39 minute read
Transforming information into knowledge and action
We are being bombarded every day more and more, by a torrent of information.
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One of the great challenges of our time is to discriminate the information than can be useful to us, transform them into knowledge that in turn will be the foundations to help us to take decisions or to produce concrete, positive and useful actions.
It should be included on this process the accuracy of the critical sense of the human being that no computer can overcome, of the selection of which information will be transformed into knowledge and which should be discarded.
The Global Network generated by the Internet, and its most recent successors which are the social media, allow us to have access to an endless data base, democratizing the information. The appearance of the Internet in this aspect can be compared to the first Bible printed by Guttenberg, which in times of great religion syncretism, democratized the content of this holly book, making it available to be read inside homes and not only in the interior of monasteries.
We are exposed to a risk to see our discernment be clouded by the excess of information to which we are exposed and that comes within our reach, blunting our senses and turning it more difficult our evaluation of what is relevant.
The anxiety for information should be minimized and we should put some discipline in dealing with information to transform it in something that will result in a learning process. The information need
to be analyzed to determine where and when it is needed or going to be used, which knowledge value it contains and that would result from its analysis and propagation.
Three pillars are important in this process: Consulting, Sharing and Collaborating.
When we prepare a table with information on membership growth or of the contributions to the Rotary Foundation on the last years for instance, this table must be organized in a way that it will be easy to arrive to some conclusions and generate some action. Information is a dynamic asset that has a value associated to its life cycle. Information technology is only a supporting tool. So, static information that gives one single moment picture and that cannot be compared, analyzed in its tendency or appreciated in its anomalies is of no value. We receive and see published material and receive a lot of information that should be better treated to allow some analytic evaluation and generate some knowledge.
Another relevant aspect is the sharing of information and the acquired knowledge. There is no use to analyze the information, aquire some knowledge from it, if we keep it to ourselves and do not share them. The information transformed in knowledge generates
competence and the acquired knowledge when shared generates
action. The information we collect from the community we serve, can be agglutinated and classified in several ways, but what count is the possibility to evaluate and prioritize their needs to generate projects, or even to evaluate which of its members are potential Rotarians and could be representatives of this community. It is then important that we share these knowledge with our club committees to generate proactive actions.
The other equally important pillar is the one that allows that the acquired knowledge from the information we gathered collaborates with the perfection of our decisions and actions. For instance, we can understand that the information gathered from the community be used to perfect this same community and amplify our capacity to serve through our club, increasing and generating a collective intelligence (Business Intelligence). The concept of Business Intelligence is not new. The ancient nations, more than 6000 years ago, crossed information with nature occurrences to take decisions that would benefit their life.
The information we deliver in Rotary or in any other organization must have the purpose to mobilize people to action. A simple list of the membership of clubs in the Monthly Letter of their district is of no use if it does not generate action to avoid evasion with better admission processes. Understanding the performance of these clubs and how they become limited in their action by having a low number of members is what is relevant. And is also important how they could have their performance increased if they admitted new members compromised with our values. If necessary we should modify the way we present the information so that they fulfill a nobler task than simply to inform.
Besides all this, the published information must be well visualized, expose an investigative process, present complex data in a simple and pragmatic form so that people can ask questions and evolve from the answers that they get, make use of collective intelligence, amplify personal stories, evaluate tendencies and generate alarms. It should not be just a mechanical and repetitive act. Photos that is said to be more important than a thousand words, should reveal something, not just satisfy personal ego of being seen, but reveal an action and inspire others.
The information transmitted should, above all, contribute with something new that help to increase our capacity to serve. You will
be remembered and will have contributed to increase the perspective of action and of life of someone, if when you produce information you generate knowledge and promote constructive action.
A New Language
During the Renaissance, what moved the human beings to action was the investigation, the discovery. Emerging from those times a new way to communicate, that together with this investigative character, were called as essays. The essays were characterized by dealing with two levels of thoughts or ideas: in one hand with the known reality and in other hand with the unknown reality. Who wrote about these two realities “essayed” a connection between them, a drive to a creative reasoning to explore the unknown side from the known one.
In these times we are living in because the acceleration on discoveries, either on the scientific field, or on the field of social relationship and of the communication media, a new language is being installed and is rapidly disseminated and absorbed. It does not reverberate any more boring speeches with great number of philosophic verve or with erudite citations.
