Reflections of a District Membership Chair

Last month I wrote my last blog as District 9520 Membership Chair.

This first blog of my post membership chair days is about reflections on my tenure and some of the pivotal moments. But I also want to acknowledge some of those people who have inspired and helped me along the way. This one is longer than usual, but I won't be churning blogs out quite as frequently now.

This actually wasn’t a role I ever went looking for to be honest. I was much more interested in the public image side of Rotary. At the time I was asked, I was serving the second of a three year term as an assistant governor, and wasn’t really looking for anything more at district level in the near future. But I did have some strong views about the way we did things at all levels which had been formed over my Rotary journey, a journey that commenced at age 18 when I became a Rotaractor. I spent ten years in Rotaract, ten of the most amazing years of my life. I got to know a lot about Rotary from an arm's length, and developed a healthy respect for the organisation, but I always thought it was a bit stuffy. It was pretty much all men in suits at the time. After over ten years in Rotaract I was asked to join the Rotary Club of Edwardstown and for some reason the timing seemed right. It had then voted to accept females into membership and my wife Debra joined with me.

Fast forward to the time I was asked to take on the district membership role, I had almost 17 years of Rotary plus those ten in Rotaract behind me, but at 45 was still a relatively young Rotarian. That's a sad statement in itself. I think that combination of experience and being a good generation behind the average Rotarian in age worked in my favour, and having already served at district level for a number of years I was fairly comfortable with Rotary life at district level.

The Proposal

Then District Governor Nominee and good friend Jerry Casburn was the person responsible for getting me into the role. We were both Assistant Governors at the time and were having a chat at a district conference, one of those chats about the future of the organisation and its challenges, and he just popped the question (not on bended knee), “Will you be my district membership chair?” He either saw something in me or thought if nothing else I would rattle the cage, maybe both. I then rattled off a list of conditions that would have to be met for me to agree to take it on. I won’t list them all but in essence it was about doing it my way. I didn't want all of my innovation to by stymied by traditionalists, and I have never marched well to the beat of someone else's drum. To my shock, he said yes. Bugger! I can't emphasise strongly enough that whatever I was able to achieve would not have been possible without the undying support and empowerment offered by Jerry and our next two district governors, Dick Wilson and Sam Camporeale. That is something I will always remember, but sadly I know it’s not the case in Rotary districts everywhere. I’ve seen elsewhere that it’s not always about getting the best person for the job. I’ve seen elsewhere PDGs shuffled around the various big district postings to “keep them busy”, and I’ve also seen extremely talented and capable people crushed when their bright ideas get the kybosh because “we’ve always done it this way.” Worst of all I've seen membership decline right across our land because too many people want to stick to the ways of the past. Lucky for me, that was never an issue in D9520. I got to try new things with the blessing and support of everyone around me, and I feel we did get to make a difference.

The Message

Our district leaders had been telling the rank and file for many years that they needed to find new ways to do things, but when it came to membership leadership at district level, I felt we had to lead by example and find new ways to do things too. Every year our District Governors Elect head off to San Diego and are told “this year we need to get serious about membership”. Then every year those District Governors elect tell their district leaders and club presidents “this year we need to get serious about membership”. And you can guess what the rank and file have been told each year by their new presidents. As one of those in the rank and file, I was totally over being beaten over the head with the membership stick, and I recognised that membership fatigue was setting in. The message wasn’t changing, and people had stopped listening. Now that I was about to have considerable influence in the lead role for membership at district level, my first task was to change the message. I felt that it was time to stop telling Rotarians to find new members. It was time to start looking closely at the processes within our clubs and how they affected the recruitment and retention of members. It was about taking time to sharpen the axe instead of continually swinging it harder at the tree.

A few years earlier I remember reacting strongly to a letter to the editor of Rotary Down Under, in which the author had suggested there must be something wrong with the younger generation, because they weren’t joining Rotary. I wrote a response suggesting that maybe the problem wasn’t with the younger generation, but with Rotary - and it was published. Many concurred with my statements, but many didn’t. I found out fairly quickly that you meet with a fair share of resistance when you start questioning the way things are done. But I also started attracting supporters, and by my actions empowered club leaders to be brave and get these issues on the agenda. Of course I wasn’t the first Rotarian to suggest we needed to change, far from it. But I think I was probably the first district leader to get really “in your face” about it D9520. I will openly admit that I’ve been deliberately provocative with my language about the need to change, and I have no regrets whatsoever. The cage needed rattling, the pot needed stirring, the boat needed rocking and the bear needed poking. I have no doubt been struck from a few Christmas card lists as I have made a few enemies in this role, but I have made literally hundreds more friends.

The Epiphany

After reading about a Young Professionals’ Summit held by Rotary in Chicago, I was really keen to run my own here in Adelaide. I had great support from Nicole Hayden, Senior Coordinator, Membership Resources & Support at Rotary HQ in Evanston, who ran the summit. I had been fortunate to meet Nicole at the International Convention in Sydney, and she was very helpful with information and feedback from their summit. I did a lot of research in order to give a presentation on what younger people we looking for in Rotary, and that information from Nicole was invaluable. It was during this research that I had quite the epiphany. It suddenly struck me for the first time that our meeting-centric platform was our organisation's biggest problem. Younger people are happy to volunteer, they’re just not so keen on meetings. If Rotary was to seriously turn around its membership fortunes, we had to start to focus more on volunteering opportunities and lose our obsession with meetings. I cannot describe how bright this light bulb was that had suddenly switched on in my head, but that revelation would become central to all of my efforts and strategies from that point. There are those who don't share my thoughts on this topic, and we do indeed need diversity of opinion when it comes to membership matters, but no-one will ever convince me now that more doing and less meeting is not the way forward. For the record, I have never suggested that meetings aren't important, just that we have too many of them and a more productive use of our volunteers' valuable time could be found out in the community. Meetings should be about planning and idea sharing, not guest speakers, fines, bling and dodgy food.

