3. NOT YOUR GRANDPA’S ROTARY CLUB ANYMORE, OR IS IT?
PRID STEPHANIE URCHICK & PDG TOM GUMP
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
4. Behaviors and
attitudes
01
If club is
running
smoothly, your
culture is a
source of
strength
02
What is Club
Culture and
Why is It
important?
If your club is
not running
smoothly, its
culture may
need shifting
03
5.
6. THE #1 REASON PEOPLE LEAVE ROTARY
– THEY ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THE
CLUB’S CULTURE!
So Why is
club culture
so important?
8. conducting
Assessments
You need to understand your club's culture
to understand:
• If it needs to be changed,
• Why it needs to be changed, and
• How to change it.
10. What to
do
Which leads to the million dollar question...
You've done an assessment
& your club
is on life support.
Should you simply reimagine your
club and make some tweaks, or
should you from a satellite club or
a new club?
What if your club keeps on the
path it’s going & it doesn’t
improve? What happens to your
club? What happens if your club
dissolves?
fight or
Flight?
11. take
these
3 steps
To fight to protect the
current club as is or flee to
escape the current club? It
depends?
Which is better?
The freeze
When we realize our club is not at its best,
we call this the freeze. This is when you
should resolve to fix the problem.
01
Decide on what actions you will take to
deal with the issues.
02
03 Ask: "Are there enough influencers/spark
plugs in the club to move the needle."
12. 1
2
4
3
New clubs grow rotary quicker
New clubs retain members
longer
new clubs attract younger & more diverse
members
new clubs expand reach out into the
community
start a new club
Why? because they work!
5 new clubs increase partnership
opportunities
13. Key take-aways
It is not hard to start a new & creative
Rotary or Rotaract club & there are many
people to help you.
Just imagine how, together, we might grow
Rotary - and grow the support of our
Foundation.
14. Why is
buy-in
Important
?
And how
do we
Establishing club
member buy-in helps
your club stay productive
when things change
Club members need to
understand & accept
changes
15. Involve your
members in
problem-solving
01
Ask for
suggestions &
listen to
opinions
02
how to get
buy-in
Not every decision requires consensus, but listening helps
the implementation of the change.
03
Engaging
members might not
change the
outcome but is still
important
17. look for club
members with:
• High energy
• Strong results
• Deep connections
• Consistent creativity
• Powerful grit
• Realistic optimism
• Good
communication
skills
• Confident self-
respect
• Members not
afraid to try new
things
20. ASSESS
WHAT TO ASK:
What is the problem?
WHAT TO DO:
Understand environmental influences
for change & clarify desired outcome.
21. DESIGN
WHAT TO ASK:
What’s your vision for success?
WHAT TO DO:
Write a vision statement, assemble a
team & decide what tools are needed
for success.
22. BUILD
WHAT TO ASK:
How & how often, should you
communicate with stakeholders?
WHAT TO DO:
Create a communications training plan.
23. IMPLEMENT
WHAT TO ASK:
Is your team ready to lead? Are
members ready for the change?
WHAT TO DO:
Support members through the change
& respond to resistance thoughtfully.
24. WHAT TO ASK:
Are structures in place for the change
to continue?
WHAT TO DO:
Invest in necessary technology
&resources & ask for the commitment
of future leaders
& team members.
SUSTAIN
25. how to
communic
ate
& Market
a new
club
It is possible to
bring about
change,
communicate it &
market it to
potential
members?
27. Marketing club’s “new”
culture
• Reach out to local media: Talk about solutions &
success stories
• Utilize social media: Start a group on social media
& keep discussion to culture & change rather than
event promotion
• Be active: An active club is a attractive club
Spreading the word about your Club is essential
to furthering your mission, motivating club
members & encouraging others to join!
Club culture is a powerful force. It’s the unwritten rulebook that determines “the way we do things around here.” Or put another way, it’s the behaviors and the attitudes of your members that reflect your club’s values and beliefs. If things are going smoothly in your club… growth and diversity, foundation giving, activity in all five areas of service, approved grant applications, and so on…your club’s culture is a source of strength. If, however, there’s been a decline in one or more of those areas, the culture may need shifting to realize something different . . . a change. Change is often met resistance, based in fear of the unknown. Even with the fullest amount of information possible, there are things we can’t predict and it’s scary. Let’s do an exercise.
[Exercise… Crossed arms.] Even though changes may result in better outcomes, they can still be a challenge to implement.
Culture is created intentionally and has to be actively maintained by all club members. The benefit is that your club’s culture can give your club a sense of purpose AND it affects all those areas I mentioned earlier. The better your culture, the greater the potential for your club to positively impact the community, the world, and YOUR MEMBERS. Think Rotary Vision Statement here…..