The new social media that proliferate easily, clearly demonstrates this, up to a point that Rotary is with a group of specialists, debating the implementation of its own social network. In the old times we needed to write in a copy-book, because we had to copy what was written on the blackboard. Now we write using the Internet, because we want to interact with the world. It is another dimension of language.
This process of the need of a new language can be seen in Rotary under several aspects and in several occasions.
To publish what we have accomplished
On the process of publishing to communicate to the community and also between ourselves our accomplishments, the language adopted
must be adequate to the public to which it is directed and with specific objectives. If this public is the community we serve, the content of this information has the purpose to allow this community to know about what Rotary does, so that when they will be asked to participate on our projects they will come with knowledge of who we are and what we do. When publishing this same project to be seen by the internal public, we should use another language, because the purpose is to make it easy to this project to be replicated elsewhere and be successful.
In communication with youth
In this case the communication must be direct, motivating to action, in new fields of service that generate on youth the anxiety to participate. One kind of projects, for instance, that motivates young leaders to participate are those dedicated to ecology or nature preservation, like those proposed by the program Preserve Planet Earth. Equally attractive and that requires appropriate language are the project on areas that affect them, like those related to drug addiction, of early pregnancy, of sexually transmitted diseases, in particular the process of their mitigation. They want to participate. We have to let them participate and speak their language which is the language of optimism and immediate and effective action.
On training seminars
On these events the unidirectional language is not being accepted any more. The monologue does no more attract audience’s attention. What is required is the debate of ideas, the information of new trends with consistence and objectivity. Negativistic declarations are not well accepted any more, those that only points out mistakes but do not bring any new ideas or alternative solutions. Greater success has received the sessions of debate in discussion groups in which an
initial idea on a subject is thrown, is debated and is piramidated with others and in which all have the chance to participate ant present their ideas.
In the development of new leadership
In this absolutely needed process in Rotary, the language to be used by the trainers is the one that their life in Rotary allows them to express. Simple, clear, taking the new leaders being developed to understand the organization through the stimulation of their intellect and also by letting them know about real cases. When incentivized to debate by who has past experience about the subject, the conclusions will come from the group, without having to use manuals. This development process will take them to a self development and to a continuous and increased interest.
In Rotary’s instruction
Many clubs have been neglecting the importance of this practice, reducing their occurrence during their weekly meetings. The lack of stimulus for reading and meditation should be recomposed. The club members could be periodically designated to present in a synthetic and personal way their understanding about Rotary’s topics. It will become a tool of membership development, but equally important for visitors that do not know about Rotary, to understand some of it.
This new language should become an integral part of our lives and should be explorative and let the creative thinking flow and be adapted to current times. These new times of the always available, of thinking green, of reliable virtual transactions, of the neglected niche, of the innovation with sustainability, is alerting our way of thinking and acting, paying more attention in these new languages that we are having to use.
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To say that Rotary is a nongovernmental organization or a non for profit enterprise, is simply using negative expressions, because they only say what Rotary is not.
Not that Rotary do something differently than enterprises or governments do.
Enterprises offer products and services.
Governments define politics and control their application.
An enterprise completed their task, when their client that bought a product or service, pays for it and is satisfied.
Governments completed their task, when the public politics, once implemented are effective.
Rotary do not offer remunerated products or compensation for services, neither implement public policies or control their effectiveness.
Rotary’s product is neither a pair of shoes nor a regulation. The product of Rotary is a transformed human being.
Rotary is an AGENT OF TRANSFORMATION OF HUMAN BEINGS.
The product of Rotary is a child immunized against polio, is a young adult that learned how to read and write, is a girl that grows up to be as a respectful adult, is a competent professional to promote peace. Is also a Rotarian, a human being that had his life transformed to be a better person.
Some decades ago if someone tried to buy our organization or tried to compare it with a business, or even saying something about the managers of Rotary, could hear in response: “Rotary is not an enterprise that has inferior levels that needed to be managed, neither we had assets that could be bought in the market”. During the last years it has grown the conscience that we need unconventional levels of management in Rotary, without creating, by having them, an oppressive posture in applying them. It is the consent management, a management based on convincement, of motivation. It is the type of management that transnational companies are starting to use as a modern methodology and that Rotary is using for a long time, which is called administration by subsidiary responsibility, in which the decisions are taken in the lowest level possible.