The Speech

PDG Dick Wilson gave me an extraordinary opportunity during his year as governor, the same year we ran the aforementioned Young Professionals’ Forum. He asked me to speak about membership at his district conference. The request first came through someone on his conference committee, and I initially thought they had me mistaken for someone else. Why would he want a talk about membership at a district conference?  I had spoken at numerous district assemblies and PETS, easily 50 clubs, even an institute, but invariably to audiences primed to hear a membership message. I remember suggesting to Dick that a district conference audience weren’t really going there to hear about membership. But he thought it was important, and gave me a free reign to say whatever I wanted. Now that can be dangerous. I set about crafting what I considered to be my most challenging presentation ever, and I told Dick that this was going to be right between the eyeballs. He gave me a wink and said, “That’s what I’m hoping for”. It was basically following up on that premise that most of our barriers to recruitment were as a result of our meeting-centric platform. There’s a video recording of it here if you can spare 25 minutes. I didn’t realise it at the time, but that presentation I gave, and perhaps more importantly the audience I gave it to really did set things in motion in a way I couldn’t have predicted. Dick is clearly a lot smarter than me. He is a surgeon and I’m just a guy who sells lollies, but he knew all along what he wanted. He knew that a stimulating and challenging message would achieve more if it was delivered to an audience that didn’t normally sign up to hear it.

I genuinely feel from that point, the rate of change has picked up in our district. I also made a conscious decision to be “in your face” about new flexible options for meetings as a result of the 2016 Council on Legislation changes.

The New Club

The other factor that I feel has encouraged clubs to try new things is the chartering of the Rotary Club of Seaford. It was a long and hard road getting that club (now my club) up and running, but it is a stunning example of what is possible if you’re prepared to change things up, and I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t part of my initial motivation – to showcase what was possible. I have blogged at length about the process and what I’ve learned from it, so I won’t go over old ground again, but I am really pleased that people are asking how it all happened with a view to trying some of the innovations which work at Seaford.

Over the years I have collected a vast repository of membership ideas from the numerous seminars, webinars, conferences and conventions I have attended, blogs I have read and conversations I have had. And I guess I’ve had a few good ideas of my own, but I had often wondered how successful a club could be if it didn’t just talk about these initiatives, but actually implemented them. As it turned out, the only way to find out was to start a club and follow all of those great ideas, and it has worked a treat. I’m not going to pretend that the Rotary Club of Seaford is some kind of Rotary nirvana; we do face some of the same challenges that other clubs face, but getting a club started from thin air was a pretty amazing achievement. We’ve found some amazing people and are doing some amazing things. Special thanks to Charter President Cecilie Cardwell for her unyielding enthusiasm and hard work, especially given she became a mum for the first time only a few months before last year's charter. Yet another Rotary alumni shining as a Rotarian.

The People

I have always maintained that the more you put into Rotary, the more you will get out. I have put a lot in, but I’ve got a lot out too. I have met some extraordinary people, including my top three Rotary heroes.

I shared a stage with Past RI Director Stuart Heal in a membership Q&A at last year’s district conference. Stuart sparked a fire in me many years with his straight talking commentary on change, a fire that still burns. I shared my car with best selling author Michael McQueen for three hours to and from a conference. I'm one of his biggest fans and have hung on his every word about the battle for relevance and attracting the next generation of Rotary. Ten years ago as Edwardstown club president I was so very impressed by then RI President Bill Boyd, and to meet him and have him sit in on a membership workshop I conducted was also a massive thrill. These three Rotarians have all been huge sources of inspiration along my Rotary journey.

Earlier this year I was flown out to speak at PETS in D9710 Canberra and also PETS in D9570 Gladstone, where I again met many more amazing people. A special mention to my friend Mark Wallace, who asked me to speak in Canberra. In his previous position as RDU Magazine editor, Mark regularly gave me a national voice, not without personal repercussions once, and this is something I will never forget. I am simply shattered that he has been lost to Rotary. I also need to acknowledge my good mate Steve Hayter, who has been my right hand man by partnering with me in a number of presentations around the traps, and has been a great reference point when I've questioned the relevance of my thinking to a younger audience. He's a real giver, a deep thinker, a great presenter and has a way of brightening up the room. Thank you for your support in this role Steve. I really hope we see you back soon.

The Regrets

I’ve had a few. But then again, too few to mention. I won’t take it personally, but I am disturbed that our district membership has continued to decline over my tenure. If anything the curve is getting steeper. Ours is but one district in but one part of the world experiencing considerable losses over the last decade or so, and to an extent we're just caught up in that current and being dragged along. Rotary's current global membership challenges are not so much a product of today's actions, but yesterday's inaction. Quite simply our organisation has not managed to keep pace with the rapidly changing society we inhabit. In many ways we're still trying to selling encyclopedia sets in the google age. We reap what we sow, and in the same way yesterday's decisions are affecting today's outcomes, today's decisions will effect tomorrow. 

I regret that more clubs didn’t come forward and ask for help. I virtually begged for membership challenged clubs to put up their hands, but only one club did, the Rotary Club of Norwood. Only a few years ago there were talks of handing in their charter, but as a result of working with that club, preparing and sticking to a rejuvenation plan, that club is now reinvigorated and growing. I learned early on that a large part of district leadership is about leading horses to water, but I never get over the sight of horses that died of thirst within reach of the waterhole. 

