Originally published on LinkedIn (reformatted for zahradnik.io / Medium)
This coin was a gift — but not the ordinary kind.
It was given to me for leading people in crisis.
In July 2023, I accepted the volunteer role of Division Director in Toastmasters. I expected the usual: some bureaucracy, budgeting, two conferences, and a predictable leadership cycle.
But my division was different.
10 clubs in Slovakia.
9 clubs in Ukraine.
Yes — during an active war.
From day one, I knew I couldn’t be a "paper director". I wrote personal emails to my Area Directors before we ever met. We formed a team under pressure — and pressure makes diamonds.
My priority was simple:
- Hold the community together.
- Protect Ukrainian (and Slovak) clubs from unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Give people stability when everything else was unstable.
Sometimes I bent rules right up to the edge.
But we made it work.
In war, people need light.
Toastmasters was that light.
I attended Ukrainian meetings in English, week after week.
Their gratitude was never spoken directly — it was felt.
In their presence.
In their trust.
In the way they kept showing up despite everything happening around them.
Then came our first division conference.
Early in the morning, I received a message:
“Bombs are falling on Kyiv.”
We improvised instantly.
- The first half of the conference ran online.
- Some people joined from taxis — on mobile networks — because they had no power.
- When it was safe again, they moved to the physical venue and we continued.
No delays.
No complaints.
No excuses.
Just resilience.
I won’t lie — sometimes I wanted to give up. This role cost enormous energy.
But I stayed because people didn’t need titles.
They needed leadership.
And at the end of the year, a district officer placed a coin in my hand.
Integrity.
Respect.
Service.
Excellence.
These aren’t buzzwords.
They were lived — earned with a team that held together through chaos.
On my résumé, my roles look purely technical.
On paper, I have “no leadership experience.”
But in reality, I led 19 clubs through a crisis — and helped keep communities alive.
I can’t transfer my personality to you.
But I can teach the structures, systems, and principles that make leadership work in the real world.
If you want leadership that actually holds under pressure,
let’s talk.