This management methodology has the ultimate object to make Rotary leaders concentrate in their mission and not in themselves.
The leadership development was also receiving in Rotary a special care by implementing the District Leadership Plan and the Club Leadership Plan. They implicitly shape our leadership through the application of their content.
The Harvard University idealized the Case Studies as a situation analyzes in the business arena. Let me propose one. Imagine a multinational enterprise that sales an excellent product, but is having some management problems. Is a very big company with more than
35,000 branches in more than 170 countries, coordinated by 535 regional offices and managed in the highest level by a Board of 19 members. It is this company policy that on thirtieth of June of every year, to dismiss all of their branch managers, all of their 535 regional managers, dismisses half of the Board and very politely asks the President to ask his resignation. Than with the objective to bring new blood and new ideas every year, this company, on first of July hires 35,000 new branch office managers, 535 new regional managers, elect half of its Board and a new President.
Do you see any problem with this company?
Would any company in any area of business survive with this policy?
As you have already understood we are talking of Rotary. Every year we have 35,000 new Club Presidents, 535 new District Governors, a new half of or Board and a new RI President that will serve for one year.
What can we do in relation to this? We may have two main alternatives.
The first would be to invite each club president and each governor to serve for five years. Would we find anyone available?
The other possibility is to identify as early as possible between Rotarians, those who has potentiality to occupy leadership positions and provide them with the best level of qualification and knowledge, for them to be capable to take on the leadership positions that they are asked to occupy.
But we have to have in mind that we will need to prepare and train 330,000 new leaders in the next ten years. And we hope that they pave the road for those who will come after them.
Multilevel planning is a very important subject for the development of our organization. The other that maybe is even more important is the development of Rotary leadership. Leadership is like the abominable Snow Man, whose foot prints are everywhere, but no one have seen him.
In any leadership position you are and need to compose a team, you should always ask: “Would this leader inspire my children to work in his team?” And it does not matter only the charisma of the leader. See the suffering caused by charismatic leaders like Hitler, Stalin or Mao. More than charisma, what is important in leaders is their sense of mission.
On this context we must insert the next generation of Rotary leaders. Some are now Interactors or Rotaractors and we need to give them dialog opportunities, and also to help to prepare the future and use their imagination and idealism. Imagination and experience must walk together in every step.
Rotary will build its future depending on the leaders that we are capable to attract and cultivate.
Talented capable and visionary leaders. Leaders that produce excellent results, while fulfilling their mission in Rotary, even with scarcity of resources.
We are facing sometimes an uncertain future, not well established, but not a future without vision. Vision is the propriety and assets of leaders, but the power to transform the future by their action on the present is their currency.
In these critical moments, that we are living in, the strings of history is given in our hands. They cannot be caught in an irresponsible or indifferent way. We cannot let them escape because we feel
intimidated by the responsibility that these moments require. We must feel ourselves happy and at its maximum our capacity of action. And use it correctly as it is required now.
We cannot go back to what we were as individuals or as institution ten twenty or one year ago.
The important is not what we are, but what we want to be and what legacy we want to leave.
The future is now and we are its administrator and conductor.
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How to permanently admit a new member
I believe in simple solutions. Even to this complex problem we have been facing for so many years, which is related to membership growth and retention.
And it is related to a statement that I have been proving valuable, not only in inducting new members, but also in chartering new clubs: New members should first understand what Rotary do, to later understand what Rotary is. And this may take a longer time.
We have been doing new admissions, for many years, in the same way and sometimes not even considering and utilizing the steps suggested in our Manual of Procedures. We are normally trying to give to any new member of an existing club or to chartering members of a new club, information on what Rotary and The Rotary Foundation are.
Instead, it is my experience that it is more effective and there are several examples to prove it, that we should give them first the possibility to understand what Rotary does, having in mind that they will have their whole life to understand what Rotary is.
How can we do this? By letting these incoming members to participate on a project and allowing them to decide, by observing its execution, effectiveness and the impact of this project in the community if this is the organization that they want to join.
