Rhetoric, Reality & Rotary

Here's a word that seems to be springing up in Rotary conversations a bit lately: Narrative. I just did an online lookup for a definition, and one of those listed was "a story that connects and explains a carefully selected set of supposedly true events, experiences, or the like, intended to support a particular viewpoint or thesis".

At a recent membership event, "Narrative" was used repeatedly in reference to the body of communication we deliberately use to describe Rotary to the outside world. It's important that we get this right, and that we Rotarians collectively sing from the same hymn sheet. As a network of autonomous clubs, maintaining a consistent message to the general public is critical, albeit challenging. Public image professionals have been working very hard to craft our message. It's about so much more than mere words; imagery and branding are part of the puzzle too. But one thing Rotary constantly suffers from, is the gap between the narrative and the reality, and once that gap gets big enough, the narrative we have worked so hard to craft becomes little more than rhetoric. 

Getting and keeping members remains an enormous challenge for Rotary, particularly in the western world where our gains aren't keeping up with our losses. Undoubtedly our pubic image and our narrative have a huge role to play when it comes to attracting people into our ranks, but it is the reality of everyday (every week?) life in a Rotary club which plays a much stronger role in keeping them. We are selling a narrative of a global network of community minded volunteers that are active in our communities bringing about positive change. Many buy it, but less than 12 months down the track they're out the door. They've been sold a pup.

When we first join Rotary, we're naturally very excited. It's a bit like bringing home that puppy. Problem is, puppies can lose some of that cuteness when they get bigger and start destroying your home. And if you're not getting something positive out of that relationship it's hard to smile as you pick up the poop. I wouldn't know about that, I've got a cat.

So what is the passion killer that turns so many of our enthusiastic recruits into former members in less than a year? What's the biggest contributor to those unmet expectations that have many recruits questioning what they signed up for? The answer is wasted time, and I feel we can blame that solely on that favourite chestnut of mine: our meeting platform.

For our first 111 years, we were commanded to hold meetings on a weekly basis, and for many of those years there were high expectations placed on our members to attend said meetings. I can remember the days we recorded attendance and forwarded this valuable (???) intel to district officials. It wasn't THAT long ago. So, here's what strikes me as a tad odd. A system that demands weekly meetings and minimum attendance, but doesn't demand ANY productivity at said meetings. I take it back, that's not a tad odd, it's farcical. In recent years our attendance requirements have been relaxed somewhat, and we now have the option of meeting less frequently, but those changes still do nothing to address meeting productivity. Imagine if your only expectation of a workforce was to turn up at work. All public sector jokes aside, we demand productivity of our workforce, why doesn't our system demand it at our meetings? What are we actually attending meetings to do, if not to achieve outcomes? I think somewhere along the way we forgot why we attend meetings. 

The first 19 of my 20 years in Rotary was spent at the Rotary Club of Edwardstown. It's a club I will always love, and my experience there will remain a massive part of my Rotary journey forever. I have developed fabulous friendships with the members and miss them dearly. That club has only recently decided to move to fortnightly meetings, and I wish them every success with the change. But changing meeting frequency alone is only a small part of the challenge. If I look back over my time at Edwardstown, I attended a hell of a lot of meetings. I am one of those Rotarians who does get along to almost every meeting, and could easily boast a 90% attendance record over my time. But I suddenly find myself asking some questions about those meetings I attended for 19 years. Were they enjoyable? Yes. Was the food good? Most of the time. Was the venue comfortable? Extremely! Was the program of speakers interesting? Very good overall. Was the company and conversation stimulating? Certainly. Was the overall experience of attending weekly meetings at my former club a positive one? Absolutely. Now for the harder question, which no-one seems to be asking of Rotary club meetings: Were they the most effective and productive use of my volunteer hours? Well, I'd have to say "No". 

And here's a cold, hard fact we Rotarians need to come to grips with. If we are trying to attract busy people to join our ranks, and part of the deal is an expectation to attend meetings, it is incumbent upon us to make sure those meetings are an effective and productive use of their time. 

Our time is precious, and we each have only a limited supply. Busy people don't have a lot to spare, and if they feel it is being wasted, they will look to contribute it elsewhere. This is where I feel the Rotary reality is farthest from the Rotary rhetoric. We are promising action and a  meaningful contribution to society, but for the average member, what they're experiencing is: meeting, meeting, meeting, BBQ, meeting. Our meeting platform seems to revolve around entertainment and camaraderie. Nothing wrong with either of those, but we have Probus to fill that gap, and it's often well short what we're promising our prospective members. Rotary's motto is Service Above Self, and our meetings should primarily serve as a means to that end. 