I regret the loss of two clubs under my watch, Brighton and Barmera. We also lost Marion and Lameroo a few days before I stepped into the role. Interestingly, Lameroo (a remote community in the Murray Mallee) now has a new thriving Lions club less than three years after losing its Rotary club. Many of us attributed that loss to economic downturn following a long drought and the exodus of young families. It's clear now that Lions are offering something that Rotary didn't, and when I find out what it is, there will definitely be another blog.

As I look back I think one of my best achievements was being able to change the membership conversation and provide genuine options for the path forward. That was my part in sowing the crop. I guess I won’t get to see what we reap from that for a few years yet.

The Future

Where to for me from here? Well I’m looking forward to spending some quality time in club land. As a new club, Seaford will need some mentoring and guidance for some time, and I am very happy to be organising projects and cooking sausages again after a stint of frying bigger fish. The offers have been there to do more stuff at district level, but other than participating in the odd membership conversation, I am happy to take a step back for now. 

After little more than a taste of working on membership initiatives at zone level, I am more than a little frustrated that the opportunity to continue this work appears to have evaporated along with the RI funding that we depended on. The future co-ordination of membership initiatives at zone level appears uncertain at present, but if a way to make a tangible difference were to present itself, I would certainly give it due consideration. I did apply for a position on an international membership committee which advises the board, but missed out.

The last three years have certainly been my most challenging, but also my most rewarding. There have been times that the mental, physical and emotional exhaustion have severely affected me, but every time I have been uplifted by the extraordinary people around me. Three years is a long time and I feel it’s good for both me and the district to have a change. I have great faith in my successor PDG Euan Miller to forge the next phase of our district's membership strategy. It is important that these roles have new input and fresh ideas from time to time, and I am excited by the new emphases and strategies Euan is about to implement. Euan has been a mentor of mine since my early days of finding my way at district level and a good friend, and I will happily support him from the back seat if asked. He was also the main driver of Norwood's impressive turnaround, so I know he has what it takes.

Right now I am working very hard as the convener of the upcoming Regional Membership Conference on August 26 & 27 (please click here and book your ticket NOW), and that will keep me busy for a few months. I’m also doing a bit of work behind the scenes for the upcoming Polio Ute Relay, but both of those jobs will be over in a few months.

The Family

I have two wonderful families. My Rotary family, who have seen quite a lot of me, and my wife Debra and children Aaron and Elise, who have supported me throughout the journey but haven’t seen as much of me as I would like. I want to say a special word of thanks to Debra for being so forgiving and supportive. It hasn’t always been easy, but she knows how important Rotary is to me and never complains. I will never take something on without giving 100%, and I hang up my boots from this role knowing I have given it my all. 

Getting Engaged

Engagement. It’s a word that is so hard to fully grasp, yet so very important to Rotary. It can be quite difficult to explain what member engagement means, but one thing’s for sure; we all seem to know when members are engaged and when they’re not. Most clubs seem to have those members that turn up to everything, and those members you rarely see. 

Engagement can be described many ways, but I actually quite like the definition of engagement from an engineering perspective: “To make one part of a machine fit into and move together with another part or parts of a machine.” A Rotary club is like a machine that has lots of working parts, but the machine will only work at its best when all of those parts are engaged and working together.

We do bandy this “engagement” word around quite a lot. I tend to recall it was around ten years ago that we Rotarians started to hear this concept of prioritising engagement over attendance. As an organisation we had become obsessed with members attending meetings and measuring attendance.

We had “attendance” officers and attendance reports, and up to only a few years ago had to return said reports to district leaders. We used to hand out 100% attendance certificates to members who had made it to every meeting in the year. I must admit I have a few of those certificates filed away somewhere (you can still buy them here - sigh!). My former club, the Rotary Club of Edwardstown had a tradition whereby if 100% of the club’s members attended the one meeting (i.e. no apologies), the president had to shout the bar. It happened twice in 19 years (once to me).

The problem with esteeming attendance is that one could be regarded as a good Rotarian simply by attending a lot of meetings, yet make very little contribution to what really mattered - club projects and fundraising initiatives. We still have rules that dictate minimum attendance requirements of our members. In layman’s terms it is still a requirement of membership that members attend a minimum of 50% of club meetings and/or service projects. The actual formula is a bit more complicated than that, but we’re not all mathematicians. For those members who struggle to meet those minimum requirements, do we just terminate them, or is it worth putting in the effort to find out why?

How do we elicit better engagement from our members? That can be a hard question to answer, but there’s a much tougher question ahead. Every member is different, and every member is perhaps looking for something a little different from their Rotary membership, but there is one formula that applies universally to every single member: Action expresses priorities. That beautifully eloquent and simple quote is attributed to Mohandas Ghandi, and I feel it says a lot about who turns up to what. The difference between those who say “yes” most of the time, and those who say “no” most of the time (or don't even bother answering the question) is quite simply about priorities, and if Rotary is not a priority for some of your members, you will find it pretty hard to effectively engage them in club activities. Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self” to me implies that part of the deal for members is at least occasionally being prepared to put the needs of the community and the club ahead of our own.

If you really want to do something in life, you generally find a way to make it happen. Most people who achieve great things do so because they had a great desire to do so. Talent, luck, timing and genetics all play a part, but none so much as desire. If Rotary is a priority in a member’s life, more often than not they will engage. If Rotary is not a priority in their life, more often than not they won’t. We often hear “I can’t do the Rotary thing because I have XYZ”. That's not unreasonable provided XYZ is occasionally told “I can’t do your thing because I have Rotary commitments”.