If while chartering a new club on a community we allow prospective new members of that community to participate in one of our community projects that we do well in our club for example and
replicate it in that community, the first thought that will come to their mind is: if engineers, doctors, dentists, entrepreneurs and so many professionals come to my community to work on such project, this Rotary International must be a good organization for me to join. And not only will that happen. By participating on a Rotary's project and understanding what Rotary does or can do, immediately a new possible project will come to these person's mind, based on their talent and expertise and that by joining Rotary he or she will start to fight for it to be implemented.
By allowing these citizens to participate on a project, even before becoming a Rotarian, we will acquire a new member that will not leave. We will be solving the evasion problem at the admission.
It is a slight change in the admission process that I have seen making a great difference in new member's life.
Transforming donors into Partners (and Partners into donors)
It starts by changing the concept of fund raising into fund development.
Recognize that our true potential for growth is the donors and the partners we are able to motivate and captivate.
The donor must be brought along in our programs, not simply be someone we collect this year contribution from.
To move forward we must develop a broad, sound and solid advocacy base. And that base must include not only our membership, but also our donors, our partners and, why not, our beneficiaries.
Donors, beneficiaries and partners, must be integrated in our projects and programs.
Before they write a check, we must present them a case for support, which spells out the magnitude of the challenge, what we propose to do about it, how realistic it is to achieve that challenge, how their gift can make the difference, and which are their opportunities to participate.
The tripod built on:
A viable and challenging project A motivated partner or donor, and
An intense Rotarian’s involvement, is the road to our future of success and growth.
We must help our constituents, which include the Rotarians in our clubs, our donors and our partners, with a more efficient and resourceful support. And this must happen with grater intensity at the club level, which is where action takes place. The lack of support to clubs has had as consequence for instance, the creation of their own foundations.
Again, when we speak of fund development it means also bringing our partners and donors along, increasing their perception of the opportunities they have to be involved and support us in our projects, apart from just doing a contribution, but by acquiring also the ownership in the outcome of our organization.
From this unified structure is how the concept of “One Rotary” can evolve, by uniting all the forces we are in touch with and be the catalyzer that make them work together.
Water: an international perspective
According to the UN Report numbers, almost 1 Billion people (780 Million) do not have access to potable water and 2.5 Billion people do not have access to basic sanitation. We chose this area as one of our area of focus.
While this problem is faced predominantly in the developing countries, the developed world also grapples with issues of infrastructure asset depreciation (an infrastructure that need to be periodically substituted) and risks associated with increased water scarcity and unsustainable environmental management.
The cost of failing to effectively address this water and sanitation gap is significantly higher than the cost of addressing it, hence the worldwide sector calls for fundamental strategic reform. Although not entering in detail of the many aspects of this area I will try to give a glimpse of its most important aspects and how they are related to Rotary action.
Communication
While examining this strategic reform in the perspective of a service organization, we understand that there is a subject that is an important part of this reform that we as Rotarians can participate and have a major role. This role is to practice and use a main tool of this reform, which may become a foundation of this reform and that this role involves a strategic communication to the community. The same community we serve, about the risks and future consequences of lack of care with water resources and basic sanitation. If we are
willing to contribute to this reform, we have the means to help it to happen.
Tariff
While struggling with global economic recovery, one key issue at the top of the agenda today is tariff setting. It should ideally reflect the value of water and the importance of water treatment.
This is a problem which is related to infrastructure deficit, which involves huge amount of money. Although it is out of reach of Rotary to solve it, we need to be aware of its importance. In the US for example the infrastructure deficit is of US$ 1 to 2.2 trillion over the next 5 to 20 years. The quantity of waste water is increasing and the great number of sewer pipes (in Honolulu there is 2100 miles of sewer pipes – more than its street system) and they are aging and need to be substituted to prevent spills and protect public health. There is no such thing as free water.
Technological Approaches and Policies
Technology plays an important role nowadays, from the implementtation of water holes, in which Rotarians have been active on, to the building of positive community attitude towards better water supply and sanitation, in which we are starting to act.
A thought that have been common sense between water leaders in the world is: “First, make the people care”. A good example is the case of the Tucson water story.
