Posted: 3 years ago

Seven Habits of
Highly Effective Rotarians
Compiled by: Dr. Jagdish Bhatt,

D3140 India for the ROTI Institute

1. ATTENDANCE
Effective Rotarians always try to attend their club meetings or make up at
other clubs as much as possible. They are aware that regular attendance is
an important part of their membership commitment and do not miss a chance to
attend. They participate on committees which they are members of, plus
others if invited. They are keen to attend all club events and district
functions. They participate in the District Assembly and District Conference
each year, and have attended a recent Rotary International Convention.

2. FELLOWSHIP
Effective Rotarians enjoy meeting other members and often feel this
fellowship is as important to Rotary as the actual business part of a
meeting. They go out of their way to talk to those whom they do not know and
believe a stranger is a friend whom you have not met yet. Outside of Rotary
they also enjoy meeting people and getting acquainted with them. At large
Rotary gatherings they make an effort to meet others, rather than just
fraternizing with friends from their own club.

3. VOCATION
Effective Rotarians respect every vocation and understand how the
classification system is the basis of Rotary. They firmly believe that each
vocation provides a cog in the wheel and is important, however insignificant
it may appear. They firmly believe each member should try to excel in their
job and they try to support and help others to reach their full potential.

4. DISCIPLINE:
Effective Rotarians understand the value of self-discipline and know that
productive accomplishments are hard to achieve without it. They realize that
both inner and outer discipline must be maintained in a proper balance and
can enforce both disciplines when and where required.

5. TIME, MONEY & ENERGY
Effective Rotarians know they have a purpose in Rotary and fully realize
they must earmark a certain amount of time, money and energy to maintain
this commitment. They also realize these three things should be shared in
proper balance between their family, vocation and community.

6. EMPATHY
Effective Rotarians put themselves in the position of the other person,
especially if that person is in difficulty. They know that mere sympathy may
not be enough, can be empathetic and feel compassion for the difficulties of
others. They believe that what they are doing for their community is merely
returning a small part of what they have already received from it. While
they may appreciate recognition for their efforts they do not hanker for it.

7. IMAGE OF ROTARY
Effective Rotarians may sometimes feel that all is not right with Rotary or
there are too many 'politics'. They know some elements in Rotary need
improvement but rather than be negative they use a positive approach to help
rectify things. They maintain a positive attitude and portray a good image
of Rotary, both inside and outside the organization

F

Posted: 3 years ago

It would be interesting to take these seven habits of "Highly Effective Rotarians" and update them for an eClub (actually for any Rotary club).

I think that the concepts are still valid (universal) but the language needs something. For instance, "attendance": yes, it is important that any Rotarian makes meetings on the local, district, national and international arena but the word should be "participation" not attendance. Even at an hour luncheon meeting, if the Rotarian does not bring his or her mind to the meeting (just the body which is possible under the word attendance), they are not there. It is like a student in a class who is always somewhere else when the information is being shared. That is the main item where I disagree with the "word." All the others fit because they do not require the body being there. Of course, the best habit is "body and mind" participation. That is true for "terra" meetings or "hyperspace" meetings. 

Just a thought.

Joe 

Posted: 3 years ago

Just to be contrary - once a student is in class (attendance) then isn't it the responsibility of the teacher to bring forth participation? I always felt, as a teacher, that it was MY job to interest - excite - involve - the students. My one rule in class was that a student could not interfere with another student who wanted to work. I cannot "force" a student to learn - I can only require his attendance.

If we extend that to a Rotary Club - Rotary requires attendance. While it would be lovely for each Rotarian to bring with him/her the desire to participate, isn't it ultimately the club (the President, the Program Director, the Sgt at Arms - the other members?) to bring forth the participation?

Which means - if we have a member who is not participating - in the final analysis, it's our fault?  

F

Posted: 3 years ago

True, it is up to the leadership to reach out to its members, just as it is the responsibility of the teacher to help to engage students who wish to learn, but at a certain point, it is up to the individual to participate. No one can make that happen. It is an individual choice, like joining Rotary. A better analogy than the classroom, where you have beginning students, is a second marriage where the individuals come into the situation having some knowledge and wanting it to work. I see Rotarians, who have some experience, coming into an eClub and not participating (but hiding). If a person does not wish to be found, no leadership will find them (but yes, the leaders should try all the inventive ways to make participation a part of the experience of the Rotary eClub). Attendance (when the participant does not wish to participate but does want the title) is an empty experience.

True, everyone has a button to push that might help them participate, but even leaders have limited time to find it and if it is hidden well, may never find it.