Now for that tougher question I signalled. Instead of asking “How do we better engage our members?”, we need to be asking “Can we make Rotary a bigger priority in the lives of our members?”. It’s only natural to give priority to those things in life that reward us the most. I feel it comes back to the reasons people originally join Rotary. There was likely some sort of gap in their life that at the time they thought Rotary might fill. No-one buys a drill because they need a drill – people buy a drill because they need a hole. 

Some people have a burning desire to volunteer and give back. For some it's about meeting more friends. Some will see Rotary as an opportunity to network and advance their business horizons, and there are those who have been really touched by the work we do and just want to be a part of it. There are many more reasons people join, and it’s often a combination of all of the above, but what we do know is that when members’ needs are not being met, they become disaffected, disinterested and disengaged. As a result, Rotary will quickly drop down their list of priorities. We also know that when members are in this place, we are most likely to lose them. This is why I feel it is vitally important to ask these sorts of questions during the process of introducing potential members to the club, so we can gain some understanding up front of their motivations. It’s unlikely Rotary will find a place amongst anyone’s top priorities if those needs are not being met, or if they can’t foresee a way those needs might be met.

We must also understand that people’s priorities change. The dedication of even the most committed Rotarians is likely to wane if they lose their job, or face a sudden health concern or family trauma. It is not always possible to know what is truly going on in people’s lives. We all wear masks at times and put on a brave face.

I do have a few suggestions for engaging and re-engaging disengaged members:

• Was a mentor formally appointed to the member when they first joined to guide them through the Rotary maze? If so, that mentor needs to be having a conversation. If not, the club probably missed a chance to get off on the right foot with that member.
• Speak to them. Don’t email. Don’t text. Pick up the phone and have a chat. Don’t accuse. Don’t chide. Keep the language constructive. Just ask how they are going. Tell them you’re missing them and ask if everything is OK. More often than not if you ask them, they’ll tell you what the issue is. If it is a club related issue – i.e. they’re not happy with the way something has been done, or there is a personal conflict – you really need to know. But alternatively, if it’s a personal issue – an illness, an affordability issue, heavy work commitments, family problems, etc., it’s important to know about that too. Obviously confidentiality is important with personal issues.
• Find roles that take advantage of their talent and expertise.
• Concentrate on what they CAN do, not on what they CAN’T do.
• Ask THEM what they would like see done in the club. Make sure they are aware that their input is valued. How would THEY like to become more involved?
• Time is a valuable resource for everyone, so we need to use it productively and effectively. It’s no use telling members that you need their input at meetings if your meetings are unproductive.
• Try to have a program of meetings and events which is diverse and capable of interesting a wide range of people. You won’t be able to attract everyone to a program which is predominantly cooking sausages.
• Keep communication channels open. Make sure that anyone who is absent from meetings for a period of time is still receiving emails, bulletins and other correspondence.

At the end of the day though, there is a fine line between encouragement and badgering. If you have to twist someone’s arm out of its socket to join or re-engage with Rotary, is it really worth it? I have spoken and blogged at length about leading horses to water and watering weeds. How much energy can one expend trying to light a fire in those whose actions suggest their priorities lie elsewhere? Should we instead divert our energy to supporting those who exhibit more passion? 

I hate to admit it but sometimes we bring people into Rotary that just aren’t compatible: square pegs in round holes. We've all done something that seemed like a good idea at the time. Like paying up front for that twelve month gym membership, and visiting three times. I guess that’s how gyms make their money! Both parties (the club, and the prospective member) need to be aware of each other’s expectations before induction. There’s a Goldilocks zone when it comes to inducting new members. We shouldn’t leave members hanging on so long that they are wondering if we value them, but nor should we rush to induct them so quickly that one party regrets it.

For as long as I can remember, we Rotarians have been harangued about membership from club, district, zone, and international leaders; and I can tell you the heat has been turned up considerably over the last few years. But it’s always been about numbers. As a district membership chair, I receive constant reports on numbers in and numbers out. I will always argue however, that quality trumps quantity. Our relentless push to increase our numbers sometimes leads to counterproductive outcomes. When I ask my Rotary colleagues in other clubs across and outside of my district how many of their members are productive, the answer is often as low as half. Ironically it’s often the smaller clubs which have the highest productivity per member, because there’s no option but for everyone to jump in and do their share. There is nowhere to hide.

Imagine how much more our organisation could achieve if every one of our 1.2 million members were fully engaged in service above self.

Barking up the Wrong Tree

The cost of being a Rotarian is undoubtedly one of the greatest barriers to membership. But it frustrates me to no end when Rotary leaders suggest clubs look at subscription fees for relief. Let’s face it, there’s not a lot of wriggle room in those membership fees. My own club charges AU$200.00 per annum + magazine. So for most members who choose print editions of Rotary Down Under (AUS) or The Rotarian (USA), their subs will be around the $240.00 mark. But when you break down those costs which include non-negotiable RI dues, insurance, a district levy and aforementioned magazine, there’s not much left in there for club administration costs. So once you get below that (overall) $240.00 mark, clubs can't just shake money out of that tree they've been barking up. Those costs still have to be met somehow. Some clubs will choose to subsidise their membership fees with the proceeds of raffles and fines sessions, but this is really only fiddling around the edges.

In recent years, the language from those at the very apex of our organisational leadership in Evanston has changed somewhat, and we seem to be heading down a much more flexible path. Hallelujah! But amidst this new era of flexibility and rule changes, there remains one central tenet of the organisation where Rotary International remains completely inflexible. Membership of Rotary International is actually very binary. It’s all very well for RI to talk about flexible membership options, but from RI’s perspective, you’re either a one or a zero. You’re a member, or you’re not, and there is ZERO flexibility when it comes down to your RI Dues. According to THIS ARTICLE, RI thinks we have options for districts to be flexible with their levies and for clubs to be flexible with their admin costs, but good luck finding the flexible dues department at 1560 Sherman Avenue.

