Be deliberate about membership growth

We may choose to do the bare minimum to get by or intentionally elevate our game to scale set goals. We may solely rely on talent, persistence and luck or harness our will to win – DG Joe Otin

One Friday morning, my line managers then summoned me into a meeting room immediately I got to work. Their cause of concern was progress on a particular assignment: I was unusually behind schedule and I needed to do some explaining. Reluctantly, I agreed with the assessment of my wanting performance on this particular assignment. I was only doing the bare minimum to get by. I actually had a few excuses at my disposal but I chose to cut that and promised to catch up within the day and finish up the following week. In all the next assignments I took up next, I deliberately chose to engage fully.

I analysed each assignment to ensure wholesome understanding; I brought to the team as much insight as I would gather; I consulted and delivered my portions of each assignment while offering to assist team members where necessary. Not only were the results of these latter assignments well received by my seniors but also I was fulfilled professionally.

Two years ago, our current District Governor – Joe Otin – delivered an address: “Making history with people of action” at a joint Rotary fellowship hosted by the Rotary Club of Kirinyaga. In his study of the greatest people that ever lived, he summarizes that while we use talent, persistence and luck to win in education, career, personal lives and Rotary – the WILL TO WIN separates the greatest (wo)men from the rest.

“In ordinary circumstances, when there isn’t very much at stake, talent, persistence and luck will get us through. But where there is a high amount of competition, limited resources and a sense of urgency, it is the will to win that gets you to your goal.” – Joe Otin, District Governor, Rotary District 9212. Read full speech HERE.

As at 31st July 2019, slightly over 60% of our clubs had submitted their annual plans. In June and July, I spent numerous evenings and weekends attending club board handover and installation ceremonies. I keenly listened to each President articulate their annual plan. A couple of weeks earlier, I led the district team to set district-wide goals around membership development and doubling our impact through local service projects and donations to the Rotary Foundation.

To advance Rotaract and Rotary, we ought to bring in insights from our professional experience and networks. As I analyse the District and Club goals we’ve set for ourselves in 2019-20, I reflect on our actions towards achieving those goals based on my lesson from work and Joe’s submission. We may choose to do the bare minimum to get by or intentionally elevate our game to scale set goals. We may solely rely on talent, persistence and luck or harness our will to win.

In 2018, when Kenya was chosen to host the Rotary Day at the UN, many hurdles needed to be crossed. This was the first time the annual event was to to be held in Africa in its decades long history. Secondly, it was an event attended by a predominantly older audience yet for this particular one, a youth-focused theme was chosen. Further, hosting an event at the UN grounds needed meticulous planning. Finally, Rotary International had set the standards up high yet none of us in the local organizing committee had attended any of the previous RotaryUNDay.

With that in mind, the Dr. Salome Gitoho led committee confidently expressed the will and desire to deliver an above reproach event. Against all odds, the RotaryUNDay 2018 elevated the standards of the annual event. When a team deliberately chooses to engage not only their hands but also their mind and heart abundant fruits are evident.

Some of the goals we’ve set in the new year are not any different from those of past years. The fact that similar goals are on our current lists speaks to our actions, that we have to put more zeal and heart into our actions. In most of our clubs, membership has stagnated around the same figures for a couple of years, our overall goal should be to ensure that we grow in quality and quantity. I beseech each one of us and each club to evaluate their actions towards achieving set goals for 2019-20 and beyond. Should one find any action wanting, it is time to #ElevateYourGame by making deliberate actions to ensure improved performance.

For an individual, such deliberate action shall be to cultivate an exciting club experience for members and guests; to nurture better relations with one or two more club member(s) and (or) to bring along one’s relative and friend to a community service project or club social event. For a club, having a membership committee which evaluates professional and social needs of current members and gaps in the club membership regarding age, profession and (or) gender would be a deliberate move to develop our membership and establish necessary diversity in our clubs.

A deliberate action by each one of us to make a donation to the Rotary Foundation shall lead to more communities benefiting from clean water, less disease and greater hope for a peaceful world. I ask of each of us to be deliberate about our actions; to harness our will to grow our membership and double our impact.

By Samuel Karanja – District Rotaract Representative (DRR) 2019-20