Join us on this journey as we facilitate a discussion about club culture… why’s it’s important, how to assess the current culture status, determine if it’s appropriate, and apply strategies and concrete actions to shift this intangible force (culture) so that your club can flourish.
SAU – Tom, if it is uncomfortable to change culture . . . Why should we do it?
TAG – Because the most recent Rotary International Survey shows that the #1 reason people leave Rotary is because they don’t feel comfortable in their club’s current environment or culture.
WHY CONDUCTING ASSEMENT/SAU When’s the last time, if ever, that your club did a formal investigation of how it does things? An assessment of club culture? (get answers) Why is it important to do that on a periodic basis?
Who remembers what is generally listed as the first priority of the Rotary Action Plan? (get answers) Yes, it is Increase Our Impact. To do just that we must know where we start in order to determine where we want to end. It’s very much like going on a diet. You have to jump on the scale in order to see if you have lost (or gained… OMG…who does that?) any weight. That’s precisely what assessment of your club’s culture will do. It will give you a snapshot of how your club ‘feels’ to members and guests alike, and as a group, you can determine if that is the appropriate way you want to operate. Tom is going to share with you just how you go about conducting Rotary club assessments.
CONDUCTING ASSEMENT/TAG
Of course, you have to understand your club’s culture to know
IF it needs to be changed,
WHY it needs to be changed (maybe the club’s values or your values don’t align with the existing culture) and, lastly,
HOW to change it.
This understanding can come from an assessment of your club. Rotary has six major assessment tools that can help you understand your club’s culture. The two commonly used are the “Rotary Club Health Check” and “Membership Satisfaction Survey.”
So what I am really saying - you should conduct a survey. Your club members will love to receive a survey because they will know their opinion is being solicited.
Where do you find a survey form? You can simply go to My Rotary and search under “Health Check.” You can use it like it is or you can cut and paste the parts you want into Survey Monkey and send it out that way. That is what my district did.
Now some of you might find that those surveys are too long for your liking. You do not have to use that survey, you can simply ask a few questions, for example:
Do you like our club’s meeting:
Time,
Place,
Format (four meetings a month vs. two),
Delivery (in-person vs. virtual),
socials,
service projects,
dues structure and
time obligations?
Whenever we conduct polls inside facilitations - asking the attendees if they are satisfied with their clubs - there are typically 5% of responders that state they are dissatisfied. We thank them for letting us know. But, when we ask them why they are dissatisfied, most are dissatisfied for a reason that is really simple to fix. Most give the reason that they don’t like the time that the club meets. Well, if you have a club of forty members and eight want to meet at lunch time instead of for breakfast, you can simply form a satellite club off of your club that meets at lunch.
When do you conduct a survey? If you are conducting only one survey, do it now - do not wait until someone is leaving the club, as they might not give you an honest answer at that point as to why they are leaving. Now is also the perfect time to so a survey as many clubs are deciding to move from virtual meetings to in-person and/or hybrid meetings.
FIGHT-REIMAGINE/SAU/Slide #8
Ok, so you’ve done a formal (or informal) club assessment, and IF it’s pretty clear your group is on life support, how do you determine whether or not to move forward with change initiatives, strategies, and activities to transform the club and give it new life?
We respond to our clubs in much the same way as we react to other “fight or flight” situations in life. We notice the problem, and then may move to a sense of mild alarm, mild panic, or mild fear. What if we keep on this path? What will happen to my club? What will I do if my club goes away?
We are faced with a choice: fight or flight?
Which is a better choice---to fight to protect the current club as it is, or to flee to escape the current club as it is? It depends. But in either case, something else happens first.
That first moment when we actually become aware that our club is not at its best. That moment is called the freeze. If, in that time—whether seconds or hours or even years---we notice the problem and we see that is it not going away---we come to terms with the fact that we need to do something to solve the issue. Freeze means you notice the problem and decide how you will deal with it. Will you fight or will you flee? The action you take is a product of deliberate thinking.
A critical question to ask is “Are there enough influencers, spark plugs, in this club to help move the needle?” When you have others in the club who are as committed to culture shift as you are, you have a good chance of having your ideas take hold. Trying to transform culture if you are the only member interested in doing so, is a recipe for failure.
Tom is going to tell us more about how to know when it is time to move on….
GIVE BIRTH OR RAISE THE DEAD/TAG
So let’s pretend you conducted an assessment of your club; and now, you know what the culture changes need to be; but, your club members just don’t want to change. This happens sometimes because the members are just happy with the way things are. If that is the case, then you should consider forming a new club.