It’s dangerous to get me started on this, but maybe if RI could embrace electronic communication rather than continually flying people all over the world, our RI dues (not to mention our carbon footprint) wouldn’t be constantly on the rise. And don’t tell me that hugely expensive dinosaur that is our Council on Legislation couldn’t be conducted electronically!

News flash: The biggest cost of being a Rotarian is not membership fees, but meeting costs. Before joining the Rotary Club of Seaford, I was a proud member of the Rotary Club of Edwardstown for 19 years, but here’s what it cost me to be a Rotarian in that club. Each week I paid $21.50 for a meal, $4.00 for a drink, $1.00 for a raffle ticket, at least another dollar or two in fines, and I usually stuck a few bucks in the Rotary Foundation change box that got passed around. So there was rarely a week that I would walk away with much change from $30.00. I am one of those Rotarians who turned up pretty much every week, so multiply that by 50 and we’re talking $1,500 give or take. Plus about $240 in subs.

It’s blatantly obvious to me that if we really wish to make Rotary more affordable, we need to start barking up the meal and meeting cost tree. At Seaford, we meet fortnightly, and most meetings are run in such a way that meals are optional. We do change our venue regularly, and often we meet in members’ homes where we all bring a plate to share. Obviously that doesn’t cost nothing, but it doesn’t cost much. Here are some examples of other meeting places, all of which have little or optional meal costs. We have met a few times at the local soccer club where members can choose (or choose not) to order in pizza or a burger from a local restaurant for between $15 and $20. Drinks are available at the bar, and the venue is happy with that income as a contribution. We have met in a meeting room of a local library and either brought a plate to share, or ordered from the local Subway, which was less than $10 per head. We have also held meetings in the community garden we helped develop, where we just pull out a few tables after a working bee and order pizzas, or have a BBQ. We have also met in local cafes where you can order a meal if you like, but if you just want a coffee or a milk shake, that’s OK too. By the way; we don't do fines, raffles, change boxes, and all that other money sucking stuff!

Here’s the thing. The Rotary Club of Seaford has a strong focus on DOING, and is not so obsessed with MEETING. I have been commenting on this problem in Rotary for a number of years now – i.e. that we have become too “meeting centric” and should focus more on service. It’s about a year now since the 2016 Council on Legislation, where new rules were passed allowing for much more meeting flexibility, but sadly, most clubs remain steadfastly opposed to such changes. For the record, there are many clubs that are travelling quite well, are very active and have achieved steady growth, and to those clubs my suggestion would be to stick with what they are doing. But that’s not the case everywhere. Our membership in the western world is in drastic decline, clubs are handing in their charters, and we really need to be looking at different ways to engage with our members, our potential members, and our communities.

I have been asked to speak to quite a large number of clubs about flexibility and the Seaford model, and for the most part, it’s been fairly well received, but that obsession with meetings is hard to shake. I can almost see some Rotarians' heads about to spin off when I start talking about the way we do things at Seaford. One of those clubs I visited a while ago had been debating for some time the merits of moving to fortnightly meetings. The majority of members in that club were keen to try it, but one particular member threatened that he would resign if such a move was made. Well, the club has just moved to fortnightly meetings, and said member has just resigned. I guess “Service Above Self” wasn’t a determining factor in his decision. Reminds me a little of the sorts of threats made 25 odd years ago when clubs were considering inducting females!

I am encouraged to read more and more articles about clubs meeting in cafes and parks, and of course the growth worldwide in E-clubs. Some people do actually recognise that we are here to serve, not to meet. Of course we do need opportunities to discuss our ideas and plans. There IS a place for meetings, but it doesn't have to be the same place you find rump steak and chicken schnitzel, and it certainly doesn't have to be every week. There are so many brilliant and passionate people out there who want to give back and be a part of something bigger, and if Rotary could be a bit more accessible to them, and yes, I mean financially, they might just want to join us.

But it's tradition

I love Australian Rules football, and at the time of writing this, my beloved Adelaide Crows are undefeated on top of the AFL ladder. Today for the first time ever, there will be a game of AFL football held on Good Friday. I listen to a fair bit of talk-back radio, and every year during the weeks leading up to Easter, the same conversation ensues. “Should we hold football matches on Good Friday?” Well, it is now happening, and the debate has ramped up. Many of those in the “no” camp constantly use one word to describe their opposition… TRADITION.

Followers of this code will know that no other sporting code in the world has constantly fiddled with its rules as much as the AFL. Every year there are new rules and new interpretations to those rules, many of which leave players, umpires and fans completely bamboozled. Many of the game’s traditional elements are slowly disappearing.

The bounce, for example – the method by which umpires start play (or re-start after a stalemate), has been largely replaced by throwing the ball up. Bouncing an oblong (apparently the correct term is prolate spheroid) shaped ball straight up into the air to give opposing rucks an equal opportunity is a very difficult skill – especially if the ground is wet or muddy. By using this method, the ball can often fly off at angles, giving one team a considerable advantage. Nowadays the bounce is only used rarely and the ball is thrown up. Many lament this disappearing tradition of our game, but most realise it produces a fairer outcome. It’s quite likely the bounce will soon disappear forever.