In my new club, The Rotary Club of Seaford, meetings are not for entertainment, meetings are about planning and brainstorming. They are in a way similar to the (hopefully productive) committee meetings that many Rotarians hold after their regular (non productive) club meetings. For sure, they do have a fellowship element to them, but that's not the main purpose. We will often hold a meeting in conjunction with a hands on service project, where the emphasis is on actually achieving some sort of tangible outcome in our community. I have spoken at length about this at various membership events, and the concept of "doing" instead of meeting seems at best novel and at worst somewhat foreign to most Rotarians. 

We have become so accustomed to our Rotary lives revolving around meetings that we've forgotten what they are for. I recall one occasion at my former club where I was volunteering at a BBQ. I was doing the cooking, and not facing the customers. At one stage, a customer asked the question, "So, what is it that the Rotary Club of Edwardstown does?". The response from the member serving at the counter started with, "Well, we meet every Tuesday night at the Marion Hotel". It's probably a good thing I was facing the other direction at the time. What was most disappointing, is that the Rotary Club of Edwardstown does some extraordinary things, yet none of them made it to the top of the list. None of them were elevated to the prominence of what for so many is the epitome of Rotary life; the meeting.

There are certainly other areas where the reality doesn't meet the rhetoric, but I feel we cannot afford to drop our narrative to match our reality. The reality in many clubs is actually pretty good, and for them, the narrative is accurate. Instead we need to keep our aim high and encourage less productive clubs to lift their game. I feel if we can use that precious resource of time more effectively, we will give our prospective members more reason to join, and our current members more reason to stay. The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

The Renovator's Delight

Most of us have been through the process of selling a home at least once. I guess there are cases where a quick sale is important, but I would imagine for most vendors, getting the highest dollar return is the number one priority. So it’s in the vendor’s interest to make sure that potential buyers see the home in the best possible light. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of mowing the lawn, pulling a few weeds and cleaning the windows, but sometimes more effort is required to maximise returns, such as that kitchen and bathroom renovation, new flooring and a lick of paint. 

Surely everyone knows that if you are going to add value to the house, the time to do it is before putting it on the market and holding open inspections; before the photographer arrives, before the home is listed online. A good real estate agent will be able to give sound advice on what improvements are likely to maximise the sale price, not just because that is their profession, but because they can be objective.

Objectivity is sadly a bit rare in Rotary. We Rotarians look at Rotary through a different lens to that of the general public, and that can blind us to some of our recruitment barriers. What many Rotarians don’t fully appreciate is that when a visitor attends a club meeting, they too are conducting an open inspection. Many of us have become quite attached to things like fines, songs, presidential bling, flags and raffles, in the same way we became attached to linoleum floors, orange cupboards, popcorn ceilings and pink bathrooms, and we simply cannot fathom why outsiders wouldn’t find these things attractive. 

Quite simply, if they like what they see, they are likely to make further enquiries, and may in the end commit; whether inspecting a home or visiting a Rotary club, it’s the same concept. So if said guest ends up joining Rotary, we rightly pat ourselves on the back for our recruitment efforts. But what happens if we never see them again? For sure, Rotary isn’t for everyone, but there must be at least some interest, or they wouldn’t have agreed to come along in the first place. Can we be sufficiently objective in our mindset so as to look at our clubs and the way we operate, and question if our recruitment problems may well be related to the product?  When the prospective buyers are circling, are we putting our best foot forward? Or are we shooting ourselves in said foot?

I regularly use the example of Kodak 35mm film in my membership presentations. I point out that 20 years ago, everyone had one, and you could purchase one anywhere: supermarkets, pharmacies, service stations, etc. Try finding one now. They are still available - some photographic enthusiasts still prefer 35mm film, but I would imagine they can only be sourced online or from photographic specialists. So, why did they disappear from our lives and our supermarket shelves? What was wrong with them? Well, there was nothing wrong with the product, we simply found a better way and moved on. There’s a good reason supermarkets no longer sell this product; the market evaporated.

In a similar way, many Rotary clubs are trying to sell the same version of Rotary that we were 20 years ago, and when asked why, the response is, “Well, it worked fine back then”. The problem is, it isn’t working so well now. So why are we still trying to sell it? 

We often seem to put the cart before the horse when it comes to recruitment. Once we recognise that membership is a concern, our knee-jerk reaction is often to ramp up promotion of the product, when what we really should be doing is making sure the product is right. How many adverts do you see these days for 35mm film, or street directories, or encyclopaedia sets or fax machines? All are products that have outlived their life cycle.I simply can’t beat around the bush on this one, so I’ll be blunt.