During the summer of 1976 Tucson Water launched the “Beat the Peak” campaign to “never watering from 4 to 8”, a program extended now for the year-round. It prevented great investments expenses in the capacity of the system. In the last 20 years per capita consum-
ption was reduced by 30% and total consumption is the same as it was in 1995.
The pride of the community increased as they became a low water using community.
And they did not stop there. The use of smart technologies (like Automatic Metering of 225.000 meters) is helping them to gather a great amount of data, interpret them and make them friendly available to the public. Synergy between organized entities and the utility is on the move.
The four Rotary districts in Paraná state in Brazil are putting together a similar project in partnership with the Water and Sanitation Utility. This project intent is to help the community of the state, covered by more than 320 clubs, acquire the sense of responsibility to the water resources that are being used by them. The Water and Sanitation Utility will provide the printed flyers and talking support material to train Rotarians to be multipliers of this motivational chain ideas.
Partnerships, intelligent partnerships, are looked as an opportunity to help bridge the gap and change attitudes.
Another example here in the US is the DC Water Strategic Plan. Although a detailed breakdown and budget was developed, it is in hearing all the community members that wanted to say something, even if they were unhappy, that made this plan viable and successful. This is the difference that makes the plan that is being implemented to become a success story.
In India, the same as in Africa the policy makers are struggling with several problems that goes from increasing use efficiency of water to closing the loop between sewage management and water supply. In the words of Dr. Shah “there will be no project in India, either in the
rural areas or in the urban areas, where the two will be separated. By dumping untreated waste into our rivers we are causing health problems to household and contributing to crop failure due to contaminated irrigation water”. Public Private Partnership (PPP) takes a great part in the solution, And he always reminds: “Please don’t forget the fourth P - PEOPLE. They will determine the success or failure of any venture. They will be willing to accept such enterprise as long as they understand the results for them and the tangible benefits”. While visiting Pune, a city with more than 4 million inhabitants, I was informed that all the waste water collected is thrown directly into the river, without treatment. But the community was alert and I also saw their protest and consciousness and responsibility to change that situation.
DISCREPANCIES IN BRAZIL (a continental country) and ELSEWHERE
While in southern Brazil we have losses on water conduits of 3-5%, in the northeast we have systems with losses of more than 70% in their water distribution systems.
While Curitiba has a water supply guaranteed for the next 30 years, São Paulo, because a long shortage of localized rain and lack of long range planning is struggling with physical scarcity of water.
While in the Paraná state we have 100% of treated water availability to the population, some northern states has an availability of not more than 40%.
So, what kind of projects can Rotarians start? Definitely any one passes through a partnership with the local utilities.
All over the world water is a municipality issue, and the participation of Rotarians to help changing the community attitude and create awareness of the problems and involve them on the solutions is a feasible way to create proactive attitude towards the value of water.
The Participation of Youth
By involving our youth on this effort, we will be surely preparing them to a situation that without a positive action now will result in a huge problem in the future. This is another way that our Foundation can provide an enormous participation of our youth, increase their involvement and participation in Rotary projects and be interested in joining Rotary when they have the opportunity to do so.
Cowspiracy
This term was created recently by Kip Anderson and was shown as a documentary on NETFLIX, in which he was raising some numbers that try to emphasize that the lack of water may take humanity to witness climate wars, with migration or even invasion of countries by others.
His numbers for our reflection:
100 Billion gallons (376 billion liters) is used every year by the population consumption in the US;
But Kip Anderson also mentions that:
34 Trillion gallons of water are used every year in the US, only for animal agriculture (understood mainly as the water used on crops to feed the herds of cattle and the water they drink, between other uses);
91% of rainforest destruction in the Amazon is to raise cattle.
One pound of hamburger requires 600 gallons (2500 l.) of water to be produced. This is equivalent of two entire months of short showers.
And no data is published on the damage of animal agriculture on environment by any environmental organization, although the author tried to get some answer. All the organizations he entered in contact with, either avoided to discuss the subject or denied to give any number or information during the interviews, or even argued that this was not an important subject when dealing with environmental care.
And he goes on. The methane produced by cow’s digestion itself, is 86 times more destructive to the atmosphere than all carbon dioxide produced by all vehicles (cars, buses, trains, airplanes, etc.). Although not discussing these numbers they at least require a behavioral change.
