As part of the STC election process, we invited the candidates to submit a blog posting addressing members. This week, the two candidates for Vice President speak to members. Today we have a blog post from Victoria Koster-Lenhardt; tomorrow we will post one from Alan Houser. See the STC Election website for more information about all candidates plus a form to ask questions of the candidates.
Ready for Growth
The projections for how the world will change by 2020 and 2025 show a very different business environment than we know today. 2020 is less than a decade away. Take a moment to consider how much your business life has been impacted by the world events of the last 10 years. For STC to be viable in 2020, we will need to be more focused now on growing globally while continuing to invest in our communities and their leaders.
The good news is that STC is now positioned for growth. With the changes STC has made the past five years to the office, finances, technical infrastructure, and products and services, we now have the foundation for building our membership. That’s why I’ve chosen to run for VP this year. We’re ready to grow two ways: 1) horizontally by expanding our reach and influence globally and 2) vertically by proactively developing our leaders. With more than 20 years working outside the USA for a global company, more than 15 years representing the STC globalization issue, and more than 10 years executing initiatives that build strong communities and leaders, I have the experience to lead STC forward.
Let me first address globalization. In 1998, I co-managed the International Interests Committee and was the opening speaker at “International Day” in Paris. It was the first time an STC board meeting was held outside the USA. I ended my presentation with a chart projecting a significant increase in STC membership outside the USA in 10 years. But by 2009, STC had not grown much internationally. Yet, at the same time, I watched other technical communication organizations in Europe and Asia grow stronger. I know the market is there.
The makeup of the STC board, however, did change. In 2003, I became the first STC member elected to the board who was not based in North America. During my three years as director, I encouraged the board to consider what it meant to be a global organization. I also played an important role in bringing Mark Clifford and Leah Guren onto the board. STC took steps to be more global, but they weren’t enough to keep pace with how the business world was changing.
Why should any STC member care about becoming a global society? The world is now flat in the way described by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. When I first started going to STC conferences in the 1990s, I was one of 1,500 conference goers who didn’t live in America. There were a few others like me, and we were seen as exotic STC members. Today, more and more STC members are bidding for business, holding workshops, and attending conferences outside of North America. Having an STC presence globally means more opportunity for everyone.
Second, I want to talk about our STC leaders, specifically the ones who lead communities. Everyone will agree that our communities are the heart and soul of STC. They are responsible for growing membership. Yet, the dilemma is that more volunteers have less time than ever; therefore, it needs to be easier and less time-consuming for communities to thrive. I know what it takes.
I’ve been directly involved in leading and coaching STC communities and leaders in the USA and Europe for the past decade. As a co-founding member of the TransAlpine Chapter, I have been a community president, treasurer, membership manager, and program manager. By leveraging my business management and STC experiences, I was a proactive director-sponsor who worked with leaders to build stronger and happier communities. Leadership teams chose to spend whole weekends with me developing their strategic plans and budgets. The structure I developed for these events proved to be so successful that I turned it into the Leaders’ Resource Webinar Series, which I architected in 2009. That program reached leaders throughout 2010 in an inexpensive, timely, and consistent way. The full program hasn’t been rolled out yet. Its success, however, has warranted the further expansion of the series starting in mid-2011.
The potential for STC’s growth is great. Vote for me so we can seize this opportunity together. Let’s expand globally and invest in our communities now!