Rotary is about service. Service is participation, not just attendance. In an eClub it is easy to hide. Service may be the button that releases participation. Ultimately, participation is MY fault, not Our fault. It is like education in this way: in the beginning, a leader (a teacher) tells you what to do, what to learn, what might be experienced and the tools that might be helpful to find that experience; as one advances, it is the teacher job to be a partner, not just a leader, and the student is the leader of him- or herself. Leader-student is a sliding relationship. Who knows more at any moment is the teacher. Ultimately, you particate because YOU wish to learn. No one can lead the way then. In an eClub, we should help begining Rotarians to learn; for senior Rotarians, we should emphasize participation. Most of our members are seasoned Rotarians. Attendance is a given for that stage in development. Participation is the difficult mindset. To also be contrary, I do not believe that eClubs are like "terra" clubs. Those who go this way are more seasoned Rotarians or very mature beginners.

I was once told that any person, in any endeavor in life, needs at least three teachers (leaders who become partners): 1) those that ask you to attend classes and tell you that all that you do is "wonderful," the kindergarden of the mind, 2) those that give you feedback on your assignment and compare you to the others in the class (past and present), and 3) those that allow you the freedom to compare yourself against all the others, past and present and future, who have attempted what you are attempting.  In the first stage, you are right, it is the leaders' fault if the beginner does not learn; in the latter stages, participation and excellence is the individual's realm of responsibility.

Interesting how we both agree and disagree at the same time.

Joe 

Posted: 3 years ago

I agree with Joe in all of this. We all must have individual responsibility. We must be selfless and participate, not just attend. I struggle to maintain a narrow focus toward serving others. It is not easy to put my own interests aside. Pride is never far from the surface. Forgive me for using "I" so often, but I do make an effort to lead as I can, coax where possible, and sometimes step over the line in my urgings of others. However, we should all agree to some basic rules of participation. In the Terra club there are rules of conduct that are quite clear. The don't need repeating. In our experimental effort, the eClub, we should establish some rules of behavior.

Identification: That one is very basic, but so helpful to establish who we are. Full name, first and last. No titles (A Rotary tradition for 100 years). The only titles that should be used in Rotary are all listed on our history site: http://www.rotaryfirst100.org/history/headings/abbreviations.htm

So Mel Taunt can and should use PDG in front of his name. It helps us all recognize his service to Rotary and lets the world know of our depth of experience.

Photos of our members help bridge the gap between face to face and eMeetings.

Participation: If a member joins and does not wish to participate in some minimal and meaningful way, then their membership should be reviewed and examined.

Can we be good leaders. Yes. But the members also are responsible to "be here" when they join us. Yes, we can offer help and yes we can encourage, but if we lead the horse to water and provide every amenity and the horse does not drink, there is nothing much we can do except give the horse back to the horse trader.

John is a thoughtful and brilliant man. We have many fine minds in this eClub. I just hope that all join in.

Jack  Selway, Founder, Rotary Global History, Pueblo, CO, USA

Posted: 3 years ago

All of you guys are right!  A little bit of this and a little bit of that and a little bit of the other.  We all agree, I think, that an eClub is different from a terra club in many aspects.  I have said from the onset that an eClub is "communications-based" and a terra club is "physical presence-based."  An eClub cannot survive if most of the members decide that they will attend the meetings, but will not communicate with anybody.  If the members of an eClub sign up for the meeting, but refuse to participate and communicate, in my opinion they are lost to the club.  However, according to Rotary International, they are still members of the club as long as they "attend" 60 % of all meetings.  I do agree also that an eClub attracts more experienced members, so I think that more has to be expected of them. At least that is the attitude that I assumed when I became member of this club. I believe that all new members should be told from the beginning that they will be expected to attend,participate,and communicate as well as serve. It is quite crucial to train our mentors well, and to assign the right mentor to every new recruit. I think that service is the key that binds it all  together.  We can engage in all of the conversation that we want, but without the element of service, we fall short of the goal. Maybe those who are hiding should be encouraged to get involved in some type of service.  Hiding is not an acceptable alternative.

Posted: 3 years ago

It is interesting when you begin a string of thoughts and a dialogue with other eClub members that goes with it, things which you might overlook in everyday life seems to fit into the discussion. So it was when we stopped for lunch, driving back to Pennsylvania from Texas. It was in a Shoney's Restaurant. Three ladies came in and sat across from us: one had an earpiece and started to talk on her cell phone as soon as she sat down, the lady who sat beside her noticed this and left to sit beside the cash register and talk to someone on her cell phone, and the last lady sitting at the booth looked around with a blank stare, searching the void of the space for someone to talk directly to and get an answer. It is a scene that we see too often in our modern world. People attending but not there. At the airport, the body may be in line but the essence of the person is locked into that plastic box by their ear. You may be walking with someone and their cell life buzzes and they say, "Excuse me but I have to get this." Then the conversation that you are now a listener to shows that it is not critical or an emergency. And then there are those that you catch a glimpse of, zooming by you on the highway at 85 miles an hour, with one arm bent and a hand clutching "need and importance" to an ear.