SOMETIMES IT’S EASIER TO GIVE BIRTH THAN RAISE THE DEAD! OF COURSE, I HAVEN’T DONE EITHER OF THOSE. I REALIZE THIS WILL BE A TOUGH MESSAGE TO HEAR. I HAVE SPOKEN TO A LOT OF PRESIDENTS-ELECT AND THEY USUALLY HAVE TWO OBJECTIONS: 1) I DON’T HAVE TIME TO START A NEW CLUB; AND 2) I DON’T WANT MEMBERS TO BE POACHED FROM MY CLUB. *END HUMAN TRAFFICKING CLUB; BRIAN KING’S 88%
JESSIE HARMON - WHY new clubs? Because they work!
New Clubs Grow Rotary Quicker - We recently started The Rotary Club of Network for Empowering Women and we added close to 50 members to our district at one time. It would take a long time to add 50 individual members to our current clubs one at a time.
New Clubs Retain Members Longer - Especially if it is a cause-based club where all the members engage around a cause that they are passionate about. We started the first ever club in the world to serve veterans. Some of the members drive two hours or more to attend their club service projects and get-togethers.
New Clubs Attract Younger and More Diverse Members - My generation was told to go out and serve the community. I joined my local, traditional Rotary club and that is what I do. My club does a lot of different types of service projects from picking up trash alongside the highway, raking leaves in yards of people who cannot rake leaves, making sandwiches for the hungry, etc. It’s fun for me because I do these projects with my friends and it gives me pride in doing a job well. That said, millennials tend to want to make an impact in one specific area, and expect to do so in a diverse and inclusive environment. New and innovative clubs can more easily meet these prospective people of action where they are, and deliver a club experience that appeals to them.
New Clubs Reach Out into the Community - A couple weeks after we formed the Rotary Club to End Human Trafficking, we were inducting a new member from Turkey. About twenty minutes after the ceremony, I received an email from the then Rotary International President Mark Maloney. He let me know the person we just inducted was his sister. He had been trying to get her into Rotary for more than 40-years, we just didn’t have the right club for her until then.
New Clubs Increase Partnership Opportunities - We worked with The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group to form a Rotaract club for the environment and another group to form a Rotaract club to serve those with autism. So you see, the opportunity to form new and creative clubs applies to both Rotary and Rotaract clubs.
So if you want to increase your district’s membership while adding diversity, younger members and women then form new and creative clubs and nurture them.
If you remember anything from this section of this session remember this - it is not hard to start a new and creative Rotary or Rotaract club and there are a lot of people to help you. If I can start the world’s first ever Rotary Club for Veterans in a state that doesn’t have a single military base – active or defunct - and I am not even a veteran – then you can do it to.
Just imagine how, together, we might grow Rotary - and grow the support of our Foundation - if every district:
Had cause-based clubs organized around one specific area of focus? Imagine if every district had seven such clubs!
Imagine if every district had a club comprised primarily of Alumni who all had life-changing experiences through one of our programs?
Imagine if every district actively reached out to former members, along with prospective members who may have an interest in Rotary, but are not a good fit for an existing club - and invited them to design a new club experience that fit *their* needs, interests and schedule.
Why “buy-in” is important and how to create it / SAU
Establishing buy-in with club members helps your club stay productive when things begin to change. Club members need to understand and accept any necessary changes.
The way to get buy-in is to involve members in problem-solving and decision-making.
Ask for help! Not every decision or problem will require consensus but involving member in problem-solving, whether it’s gathering relevant facts, getting suggestions, or simply providing opinions, is crucial for gaining buy-in.
Listening to your club members may not change the outcome, but is lets members know they will be heard as you work to improve or maintain the club experience.
How to Find the Spark Plugs in Your Club (or Community)/SAU
Some Rotary and Rotaract Club soar. Others splash around just above the surface and before long, find themselves under water. How do you find the members of your club who will jump on your band wagon to create a more appealing and appropriate club experience, that is… club culture?
Don’t let dead spots overshadow bright spots in your club. Giving CPR to nay-sayers may feel more important that encouraging those bright spot folks…but it isn’t!
You know this already, but look for those club members with
High energy
Strong results
Deep connection
Consistent creativity
Powerful grit. The ones who resolve to overcome obstacles.
Desire to contribute
Realistic optimism. “We can figure this out!”
Good communication skills.
Confident self-respect. These members feel good about themselves and the rest of the club members.
Members who are not afraid to try things. Nay-sayers want perfect BEFORE they try anything. Spark Plugs perfect AS they go.
Spend more time fueling those spark plugs and less time giving CPR to the nay-sayers.
Remember, when there is a positive, bright change in your club….someone started it!
Rotary’s Change Model/TAG
So now that you have your champion (or champions), it’s time to come up with a Road Map of how you are doing to make the transformation and adapt your club or district’s culture to become the club you want to be. For this we look to Rotary’s Change Model -
Assess: Before any action is taken, the change leader should be able to describe the need for change. This goes back to the assessment tools we discussed and the survey.
What to ask: What problem is the change solving?
What to do: Understand the environmental influences for the change, and write an initial statement clarifying the desired outcome.