Rotary and Rotarians have a lot to do in relation to water and sanitation in an international perspective. This is one of the six areas of focus that we decided to act upon on our projects.
And we must start now!
Managing Nonprofit Organizations (The Third Sector)
While trying to define a list of topics that should compose the knowledge of the “managers” of Rotary International and our Foundation, on the several levels of growing complexity, I tried to list them without detailing them, in such a way that their understanding and comprehension be equivalent in profoundness to the hierarchical position occupied. The intensity of the application of these themes should be included on the training of these so called “managers”, to give them the tools to better execute their job, concurring to a better personal and institutional performance.
1. Definitions and historical perspective of management of the
Third Sector institutions 2. Boards and Councils a) Commitment and Leadership b) Board and Councils functions, challenges and goals c) Impact of decisions on institutional structures d) High level leadership selection and development e) How to structure and define size of Committees and put them to work 3. Strategic Plan and Performance Evaluation a) Elaboration of a consistent Plan b) The process of strategic administration c) Strategies development and their effectiveness evaluation d) Hierarchy of objectives
e) From mission to performance management f) Performance measurement parameters g) Standards, Rules of Procedures and Code of Policies and Ethics 4. Administrative Structures a) Structure models analysis Mission oriented Service oriented
b) Leadership participation on structure evolution and development c) The key relationships between Board, staff, volunteers, donors and community d) Board effectiveness e) Budget and financial sustainability f) Team motivation
5. Communication , Marketing and Branding a) From volunteers to unpaid staff b) The use of volunteer’s expertise c) The branding effectiveness d) Communication and Marketing Plan e) Membership motivation and development
6. The foreseen future a) The evolution plan and its adherence to community changes b) Financial development of funds c) What do you want to be remembered for? d) Today’s actions and their implication on the future of the organization e) Evaluating social changes
f) Pragmatic wisdom
These topics are not expected to be a complete spectrum of items but compose a summarized suggestion of points to be included in the future preparation of our leaders.
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Characteristics of Leadership
Without creativity and the action of a human being nothing moves. Leadership is energy. It is the process to influence people by ideas, so that they do things that has to be done by their motives and not by ours.
The leader is that who possess the moral, doctrinaire, practical, material, opinion and life conduct energy in his or her manifestations.
There is no limit of the number of leaders in a democratic association like Rotary. This is true because leadership is somehow mystic, that a person has or not. It could be learned and anyone can develop and perfect it by study and practice. It varies in accordance with the situation and in Rotary it varies in accordance with the job and objectives.
Any member of a club is a leader, when presenting the appropriate solution at the right moment. Leadership moves from person to person, from the time they contribute with something more to the objective of the organization.
We must bring something new to Rotary at all times.
Leadership is the quality that should have someone who accept the responsibility to guide others to reach a common objective.
According to Hurlok: “The signs commonly found in a leader are: assurance, sociability, responsibility, good character, generosity, spirit of justice, good and effective working habits and easy adaptation to society”.
The democratic leader respects the human being and believes on them, conquers the cooperation of the group that he or she belongs to by competence, patience, tolerance, and honesty of purposes. Does not give orders, give examples, stimulating instead of reprimanding.
The democratic leader arises naturally from the group and not by attracting followers, although there are no leaders without followers. A good leader was or can at any time become again a follower. A follower is not a passive person. He is a person that has ideas, argue respectfully, complement and implement the ideas proposed by the leadership, is a protagonist.
To lead is to act. Every thought is the outline of an action. The function of the leadership is personalize the human being, give life to his conscience of life, creating and promoting the ambience of positive freedom from a moral authority.
That person, who shoulders the mission to help others, be authentic, watchful of feelings, trying to be flexible and adaptable to creations, open to statements, organized and integrated, active in pursuing objectives and of the chosen ideal, this will be leader.
To live is an art, is said in the popular wisdom and the art of living
is to transform life in a work of art.
