The most important role of a Club President is to show good leadership and governance skills.

Article by PDG Andrew Hamilton, Assistant Rotary Coordinator

There are many reasons why a person leaves a Rotary Club, but often the underlying reason is they no longer see the value they thought they would obtain from being a member when they first joined. Value of course means different things to different people.

The most important role of a Club President is to show good leadership and governance skills. For the term of one year, they need to guide and encourage a group of volunteers who have all joined a Rotary Club for slightly different reasons.

So often we have observed membership decline in a Club as a result of a year where there has been poor leadership skills from the Club President. The effects are often not seen in the form of data until the following year when members do not renew their subscription. The reverse is also true, membership often grows when a Club experiences good leadership.

In order for our Rotary Clubs to prosper and grow, it is important we consider investing more resources in the development of good leadership skills for our Club Presidents. Traditionally this would have been covered at President Elect Training (PETS). However, each District approaches PETS in a slightly different way and time is always a constraint.

The running of a standardised and professional Leadership Training Course is worthy of serious consideration.

Of course, this requires both financial and time commitment, but a high-quality leadership training course could be a “Point of Difference” for Rotary, alongside the personal development benefits of the members attending. The rewards in retaining and growing membership might surprise us.

Some food for thought!