New Rotary Year, new Rotary focus! This year is going to be the year of empowerment. I chose "Learn to Earn" as the topic header for this post because a recent employment Blog article I read, listed lack of computer skills as the main reason why older Australians were unemployable (I still work and employ staff so I get these sorts of articles). I know many of my club members don't have good computer skills, but I also know that many are trying to keep up. I hope to run a number of coaching and facilitating sessions throughout the year to give members an uncluttered path to taking on new roles within the club.
Our last Rotary year was all about refocusing and preparing for change to meet all the changes that have been happening around us for a few years now. Increased compliance paperwork, an aging member demographic and a marked decrease in member commitment to step into leading roles has challenged all clubs from sports through to local bird-watching clubs. Rotary is no different to any other club. COVID is just an annoying bonus.
Our Board, Secretary Sam, in particular, has worked hard to make sure our club has all our compliance paperwork up to date and that the Board is fully conforming with the obligations of running a Rotary club in 2021. There are many layers of compliance and it can take a lot of wind out of our sails to ensure everything is correct. Terrific work on Sam and Tim's part.
I am expecting that this year is our make or break year as a club. We have a fabulous array of talent, with most being inaccessible due to work or other Rotary commitments. Almost our entire Board is made up of second termers (in a row) and they will not be third term Board members in their current positions. Creating a culture of coaching and facilitating is a key ingredient to building long term strength in our club. It is obvious that members have to be receptive to the role they can play in Rotary and accept the challenge to push out into unknown territory. Hand holding and training is a pivotal part of the journey, so this week my "Digital Public Relations Team" (DPRT) had a training session on one of the basics of any organisation: Communications
We have some very experienced people in this area with Sam McCurdy being District Bulletin Editor for PDG Adrian Froggatt and also Sam (again) and Jane Moore on the District Public Image Committee. Jane was also the District Secretary for PDG Adrian Froggatt. All this is important information because our club needs to understand the protocols so that our messages do not create confusion with other Rotary messages. Public relations is all about creating a unified message to promote the work done by Rotary. Jane Moore is our current Public Image Director and we have been very fortunate to snare Jane's talents in this area. Out of everything we do in Rotary, sharing and expressing ourselves to the outside world is one of the hardest but most rewarding parts of letting people know where Rotary can fit into their world.
Getting back to empowerment, this year most of our Board members need to step down and new members need to step up. In the past, there has been no clear transition/ learning process, so naturally, not many people are keen to take on something they know nothing about and that has led to a leadership drought. Rotary is an effective organisation in delivering positive outcomes (based on resources, fundraising and manpower) to the community each year and there should be a process to make that happen. Strong support to help potential Board members step past their comfort zone and put their hand up to learn a new role. It is only by going past your own comfort zone that you can enable others to do the same.
In our DPRT meeting on Wednesday, we pushed a few limits to learn the secrets of Clubrunner and the reasons why we need to tell the public what our club does, why we do it and what we get out of it. Sandi had her hands full to get some good photos but we moved around the room a lot and were just blurs in many photos.
Rotary is an amazing organisation on many levels, but personal growth has to be an important part of any Rotary experience. Stepping out of your comfort zone, empathising with people and cultures you are unfamiliar with, learning how you can make a difference are all-powerful and life-changing opportunities for the person who takes up the challenge, but more importantly for the people who receive the benefit.
Do not underestimate the power of being a Rotarian! Embrace change, learn as much as you can this year and get in early to put your hand up for a role on next year's Board.