Hang on – this is meant to be a Rotary blog. Well, I actually think that the slow disappearance of the bounce in Australian Rules Football has close parallels to some of our Rotary traditions. There are many things we do as Rotarians, particularly in meetings, which really serve no practical purpose. They are just tradition. How was it decided over 100 years ago that the best way to start/restart play was to bounce an oddly shaped ball? Who knows – but it stuck. How was it decided over 100 years ago that Rotary club presidents wore blingy collars around their necks? How was it decided that a sergeant would tell dodgy jokes and collect fines from members? How was it decided that we would hold our glasses in the air and “toast” someone or something? Singing, praying, the ringing of bells? What was going on in society way back then that made these rituals so important? Well, I wasn’t there, and I don’t know, but the bigger question is, why are they still observed today?

I guess there’s a certain romance and nostalgia to tradition. When something is considered best practice, it’s quite reasonable that it be passed on to the next generation. But I don’t see best practice in any of these things. I suppose they all seemed like a good idea at the time. My personal Rotary journey has been one of massive change. From joining the ranks out of Rotaract in 1997, where I viewed Rotary as a more grown-up, serious version of Rotaract, and would dare not question club practices, I found myself growing into more senior positions in the club. Eventually I served as Rotary Club of Edwardstown president in 2006/07, and suddenly I had quite a bit of influence within the club. It was around that time that I started to question our traditions, and not long after led somewhat of a revolt against them. We soon dropped many of the Rotary rituals, starting with the singing of the National Anthem, then the toasts, and eventually the Rotary Grace disappeared as well. None without a struggle mind you. I don’t seriously think any of those things were missed. Then I joined the Rotary Club of Seaford when it chartered last November, where I now experience Rotary without a sergeant, weekly meetings, compulsory meals, regular guest speakers, bells, banners, collars, collection boxes, and many other things that had been part of my Rotary experience for 19 years.

And guess what? I feel my current Rotary experience is as active and productive as it has ever been - maybe more so. We are helping our local and international communities, we are sending young people to Rotary leadership events, we are building a network of community leaders, we are training our members, we are working hard to raise funds for future projects. Most importantly, we are growing. We are doing all that stuff that I feel is really important in Rotary, but we aren’t being held back by all the things that aren’t.

And that’s where I draw a line on traditions. It’s not just that many of our traditions no longer serve a useful purpose, it’s that they are holding us back. To many potential members, they are relics of a bygone era. They remind them of things their grandparents used to do.

One of my favourite authors and Rotary commentators Michael McQueen says in his book Winning the Battle for Relevance:

The longer a boat is in water, the more barnacles build up over time to the point where they can significantly reduce a boat’s speed, agility and efficiency. In order to combat this, boats must have their hulls scraped on a regular basis. In an organisational context, it is critical that leaders routinely and consciously scrape off traditions and rituals that have become encrusted like barnacles.

To be honest, I’m somewhat ambivalent about Good Friday football. I can see why many want it, and I can also empathise with those who feel that the day should be left alone. The bounce however, which is not only unpredictable, but responsible for chronic shoulder and back injuries to umpires, has no compelling reason other than “tradition” to remain.

I encourage you all to look at those things you do in Rotary. If there are better ways, we must find them. Happy Easter and Go the Crows!

Reaching for the Roundup

Today I want to share with you the most valuable piece of advice I have ever received as a Rotarian. This simple quote genuinely helped me through a few challenges a little while ago, and I only wish I had have received it many, many years earlier. It has helped my decision making process as a district leader, but it can also be of use all Rotarians who are trying to move this great organisation forward, and in your non-Rotary lives as well. 

So, what was that piece of advice that I found so helpful at a challenging time? What are these words of wisdom? 

Don’t water your weeds. I guess some may find this quote a little cryptic, but as soon as I heard those words, they immediately resonated.

This is the time of year we often hear club presidents comment that they are only now getting into the swing of things and feeling confident in the role, and of course now they only have a few months remaining before someone else steps up. “It would have been nice to know at the start of the year what I now know as president.” Take it from me, a three year posting in my role is no different, and as the end to my tenure approaches, I now have plenty of advice that I’d love to send back in time to myself three years ago. But I guess that’s life. It’s one big learning curve. That’s why I think it’s important to pass on this one piece of advice to those who will be at the forefront of our membership struggles for the years to come.

I guess the crux of the matter is that we have to pick our battles. At the moment our Aussie cricketers are in India learning (sometimes the hard way) which ball to leave. It’s the same in life. I came into this role with a load of energy and good intentions, and some bold ideas about what clubs needed to do to attract and retain more members. I was slashing my bat at every ball that came my way. No doubt about it, I have certainly learnt a lot in this role in three years. I have been fortunate to have rubbed shoulders with some great Rotary minds and have acquired some good tips. But to be frank, it has always been about change that isn’t happening. Resistance to change has been my constant battle. Prior to my current district role, I spent three years as an assistant governor, and another two years prior to that as district TRF grants chair. It didn’t take me long to work out that district appointments are primarily about leading horses to water. No matter how hard you try, no matter how cool and refreshing the water, you just can’t make horses drink.

The thing about weeds is that they don’t need watering. They will grow on their own by sucking the nutrients and moisture from the soil that your (desired) plants need. In the same way, I’ve seen perennially (membership) challenged clubs suck the enthusiasm out of not only their own members, but the district leaders who try in vain to turn things around. That’s why I feel district leaders need to triage clubs from a membership development perspective. There will be clubs at the healthy end of the scale that do not need urgent attention, likewise there will be clubs at the terminal end of the scale that are either beyond help, or as is often the case, refuse to accept it. Some patients won’t recover from major surgery, even when it's the only option. Priority must be given to those clubs that need AND ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT help, and have a reasonable prospect of recovery. To do anything else is merely watering weeds. Clubs WILL shrivel and die. We need to accept that and move on, applying our most precious resource: TIME, to where it can do the most good. And that’s really what this blog is about – the productive use of our time and energy as leaders. Because each of us has only a finite amount.

