected New Horizons’ VP of Public Relations last June. When we stopped in-person gatherings, I thought we would be together again by the end of 2020. Now we might be the first leadership team in our club’s history that never meets in person during our entire term. But this transition has given us the chance to lead in a world that is embracing technology. It has also shown me how New Horizons leaders are thriving during this challenging time when they are juggling multiple responsibilities.

Having More Flexibility

Joe Harper who is Sergeant at Arms for the Club and Area 41 Director is a perfect example of someone who uses technology to visit multiple clubs on a regular basis. Joe is the Area Director for clubs located near Salem. He doesn’t worry about commuting, parking, or being late since he utilizes video conferencing. Visiting multiple clubs in this way saves time. This allows Joe to provide more insight to the clubs he visits. Scheduling Tools Help

We are all juggling schedules, yes, even in a pandemic. The adoption of Doodle or WhenIs-Good polls for aligning leadership meetings with availability helps team members maintain their schedules while participating on the team. Our Secretary, Jordan Burnett-Rainey, manages this process .Her work provides the opportunity for the majority to attend and stay on the same page with our leadership goals.

Balancing Priorities is Possible Who isn’t balancing priorities and struggling to find the time to get it all done? Technology makes the coordination of projects easier when we adopt the tools that improve our collaboration and communication. Toastmasters like our President Maren Zieba and myself are currently balancing multiple projects for our club and the newly forming PR Masters Club. In addition to email and texting, Slack has proven to be a helpful tool that reduces the tracking required for email streams and the ultimate end of project movement. . . landing in junk mail!