Twenty years or so ago, I walked into a Toastmasters meeting for the first time.

I did not know then that the organisation would become one of the most consistent threads in my professional life, through the years I showed up regularly, through the periods I drifted away, through the competitions, the club presidencies, across different countries, and the moments when standing up to speak taught me something I could not have learned any other way.

This year I said yes to something I probably should have said yes to sooner.

I have just taken on the role of Area Director for District 107, Division E, responsible for the clubs across Gibraltar, Marbella, and Malaga, including one corporate club. It felt like an “about time” moment. I have taken so much from this organisation since 2004 – my Competent Communicator certificate in 2006, the discipline of regular practice, the community of people who take communication seriously – and this felt like the right moment to give back in a more structured way.

But, if I am honest, it is not only about giving back.

I have spent years developing The HACKS CodeTM – a leadership communication framework built on five principles: Humility, Authenticity, Clarity, Kindness, and Sincerity. I write about these principles. I speak about them. I am about to publish a book about them. But there is a difference between writing and talking and living inside a framework. This role closes that gap for me.

The principle that this role will test me on most, the one I will have to practise rather than just teach, is Humility.

An Area Director does not lead from the front. The role is to serve – to support club officers, to develop club health, to show up for the people doing the work in the clubs rather than to be seen doing the work myself. That is a specific and sometimes uncomfortable kind of leadership. The kind where your job is to make other people successful rather than to be successful yourself.

That is Humility in action.

I am looking forward to the year ahead. I am looking forward to the clubs, the people, the conversations, and the inevitable moments when the Area Director has to practise what she preaches.