Design: Next, the Spark Plug or “Change Leader” designs a change strategy.
What to ask: What is our vision for success? What is the new way people will do things?
What to do: Write a vision statement, assemble a change team, and decide what organizational tools are needed for success.
Build: In this phase, the change leader develops the roadmap for the change.
What to ask: How, and how often, should I communicate with stakeholders? Who needs training and when?
What to do: Create a communication and training plan.
Implement: The change is put in place. The change leader must support people, adjust benchmarks if necessary, and respond to resistance.
What to ask: Is the change team ready to lead?
What to do: Support people throughout the change with commitment, coaching, and communication. Respond to resistance thoughtfully.
Sustain: Ensure the change will last.
What to ask: Are the structures in place for this change to continue after the change team disbands?
What to do: Invest in necessary technology and resources, and ask for the commitment of future leaders and team members.
How To Communicate and Market a New/Reinvented Club Culture/SAU
While a healthy, robust and appropriate culture unifies a club, it is tough to instill one when there is more than one member. The larger the club, the more difficult it can be. There are going to be many opinions and much resistance. While some club members may feel that there was no real need for any changes, others might feel that the new “culture” doesn’t match their values or expectations for a Rotary club. However challenging if might look, it is possible to bring about the change, communicate it to all, and market it to potential members.
Keep these guidelines in mind:
Accept that you can’t convert all members at once. Trying too hard to get every club member to accept changes will only lead to disappointment and frustration. Start with those members who have “influence” over others. They are those change champions who are enthusiastic about adopting and influencing the club culture. Once they are committed to the new changes, comment on their behaviors and attitudes in club meetings, bulletins, emails, etc. so that other members get the message.
Make them feel like they are part of the process. You, and the other influencers in the club, need to make every other member feel like they are an integral part of the change process. Keep them in the loop about developments, take their suggestions and opinions, and provide reasoning for ‘why’ a change is taking place. This can help make them feel valued and motivate them to adapt to the new change gracefully.
Maintain a few old traditions. Make sure the changes you are implementing aren’t taking away the little things that matter to your club members. That might be social events, special recognitions, or other activities related to service. Don’t eradicate old club values in a split-second and expect club members to jump on board. Work around the existing culture and introduce the new one as you go.
Don’t overuse power. Overusing authority as a club officer is demotivating and can make members feel they are being coerced to accept changes. Don’t impose the culture change. Instead, use leadership tools to “make them a part of the change.”
Keep diversity in mind. Remember that your club members come in all shapes and sizes and from diverse backgrounds. Their uniqueness in gender, age, religion, race, sexual orientation, etc. is what gives your club the various perspective it has! Use that diversity to help all club members appreciate changes you are implementing.
Marketing your club’s “new” look and feel is tied to telling your story outside of the club. Whether you have PR experts in your club or it’s just you, spreading the word about YOUR Rotary club is essential to furthering your mission, motivating club members, and encouraging others to join!
Here are just a few examples of how to market the exciting culture of your Rotary club---
Reach out to local media. But remember, media is always looking for angles relevant to their readers/viewers. So consider this: does your club help solve a pressing problem in your town? Rather than talking about the club’s meeting time and location, history, etc. talk about the solutions in which you’ve engaged that have served the community.
Ramp Up that Social Media. There’s a lot of noise in social media today and it’s hard to get noticed. Work with your local or Zone PR coordinators and get ideas on how to start a ‘group’, maybe of great Rotary club cultures. There are few groups like this right now, so you’re likely to attract a wide audience. Keep the discussion to culture/change rather than to blatant promotion of your next pancake breakfast. Designate someone in your club to keep the momentum going (perhaps one of your young professional members???)
Remember, an active club is an attractive club. Volunteer at your local school, food bank, hospital, etc. Partner with local church or other groups who have similar interests. Organize an international food festival with a local business or company that shares your club’s interest in diversity. And the list goes on and on…..
Enhancing Virtual Club Culture/SAU
So far, we’ve spent most time talking about “in-person” club meetings. Much of the information we’ve covered can be applied to our E-clubs and those other clubs who have kept virtual meetings on the agenda. There are, however, some specific ideas for engaging members in virtual settings and creating a robust, Rotary culture.
If your club is still considering how to get started with virtual meetings, or if your club is already holding them (as in eClubs), you may find the information presented in the following pages from My Rotary to be helpful.
CLOSE/SAU & TAG
We hope you have found our time together is this workshop to be interesting and useful. As we mentioned at the start, our objectives were to help you understand Rotary club culture, how to assess it and determine its appropriateness, and how to apply strategies and actions to transform it. Our contact information appears on this slide. Feel free to reach out to us with questions or comments. Thanks for being on this journey with us and “Good Luck” as you move ahead to help your club flourish with its awesome and engaging culture.