I do want to be crystal clear on this, we need to make ourselves and other membership resources available to all clubs, of all shapes and sizes, everywhere. But it's got to be a two way street. They've got to be fair dinkum about it, and they must understand that the type of thinking that got them into the membership doldrums will not get them out if them. Most will want the situation to change, but only few are prepared to MAKE CHANGES in order to bring it about. In some cases an entire new plan of attack needs creating. Sometimes it’s just about pointing out existing Rotary documents that are available online, sometimes it’s about visiting clubs and presenting a different viewpoint on the topic, and sometimes it’s just about having a chat with a few members over a coffee. But there comes a time with some clubs, that the banging of heads against brick walls just has to stop. It’s a story I can tell over and over again of clubs at which maintaining the status quo has become paramount. When the prospect of handing in a charter is not seen as the worst case scenario, but the lesser of two evils compared with the other option which involves being dragged kicking and screaming out of the comfort zone, it’s time to move on. If it sounds callous, I’ll cop it. But if by letting those clubs drift into oblivion, you free up the energy and passion to fight for and work with the clubs that genuinely need and will respond to help, it’s the right thing to do.

There’s a little known fact regarding the inception of the Rotary Club of Seaford, the club I built from thin air and joined last November at its charter night. In October 2014 I was asked by our then district governor to speak with members of a small, membership challenged club in the same region. This club, which I will refer to as the Rotary Club of Next Door, has hovered between 6 and 8 members for as long as I can remember. I was of course very keen to have that conversation, and was ready, willing and able to help. But I have always stuck by a steadfast rule since taking on the role of district membership chair; I will only go where I’m invited. If any club wants help, they need simply ask. But I have never, and will never try to force help upon a club. I made this clear to the DG in question, and he fully expected I would get a phone call from the Rotary Club of Next Door within days. Again, that was October 2014.

In anticipation of that call, I started researching the demographics of the region so as to be fully prepared to help that club, but as a result of that research, I noticed the massive population growth in nearby Seaford, a region totally devoid of service clubs. That realisation was the spark that lit the Seaford flame within me, and two years (and one hell of a lot of work) later, the Seaford club was chartered with 21 members. Four months later, we have 26 members.

It is now two years and five months since I was told to expect a phone call from The Rotary Club of Next Door. That phone call never came and instead my watering can has spent a good deal of time a few miles away in Seaford, and at a number of other clubs in the district where it has been appreciated.

Penguins and Polar Bears - Part 2

If you didn’t read my part 1 of this 2 part blog about Rotary’s online presence, do yourself a favour and read it. If nothing else it will save me from explaining the Penguin & Polar Bear analogy again.

I promised this second part would cover some of my thoughts on Facebook, and more importantly the way Rotary uses, and sometimes misuses it. I will again stress, as I did in part one, that I don’t consider myself an expert in the field, but I’ve been using it long enough to understand it fairly well, and I wanted to share a few tips about aspects of Facebook for Rotary that don’t often get talked about.

One of the comments I made in part one was that if your club doesn’t have a strong online presence, you might as well be invisible to anyone under 50.  It simply beggars belief that there are still Rotary clubs that don’t have Facebook pages. For some, it’s because they don’t feel they have within their membership the necessary skill set to create and maintain such a page. If that's the case, I would be fairly confident there are members at district level that would be prepared to help set up a page. Have you considered asking your alumni for help? Rotaractors? Interactors? Family members? For others, it’s because they fear it and cannot see the good that can come from it. Sadly for some, Facebook represents change which must be rejected in all forms. 

I wish I could say that no harm can come from a Rotary club having a Facebook page, but unfortunately I can’t. I have seen instances where, as a result of improper security protocols being observed, disgruntled Rotarians in admin roles have caused some serious damage. It is vitally important that a club has at least two page admins, preferably more. There are also some practical reasons for this, such as ensuring some diversity in viewpoint and stories posted by your page, and being able to spread the load – especially if one admin is busy or sick… or leaves. As a personal example of this, I set up a Facebook page for my former Rotary club quite a few years ago. I did make sure there were other members appointed as admins, but over the years I made 99% of the posts on behalf of the club. That page was extremely active, and I used to post on behalf of it 3 or 4 times a week, but I left that club in November 2016 and sadly there has not been one single post made by that club’s page since. Not one. And there are most certainly members in the club capable of doing it. 

How important are “page likes”? They play a role, but are not as critical in determining reach as they once were. Even if I understood Facebook’s algorithms which determine who sees what in their Facebook feed, there would be little point in explaining it, because come next week it will likely have changed again. But even if only 10% of your “likers” get your message, 10% of 500 is better than 10% of 100. So in that respect, the more, the better. Rightly or wrongly, page likes can also play a role in conveying viability and relevance. Whether it’s a page for a restaurant or another small business, or a Rotary club, for some people, a high number of page likes conveys that “this is a popular organisation”. Some Facebook users would find a local Rotary club with 600 page likes a hell of a lot more attractive than a neighbouring club with 50 page likes. How do you get more page likes? Just ask. If every member asked all of their friends to like their club page, you would get a surprisingly positive result. And you can do it all at the push of a button. You can also embed a clickable Facebook “Social Plugin” onto your website, so visitors can like or visit your Facebook page from your website.

Understand though, that a large majority of those who have liked your page are likely to be fellow Rotarians, so there’s an element of preaching to the converted going on when you’re using Facebook to spread the message of the great work you are doing. Sometimes it’s really advantageous to spread a message to fellow Rotarians. For example, if you are holding a quiz night or some other event where you’re trying to get bums on seats, Rotarians in other clubs can be a great target audience. But if your aim is to try and get non-Rotarians interested in your club, you need to employ different tactics. Engagement is where it’s at. If your posts can generate comments and conversations, likes, and shares, your message will start spreading.