That is the essence of this discussion that we are having that centered around a move from "attendance" which has been the standard for Rotary in its beginning stage and "participation" being what is needed in today's world of "hide and seek." Whose fault is it? Our society, which I am a part of (but not a part of this triangle of ladies)? The rules of using a cell phone which should be made up by our leaders but they cannot force anyone to adhere to them? Has any of you seen this same kind of situation happening at a luncheon Rotary meeting where obviously the fellow member was not there? The question is: "Is it up to you to bring them back? Is it up to the leadership to make sure that the member who attends is a participant? Whose responsibility is it to "really attend" by participation?" 

This extreme case of three ladies was a luncheon meeting where none of the members in this threesome of "fellows" had real human contact, no responsibility for attending, no communication (except negative from my point of view), and no participation. For me, it is essential that when one commits to attend (say join a Rotary club), participation in the time that is critical to spend together is "spent together" (and that means communication between the members). In the 21st century, it is not enough that leaders set the rules of "attendance:" the attendee must set his or her own rules of "participation." In Rotary, the rules were set decades ago. The language needs updating.  

With these three ladies, all three attended that restaurant but none of them were there. Each found a way to hide from the other. Each did not participate. That was not the fault of the restaurant, me as part of the society that created cell phones, or the cell phone distributor. It was not a technology problem. It was not a leadership problem (except as each of us must be leaders of ourselves). Rotary has always taught that lesson. If one joins Rotary and hides, it is not the fault of the organization. It is the fault of the organization if that is tolerated. When we participant in an eClub, we move to the second habit of "highly effective Rotarians"; that is, FELLLOWSHIP. And you get neither "attendance" or "participation" or "fellowship" when our July records show 82,82,72 and 71 percent attendance. In an eClub, we should have 100% attendance and maybe those lessor numbers for participation. I see no excuse for less than 100% attendance. And that is not the fault of the eClub!

Joe

Posted: 3 years ago

Certainly, in a land-based club, the sound of a cell phone going off brings a smile to the face and joy to the heart of the Sgt at Arms, because THERE is a fine. And should the member actually ANSWER the phone - he or she will underwrite a whole project! At last in clubs I have been associated with, that is not accepted.

I have been known to walk away from someone who answers a phone while we are having a conversation, and I have left someone's office for the same reason.

But participating in an eClub works on different levels - and while conversation is part of what participation can mean, it's not the only part. And for some people, it might not be a major part. There are, I am sure, people who are better at making things happen than talking. Hopfully we will find ways for all kinds of people to serve.

F

Posted: 3 years ago

I am in favor of concern, care, and compassion, but we do have to get in touch with those who are not participating at any level.  I agree with Father John that some people are better at providing a service than at talking.  My feeling is that, as long as they are participating at any level, we are fine.  If someone is not participating at all, do they really feel like they are members of our club?  I doubt it!  I believe that all of those things are important: communication, participation, conversation, acting, and service (and maybe many more). Mark Twain once said:  "Let us stop communicating so that we can have a conversation." Some people may not have the time to be involved in all types of communication and conversation,and also be involved in service at the same time. If service is their thing, I am all for it!  By the way, do we have the technology in place to facilitate membership for the seeing-impaired.  Yesterday, I visited the eClub from South America, and they have a braile system in place.  I believe that in converts a text to spoken utterances. Just a thought!

Posted: 3 years ago

RI pubishes each year a great brochure entitled ROTARY BASICS.
Here is a small portion from that publication.

Did you know?
• Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarships is the
world's largest privately funded scholarship program.

• The Rotary Foundation has contributed more than
$420 million in grants for development and humanitarian
aid in the developing world.

• Rotarians have established a host of organizations
dedicated to various humanitarian causes, including
ShelterBox, HungerPlus, Gift of Life, and Rotary Doctor
Bank.

• Providing vitamin A supplements during polio National
Immunization Days has averted an estimated 1.5 million
childhood deaths since 1998 — testimony to the
"plus" in PolioPlus.

• RI representatives work with many major international
organizations, including the UN and several of
its agencies, the Organization of American States, the
Council of Europe, and the African Union.

The 8 page ROTARY BASICS may be read at:

http://www.rotary. org/newsroom/ downloadcenter/ pdfs/595en. pdf

F

Posted: 3 years ago

Some days we should just sit and figure out other Highly Effective Habits of Rotarians (instead of just checking on the lists from the past). I wonder what they should be: the habit of tolerance, the habit of listening (instead of speaking all the time), the habit of cherishing each moment, the habit of helping others to enjoy themselves, the habit of innocence (becoming a child for a day and believing in magic again), the habit of filling each second of each minute of each hour of each...and so on, and the habit of emptying the mind so that new thoughts can rush in. Maybe the first habit of Highly Effective Rotarians is to examine all the present habits that stop a Rotarian from being "effective." Or just maybe the first habit is not making it a habit to write about habits. Oh, well, this is becoming a habit so I will stop.

Joe

PS My 8-year old granddaughter Erin helped me pick out the "smiley faces" so that I did not get in the habit of choosing the same ones all the time.