This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Jerome Maben. Jerome is a fellow Toastmaster, and he served as District Director for Toastmasters District 28 for the July 2025 to June 2026 Toastmasters term. During that time, he was a dedicated and supportive leader, and I enjoyed working with him while serving on the District Trio as Club Growth Director.

Getting Into Leadership

I asked Jerome when he first saw himself as a leader, and he told me it was when he was 8 years old. At that time, someone from Jerome’s church encouraged him to be the president for his church’s youth group. Jerome accepted the challenge and became a leader for the first time when he was only 8 years old.

Since then, he has served in many Toastmasters leadership roles as an adult, including club president and different district leadership roles. Over the past three year he has served as a District Trio member, starting as Club Growth Director and working his way up the ranks from Program Quality Director to District Director.

In his leadership roles, Jerome has always been a supportive leader, willing to mentor and support other leaders. For example, he was always ready and willing to support me while I was serving as Club Growth Director. He would often let me know he was always available if I needed help, and he even helped me by taking on the management of a new club lead at the end of my term as Club Growth Director.

When I asked Jerome why he got into Toastmasters district leadership, he told me how the first two times he was asked, he said no. But the person who his potential as a leader was very persistent, so when Jerome was asked for a third time, he stepped into district leadership for the first time.

Jerome also works as a real estate agent, and he told me how he moved into helping other people to find homes. He would see that some people didn’t believe they had the ability to get their own homes, and this inspired Jerome to branch out from investing in real estate into helping people find ways to buy their first home. So his move into real estate was motivated by a desire to help other people.

Another leadership role for Jerome is serving as one of the leaders for his church’s prayer and medication group. When he leads this group, he always starts with a story.

Facing Challenges

I asked Jerome what some of his greatest challenges are as a leader, and his answer was knowing what you are expected to do and knowing how to carry it out without feeling uncomfortable. He went on to say that feeling uncomfortable is one of your greatest opportunities for growth as a leader, because it challenges you to learn and grow.

Another challenge he mentioned was dealing with large tasks or responsibilities as a leader. He said the way he handles those challenges is to identify the smaller pieces that make up the larger task or responsibility and to manage those smaller pieces. He also looks for ways other leaders can help with the smaller pieces of a larger responsibility.

Another insight he has learned about handing large responsibilities is to not do it all by yourself. Look to your team members for help. For example, as District Director he could work with the division and area directors to help fulfill some of his responsibilities.

One of his main insights is to let other leaders do their jobs so you focus on managing the larger overall task or responsibility as a leader. This way you are not micromanaging your team members and they can feel empowered to fulfill their own responsibilities.

Another challenge Jerome shared with me is that he failed as a contest chair when organizing his first Toastmasters speech contest. He learned from this experience and has been successful at organizing speech contests ever since. What he learned is that preparation is the key to running a successful speech contest. He also learned you need a great team to run the contest and that you need to plan how to follow up after the contest is over.

Growing as a Leader

When I asked Jerome what has contributed to his growth as a leader, his immediate response was the ability to listen to other people. By listening to your team, you can better understand their needs and goals, which helps you to serve them better.

Jerome also said he has learned to be a collaborator, not a dictator. This means working with your team members and being a supportive leader, not a micromanager.

He has also learned to be a motivator and encourager. I have seen him do this firsthand. For example, he often tells his team members they are doing a good job and that he appreciates them. These words of encouragement have helped me to feel like a valued member of Jerome’s team. He also offered to support me during the year if I needed help as Club Growth Director.

When I asked Jerome what he is currently doing to grow as a leader, he told me that he spends time listening to ideas. This means he grows by hearing other people’s ideas and learning from other people. He also improves as a leader by asking other people for advice.

One thing that Jerome does to improve as a leader is to read from the Holy Bible ever day. He also keeps a copy of John Maxwell’s “Mentoring 101” book with him and reads it regularly. He believes in the philosophies expressed in this book and strives to follow them every day.

Things that Jerome learned from “Mentoring 101” is that before you mentor someone, you need to know yourself and to know your abilities. First do a self-inventory to get know yourself better, then you will be better positioned to mentor other leaders.

Jerome also learned to offer encouragement, not just advice. Never punish a team member for making a mistake or not completing a task. Offer to help instead.

Something else Jerome has learned as a leader is to consistently follow up with team members when you assign them a task. I know this is important as well. You want to stay informed about your team member’s progress so you can offer assistance when needed, but you don’t want to micromanage your team member.

Leadership Advice

I asked Jerome what is the best piece of advice that he would have for someone who aspires to be an effective leader. His answer was to be a great listener. Being a great listener helps you to better understand your team’s needs and goals, and then you can better support your team once you know those needs and goals.

Jerome also stressed the importance of leading from the heart, not the head. I believe this is a servant leader mindset. A mindset where you lead to support other people, not to have power over them. It also means you ensure you support the people on your team and don’t just focus on the work to be done.

Jerome shared with me that a true leader listens, offers encouragement, and offers feedback. In the case of feedback, he stressed the importance of never telling someone they failed or did a bad job. Instead, he said you should approach a person to learn what happened and then offer your assistance in finding a solution.

Learning From Others

When I asked Jerome who has mentors have been, he mentioned his two uncles: Dock and Thomas. Dock was someone who learned by doing, and Jerome learned that mindset from his uncle. Dock also had very organized thoughts and was a very organized person, which inspired Jerome to be organized as well.

His other uncle, Thomas, was a farmer and school bus driver who owned his own gas station. From Thomas, Jerome learned how to run a successful business. Thomas was also someone willing to take risks, and this is a skill Jerome learned from Thomas. Thomas grew his business by willing to take risks and buy providing quality customer service, and this is something Jerome does as well.

Conclusion

Jerome Maben is a leader who values other people and seeks to serve them. He believes in leading from the heart, not the head. He also knows that a true leader listens, offers encouragement, and provides positive and constructive feedback. Jerome understands the true value of being a servant leader and providing quality service as a leader. He is someone I have enjoyed working with and he is a great leader.