The ten characteristics of a leader are:
1) Pay respect to the human being and believe in his possibilities, that are immense; 2) Rely on the group, more than in yourself; 3) Avoid criticizing anyone in public, trying to exalt to the group the positive aspects of every one; 4) Always gives examples, instead of be criticizing all the time; 5) Avoid to give orders, trying to get cooperation of everyone;
6) Give to everyone their place, taking in consideration fondness, interest and personal capability; 7) Avoid taking even if temporally, the initiative of a responsibility that belongs to someone else, even when thinking that you could do it better; 8) Consult with the members of the group before taking an important decision that involves common interests; 9) Before acting explain to your peers what you are up to and why; 10) Avoid taking part on the discussions when chairing a meeting; maintaining absolute neutrality, registering with impartiality the decisions of the group.
These characteristics can be summarized in the three qualities that characterizes any leader, that are: sacrifice, humility and perseve-
rance.
The leadership in Rotary is consented and not conquered. Because is through consent that leadership in Rotary must be selected. In this respect the Nominating Committees plays a central role; their members must be diligently and carefully chosen so they can exercise their responsibility based in qualifying criteria, being it to chose a Club President, a District Governor, a Director or the president of RI.
The responsibility of the leadership in Rotary is not concluded at the end of his term. This can be expressed by the true genetic mutation that happens or should happen in someone that occupies a leadership position in Rotary. In any position of leadership, the person acquires more knowledge of our organization and perceives through the exposure to the responsibilities in growing grades of complexity, the multifaceted and important action of Rotary.
The true assumption of leadership positions should not be by accident or by chance. The choose must be to fulfill a mission and a destiny: they must be leaders.
When it should start the preparation of a Rotary leader?
We must have in mind that in the next ten years Rotary must prepare and orient for action more than 360,000 leaders.
Then when do we start? Which are the alternatives to attack this immense task? One would be to ask that club presidents and district governors to agree to serve for five years. Would we find anyone who is willing to do that? The other alternative is to start preparing these leaders as early as possible. Some alternatives are already being used: pre-PETS, schools of Rotary, mentoring projects and the Rotary Leadership Institute. Each one has its merits.
One great lesson that we see happening around us that gives us a clear understanding of what is needed and very important lesson that to lead we need to serve. Mahatma Gandhi declared one time: “I must follow the people … because I am their leader.” We must also understand that leadership does not means power. Leadership is not a speech or a theme. Leadership is not even to have authority over other people. Leadership is relation between people. It is to cultivate the relation with people that will follow you, that will work with you and with whom you could share the successes that you all reached.
If to lead one needs to serve, we must lead by example. We cannot ask dedication if we do not dedicate ourselves. We should not ask to anyone one to do something that you would not do yourself.
Then how to leave our brand and legacy?
I believe that all the great leaders have the absolute perception of their mission. They have clear and well defined objectives and channel their energy to reach them. We must always remember that “one who does not know where he is going will be surprised to arrive elsewhere”.
We must always learn with the lessons of the past and the powerful heritage that the past deliver to us.
But even that the past tell us about extraordinary undertakings, the future depends of the work that we do in the present. It is here for instance that resides our effort to transform the Avenue of Service to Youth in a true philosophy of action of our organization.
How many of you have formulated your plans for tomorrow? Or for the next week? For the next year? For the next decade?
If you have done your plans, share them with those around you. If you have not, start doing them now, at this very moment and start seriously about them, remembering also that the great mission of a leader is to prepare new leaders.
Do not be shy for being originals; because it is exactly because of this that you are going to be criticized. And people will say to you: “But this had never been done this way before!” Do not be afraid … where there is no road, leave a trail. And to those who criticize you, invite them to take with you the bus to tomorrow.
Do not follow the crowd just by being afraid to be different. Decide by yourself what to do. Leadership is also a question of choice.
Above all be yourself.
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And the dream goes on ...
Through these articles we were united, to share several pragmatic aspects and points of view of Rotary’s action, analyzing some atavic problems that require from all of us responsible attention and solution. Without the preoccupation to put them in order of priority, we can enlighten:
The need to improve the admission process of new members or the chartering of new clubs. It is requiring that this process includes the previous participation of prospective members in projects for them to
- Know Rotary first for what it does, for then understand it for
what it is. The new admissions made with this in mind will help to solve the problem of retention at the admission. Done with quality and giving the incoming member to know how we work to do our job it will also let this person to test where his personal talents are more useful and bring new ideas to start similar projects.
