Page 3 - 2019-07-Rotary-on-the-Move-Newsletter-Zone-8

‘IS IT TIME TO CHANGE THE WAY WE ELECT OUR CLUB PRESIDENTS?’

Article by Euan Miller, D9520 Membership Chair

I have just completed two years as District Membership Chair and the standout observation is

clubs that have effective leaders are clubs that demonstrate Rotary in Action. They are dynamic,
they achieve Rotary Citations, they maximise membership retention and they grow their
membership.
On the other hand, clubs that elect Presidents without much thought about what makes a good leader because
it is somebody’s turn or because nobody else wants to do it; are at risk of ending up with a wasted year. What’s
more it usually leads to

• a drop-in morale in the club
• sometimes disputes between members which are left to fester
• an inevitable net loss of members for the year.

Relying on PETS and District Assemblies to magically train leaders over a couple of days is futile. We need to
select Rotarians with the capacity to lead first. Rotary knowledge and experience is not a good measure of
leadership. In my district we have examples of standout club leaders with less than two years of Rotary
membership.

One solution would be for AGs to be given some authority to assist clubs identify potential leaders and to have
a say in the selection of Presidents’ Elect. AGs know their under-performing clubs and rather than this being
seen as interference, I believe club members would welcome such intervention if it means their club can become
both dynamic and fun again.
Even if a club has an effective membership director, it is not going to be successful with membership growth
and retention if the club as a whole lacks direction. New members soon become discouraged if they are not
asked what they want to achieve, if they are given nothing to do, if meetings are not purposeful and there is a
lack of social interaction and networking.

It is not only PE’s that need to have leadership qualities. Clubs should have a strategic plan in place that
includes a succession plan for future Presidents over the next few years. It this way club members can be given
the confidence and skills, training and mentoring to be future leaders. Like a good wine, leadership has to be
developed and matured over time. Sometimes clubs get lucky and get a leader that has already gained their
leadership skills in another environment, but more often than not we have to make and bottle our own club
vintage.

If we don’t get more effective leaders we will continue to lose members and our clubs will continue to decline.
It is not the Rotary model that is weakening Rotary. It is our lack of effective club leadership that is leading to
less than effective clubs and consequential membership decline.

‘MEMBERSHIP VIDEOS’

By Lawrence Furbish, ARC, Zone 32, from Rotary Zones 24 &
32 Beyond Borders Newsletter, May 19

Do you know what your members think about your club? Perhaps
it’s time for the Club Health Check.
https://app.vyond.com/videos/353b2b67-0b59-42ad-b357-
93337934fd70

By Lawrence Furbish, ARC, Zone 32, from Rotary Zones 24 &
32 Beyond Borders Newsletter, June 19

Getting new members is important, but keeping them after they join
is critical. This month's animation is how to maximize your chances
of doing just that - by engaging them.
https://app.vyond.com/videos/1327debf-fa77-472f-a0de-
2f320fa314dd

You can now find all membership videos from previous months
at http://tinyurl.com/MembershipVideos

Rotary on the Move June 2019 Page 3