Every dollar you spend, and every minute you contribute to promotional and recruitment initiatives is completely wasted if the product you are selling has passed its use by date. I’ll take it a step further than that. It’s not only wasted, but counterproductive. If, through your efforts, you bring people into a Rotary environment that is a complete turn off, it’s not only likely that you’ll never see them again, it’s likely they’ll tell all of their friends about the experience, which can tar all Rotary clubs with the same brush.

Capisce? Good. So, here are five questions to ask before you embark on that recruitment campaign:

1. Why would someone want to join?

What's in it for them? How will membership of your Rotary club enhance their life?

2. What are your club's service priorities?

If you cannot easily answer that question, you're in strife. Each club should have at least a few causes that really resonate with the members. International service projects are important, but we often fail to see challenges right under our noses. What are you doing to help people within a 5km radius? You'll have a better chance of gaining traction with potential members if you can easily answer that question.

3. What happens with new ideas?

Do you have an environment that actively encourages blue sky thinking and appreciates bright, new ideas? Or do a select few make all of the decisions, most of which are in keeping with the way you've always done things. There's no point in bringing in new people if new ideas are stifled.

4. Other than club meetings, what is on your club calendar?

We have this tendency to promote meetings as the epitome of Rotary life. But "the product", as I refer to it, is about so much more than meetings. It’s about helping people, volunteering, youth development, partnerships, local and international projects, personal growth & training, fundraising, socialising, global connections, networking and so much more. We seem to place a high priority on getting guests to meetings, as if it's the recruitment version of getting to first base. But if your entire list of activities across the Rotary year offers little other than meetings and the occasional sausage sizzle, your balance is out of whack.

5. How's your kerb appeal?

Whilst meetings need not necessarily be the first experience of Rotary for a visitor, it is often the case that they are, so a positive first impression is vital. Does that view of your home from the street cause passers by to stop and stare, or just walk on by? That first glimpse of your club better be adding value to the Rotary product and not detracting from the great work we do. Beauty is often only skin deep, but ugly Rotary usually goes all the way to the bone. 

The biggest challenge with all of these questions is getting an unbiased answer. It may be worthwhile speaking to your assistant governor or getting the assistance of a someone from your district membership committee. Invite one of your kids or grandkids to a meeting, and get them to give you an honest impression.

Remember - you wouldn't invite friends over for a dinner party, and hand them the dustpan and broom as they walk through the door. You'd do all that cleaning up first. It's the same concept when we make up our minds to launch a recruiting campaign. Pull the weeds, clean the windows, and throw on that coat of paint. Get your product ready for sale, then - and ONLY then, promote the gizzards out of it!

Gender Diversity - are we Fair Dinkum?

Women's Rights Conference in Saudi Arabia. Not a woman in sight.

This year marks 30 years since the US Supreme Court ruled that a Rotary club could not refuse members on the grounds of gender, but I feel we still have a long, long way to go. 

With a fellow Australian now leading our organisation, I have chosen to use a great part of the Australian vernacular in the title of this blog. For those non-Australians reading along who I have managed to confuse, I suggest you Google what "fair dinkum" means. As I have regularly commented, my Rotary journey began as a Rotaractor, in a club with an approximate 50:50 split of males and females. I'll give you the strong tip, that was a big factor in getting most of us in. I met my then future wife Debra through Rotaract, so I have much to thank Rotaract for. But back in 1986 when I joined Rotaract, Rotary was only for men. Rotary has for a long time hoped that its alumni would wind up amongst its ranks, but back when I joined Rotaract, it wasn’t even possible for half of us. What sort of message do you think that sent to us Rotaractors? I find myself frequently concerned with the unconscious messages we send, yet so many within our ranks are oblivious to the public implications of our actions.

My own sponsoring club, the Rotary Club of Edwardstown eventually voted to admit women in 1994, three years before I joined it. There were a few dissenting voices, and one or two members resigned as a result. Not long after women were admitted, women started becoming club presidents. Not long after women started becoming club presidents, women started becoming district governors. One might think the logical extension of that pattern to the very top levels of Rotary leadership would be a fait accompli, but sometimes I wonder if we will see a female pope before we see a female president of Rotary International.

There are still clubs which refuse to admit women, clubs here in Australia. I am proud to say there are none of them in District 9520. I was recently speaking (outside of my own district) to the president elect of an all-male club in a round table conversation about diversity in Rotary clubs, a conversation I was asked to facilitate as a membership specialist. I will never forget his response when I questioned the stance of the club, “Well, if the women don’t like it, there’s another club just down the road.”