The more intense attention given to our youth, giving them voice and opportunities to exert their capacity of accomplishment, together with the adoption in every club of a Permanent Committee on Youth, that joins together a group of club members that plan in an integral and interconnected form, youth participation in the several programs of RI and TRF, dedicated to youth. We must also leave in the club’s board a position to be occupied by a young leader from Rotaract and Interact, understanding that better than to show them the way is to
walk it with them.
There is a need to adapt our language and our ideas to the new times, so that our message of values and principles reach a greater number of people that want peace and comprehension. We observe that a lot of documents, sites and magazines we produce have their content
dedicated to the wrong audience. The public to which we must unveil Rotary is the external public and we are not doing much in this direction. The images we display on these media are not attractive to young leaders that we are trying to attract and motivate. Our brand
must be consistent with our history and attractive enough to lead us to the future.
It is important that we bring new and talented members, which come to join us to help us to continue our job on a process of renewal of evolution without interruption. We have to break paradigms of age gender and many others.
How necessary it is to fill in the gap that is increasing between us and the community we serve to know and be known by this com-
munity, attending with completed projects their priority needs.
The use of modern technology like geoprocessing the information about the community, already in use by some clubs to map their action and register the information in a coherent and useful way. There is a need to show and tell to these communities what we are doing and planning to do.
By producing new projects and partners in service, new frontiers will be opened. There are no limits for our action and there is a lot to be done, what makes us responsible to - Create opportunities, act with competence and fulfill our obligations. Our mission is permanent and our goals are temporary and renewed when reached.
It is very important that our leadership compromised with the Object of Rotary and not with themselves, be proactive, creative and visionary on the three levels of our organization. Suit their thoughts and postures very high, accessing and sharing relevant information and knowledge. By stimulating the adoption of methodologies of new leadership development, develop people, not positions.
The importance of a strategic thinking and action on all levels, will be taking us to reflect in alternate forms of corporate governance. They are needed to adapt Rotary and our Foundation to the amplified needs of service required nowadays by our community. This will allow that with an integrated attitude we solve and improve an ease of fruition of ideas and plans in consonance with the regional cultural characteristics. A transparent strategic plan, simple, intercomnec-
ted in the three levels, must provide the means to a coordinated
action of the Family of Rotary. The use of the subsidiary administration, through which the decisions are taken in the lowest possible level, is gaining strength and momentum.
Strengthen of our Public Image by the exemplar and responsible attitude of each one of us, walking together with the publishing of what we do, will produce its effects. So, when we ask the community to contribute and participate in our projects, it will collaborate with the perfect understanding and confidence on what we do and how we perform. Also when we go into the community to ask one of its members to join forces with us to render better service, they will come, because they will understand that they are joining a group of conscientious citizens that try their best to revert to the community what they conquered in a privileged form. Our brand is valuable
and will bring every time more identity to what we are, the more we are known by what we do.
Our corporate governance can be improved in the three levels of our organization, turning it easier the propagation of new ideas in the two directions. Using electronic media we can facilitate the production and the debate of these ideas and that they become known in any of our meetings. There is an urgent need to unite all Rotarians by passionate causes that motivate them to total action. While preparing ourselves to let the world know our success in eradicating polio by first stopping its propagation, it is necessary that we invade the
causes expressed by the six areas of focus, by generating projects that involve our constituents and solve or mitigate the detected problems in these areas. To do this, all our meetings must become a
melting pot to amalgamate new ideas and find vectors to disseminate them.
For all of these, is that I believe that it have worth the effort developped in the intense years dedicated to our organization, participating on so many activities, committees and proactive Boards.
Rose and I will be eternally grateful to those that relied on our work and to those we were able to motivate to action. There is a lot to remember and we learned a lot on this journey. I has been equally important the preservation of true friendships and the creation of new ones that only the life in Rotary can make possible.
The immense support correspondence we received, give us the assurance that we have a lot of challenges yet to meet and overcome with determination and enthusiasm. Any activity in Rotary produces implicit interest and dividends.
We are in Rotary in an inflexion point. The immense work done by many Rotarians must still be recognized, but we should also analyze that: We will only honor our past by compromising ourselves
with the future through the action we do in the present. We must win the battle for relevance of Rotary to youth, to Rotarians and to the community.
And the dream goes on …
