Many leaders are today talking about the challenging times they are all facing, and how to go about reviewing traditional tasks to save an organisation or company.

Article by PP Tony Heyward, Assistant Rotary Coordinator

If you speak to business leaders about a business journey, the topic always ends up in a discussion about change. Many leaders are today talking about the challenging times they are all facing, and how to go about reviewing traditional tasks to save an organisation or company.

Rotary in this part of the world is no different. We all have recognised that we also need to change, to ensure that we remain truly sustainable and attractive for the future.

The secret to leading change is to ensure it is exciting, and that we are leading it, looking for new initiatives and ideas, and imagining what the possibilities could be for all of us in this part of the world. The proposed Regionalisation Pilot will be a great opportunity for all of us to shape our future.

New teams will need to be built – they just don’t happen! Set up correctly, teams can produce results well beyond what could have been achieved as smaller standalone groups. Building a purpose-driven culture starts with teams. They are the link from purpose to strategy and set them up for success. Let’s work to ensure the strategies they create are aligned to Rotary’s vision.

Our teams in this part of the world are our power base, so appreciating how to create high-performing ones needs to become part of its understanding. I think the art of building teams has been lost over time. Team-building these days consists of a social meeting and socialising. It does create morale, but it doesn’t necessarily build the qualities for high-performing teams.

So, what makes a high performing team and how is this different from your current teams? Here is a quick definition – “A group of people who are responsible for the creation of an ambiguous strategy and who are actively working together to achieve it”

The key here is people working together to achieve a common goal. Imagine in Rotary if we all worked together to increase our core membership base. Imagine the difference we could make in our communities both locally and internationally.

If you consider some of your teams, would you say they are doing that? The easiest way to check this is to look at our Rotary meeting agendas. Are they just updates or reporting on activity, or are they items of ideas and updates on feedback from a new strategy?

The power within Rotary is from a collective value of everyone’s thinking, solving problems and creating opportunities together. If the agenda is just updates, this is a group of individuals informing others about what they are doing.

Understanding what constitutes a high-performing team is important, with time you will be able to immediately recognise one. Let’s dig deep in Rotary and have a look!

Our potential members want to be working with an organisation that is always evolving and exciting to be around, and that is why Rotary’s journey will never be finished.