The message, quite rightly, coming from Rotary leadership at the highest levels has been for a long time that our Rotary clubs need to be a diverse representation of our communities. Well, either we still have some communities without women, or we are still failing in gender diversity stakes. And where might we Rotarians look for a shining example of gender diversity? How about the board of directors of Rotary International itself, you might ask? Surely the body at the top, charged with charting the future path of the organisation would set the best example of gender diversity? Well, look away now, because the current board of 20 (right) includes only one female. No, that’s not a typo.

I wish to congratulate those who serve Rotary at the highest level. This is not a job for the feint hearted. It requires a heavy commitment over two years, and only the highest calibre of person is elected to this role. You can scan through a short bio of each board member here. 

I have met the two Australians in that group, RI President Ian Risely and Director Noel Trevaskis, and their contribution to the organisation has been nothing less than exemplary. I have been lucky enough to be in audiences when they have spoken, and they are very impressive human beings indeed, well deserving of these appointments. Their eligibility is not in question. And it is only proper to admit that the opportunity for women to be nominated as candidates is within our hands. One cannot blame the current board for being elected to that position. But something just isn’t right.

Noel joined Rotary in 1996, only one year prior to myself. Whilst there’s no rule suggesting 20 years of Rotary experience is deemed necessary before one will be considered eligible for such a role, we do know that there were plenty of extraordinary women in the organisation 20 years ago. So my question is, where are they now? A quick scan through that list of bios will reveal that a high level of executive corporate experience is par for the course. That of course is completely reasonable for a board position on a global organisation such as ours. You could fit my entire corporate experience on the back of a postage stamp, so I won’t be putting my hand up, but I just can’t understand why more of our organisation’s female corporate leaders are not in the mix.

Here are the two main questions I would ask about the disproportionate representation of women on the Rotary International board: Does Rotary leadership consider it a problem, and if so, what can be done about it?

I can’t speak for RI leadership, but I recently used this quote in a blog, “Action Expresses Priorities”. If RI’s actions are any indication, this isn't seen as a problem. But I see it as a problem, and here’s why. Firstly, it’s about the optics; the message it sends. I’ve just finished a three year stint as a district membership chair, during which a fair portion of my energy was expended on impressing upon clubs the importance of diversity and methods to increase it amongst our ranks. The best district rate for female membership in Australia is 26%, so we clearly have a long way to go. But there’s a certain tone of “Do as I say, not as I do” implicit in diversity challenges from Rotary’s leadership when its own board has only one female member. We all (rightly) poke fun and snicker at the top image of a women’s rights conference in Saudi Arabia, without a woman in the room. It just sends the wrong message. In the same way, we are sending the wrong message, a message that isn’t solely received by Rotarians. The world is watching, and I don’t feel we can effectively convey that we are an organisation based on diversity when gender diversity is not present at the top level.

Secondly, if more female Rotarians were visible in these senior roles, I feel more female Rotarians would be encouraged to set their aim higher. It would be self-perpetuating. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, there are multiple studies that reveal the value of having more female representation at board level. Jane Stevenson & Julie C. Norris writing for the Korn Ferry Institute put it well:

“Call it diversity 3.0 in the boardroom. Boards have shifted from talking supportively about the representation of women, to actively recruiting them and determining how best to reap the benefits this diversity can provide. This adjustment shows how, as a culture, we have moved beyond superficial definitions of diversity—“having a woman on the board,” for example—to understanding that the actual payoff comes from integrating the cultural change required for true diversity of thought to take root.”    Full article here.

Rotary’s global membership has now flat lined for 25 years, and if not for the staggering growth in the developing world offsetting the staggering decline in the developed world, we would be in serious doodoo. You would have to be hiding under a rock to be unaware of our current membership, public image and relevance challenges, and this is why a different way of thinking at the apex of the organisation is now so critical. Will more women on the board change that? Surely it’s worth a try.

My second question presents the bigger challenge. What can be done about it? Yes, the system is already in place for women to be nominated to these positions. But if we are fair dinkum about diversity, we can’t just leave it at that. Surely we should be asking why, if the opportunity is there, aren’t more women on the board, and what can we do about it? Well firstly, we can try harder. Many will understandably advocate for merit based appointments, and believe that quotas or affirmative action should be avoided.

Here’s the simple reason in this instance that I think otherwise. We need to right an historic wrong. Rotary is responsible for keeping women out for the first 84 years of our history, and we remain responsible for keeping women out of individual clubs which still will not accept them. I believe we need to find ways to fast track the right women into these senior positions, if for no other reason than because we found a way to keep them out for so long, and in some instances still are. We can't afford to wait another 20 or 30 years to see if there is an organic correction.

If anyone tells me “it can’t be done”, I would remind them that we were told the same thing 30 years ago when we dreamed of a world without polio. I might also suggest they’re not being fair dinkum about gender diversity.

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!