I feel the most underutilised resource in spreading great stories about your club and its work are your own members. Well, to be clear, those members with Facebook accounts. In my current club (average age 47), 25 of our 26 members are on Facebook. But in my previous club, with an average age closer to the national Rotary average of 71, less than 50% of members had Facebook accounts. But those members, even if only 50% of your club, can play a vital role in pushing out those posts. 

I do see members hitting the LIKE button, but I really want them to start hitting the SHARE button. Why is it that we will happily hit the share button when it's a video of a cat eating fruit loops out of the packet, but we can't find it within ourselves to share amazing stories about the work we do as Rotarians? Each of your members will have Facebook friends outside of Rotary, so whenever they share a story about your club, more and more members of the general public will get to hear about us. If 20 members each with 300 unique Facebook friends hit the share button, that story could potentially be seen by 6,000 non-Rotarians. Again, Facebook’s complicated algorithms will somehow conspire to make sure that it won’t be the full 6,000, but if NO-ONE hits the share button, your story’s life is limited to a portion of your page likers.

The final concept I wish to convey is something I have spoken about many times before. There are so many facets to Rotary, and so many stories to tell. If you really want to engage your Facebook audience, you shouldn’t limit your content solely to the activities of your own club. A comprehensive story about Rotary will also include stories of what your neighbouring clubs are up to, our Polio eradication efforts, Shelterbox, Peace Studies, Water and Sanitation projects, the Rotary Foundation, Youth Programs, Rotaract, Interplast, Romac, RAWCS, Australian Rotary Health, and many, many more. All of these programs have their own Facebook pages, as does Rotary Down Under, and those pages can all provide great content for your own club page. Just search for them all and like them, and as their fabulous stories fill your own timeline, you can share to your club page to give your audience a taste of that wider world of Rotary.

Penguins and Polar Bears - Part 1

Do you know why polar bears don’t eat penguins? Because polar bears live in the Arctic, and penguins live in the Antarctic. 

The Rotary world has long wondered why younger people aren’t joining (in larger numbers). For the main part, it’s like penguins and polar bears. Rotary Clubs and young people don't always coexist in the same world. I recently heard of a Rotary club celebrating the milestone that 100% of their members now had email accounts. Meanwhile most under 35 rarely if ever use email.

I promised I would write a blog about our online presence, so here it is. (Part 1 is about websites, Part 2 will cover Facebook.) I don’t consider myself an expert in this field, but I have built from scratch about ten websites over the years, and the way we present Rotary to the wider community is a very important piece of the membership puzzle, so I feel I need to weigh in on this critical subject. Before I get to the “hows” I want to discuss the “whys”.

Generations X & Y are increasingly relying on the internet and social media for the information they run their lives by. Things that once required the chopping down of trees, such as the Yellow Pages, street directories and newspapers have been replaced by Google, GPS and Facebook, all of which are now available on a smart phone. Quite simply, if your club does not have an attractive and prominent presence in this online world, you might as well be invisible to this demographic. 

I want to clear up a few myths about what is required for a good Rotary club website. Some have argued that a Rotary Club website should be used for the benefit of the members, providing information on previous and approaching meetings, bulletins, board minutes, even constitutional documents. Conversely, some believe a club website should be about informing the public about what you do. Well, I believe it can be both. But there are only certain things that should be on the landing page. People need a reason to engage. The moment your page appears, you need to hit people with great photos and great stories of how your club is helping your community. A visitor to your website should immediately be able to understand your club’s service priorities. Then they need to know why and how to get involved. That is all you need on a landing page. That page is really valuable real estate. For anyone searching online for your club, it’s their first impression. And first impressions count.

 

According to web marketing agency Tribute Media, you have seven seconds to convey what your club is about, capture the visitor’s interest, and prompt them to take action. They shouldn’t have to search for anything – it should be neatly laid out in front of them. As for fellow Rotarians, from your own or other clubs, who are looking for information about when you next meet or what that last bulletin covered, these things can all go on a different page. Just add hyperlinks to the stuff Rotarians need down the bottom somewhere. Put the links to stuff your non-Rotarian visitors will want very prominently near the top. These are things like “What is Rotary?”, “Volunteer” and “Contact Us”. That’s your front page. Its prime objective is to get non-Rotarians to engage. We want to prompt them to ask more questions, in a non-threatening way. Whilst the long game is about more members, the short game should be more about informing and encouraging. Some people think a "Join Us" or "Become a Member" button is a good idea. But I think first time visitors could be a little reticent to click on one of these.  My preferred option would be "Volunteer" or "Get involved". These words don't elicit the same level of obligation, and this minor change can make a huge difference. 

Your club website needs a simple and easy-to-remember URL. That’s the bit that goes after the “www”. A simple test is what I call the bumper sticker test. The following link has been slightly modified so as not to embarrass the club in question, but it is otherwise a real club website.

"https://portal.clubrunner.ca/12652" 

Would you put that on a bumper sticker? I would hope not. But this is my own club website: 

"www.seafordrotary.org.au" 

Unlike the previous URL, this one requires no explanation and is easy to remember. 

Your website should also be optimised so it can easily be found by search engines. Check out the video below about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). There are plenty of articles about how to do this online, but this video explains it in plain English. Your website host should be able to help also. Is your page mobile and device friendly, or does it only work well on a PC? Also questions your hosting provider can help you with.

Remember, we cannot take it for granted that the people who we want to join us know that we exist. You can't continue to live in separate worlds, like penguins and polar bears. Be on the lookout for Part 2, where I'll give my two bobs' worth on Facebook.