Embracing cultural transformation

By Mark Huddleston
Team Captain, Club & Cultural Transformation for Rotary Pacific Regional Council Membership Team

Cultural transformation is a process of changing the values, norms and beliefs that shape an organisation’s behaviour and decision making.

Rotary is a product that we offer the marketplace. In Zone 8 we’ve experienced a net loss of 10,000 members over the past 10 years. That tells me our product is no longer fit for purpose.

We can all think of examples of products and services that over time have transformed dramatically. As consumers we reap the benefits of constant innovation with the products we use daily.

So, where are the innovative versions of Rotary? How is Rotary modernising and offering a constantly improving product? What is it that separates thriving clubs from struggling clubs? Quite simply, the clubs that are thriving are offering a better product to the market.

I’ve identified eight key areas of cultural transformation within Rotary at both the organisational and club level and am challenging clubs to consider where they find themselves on these transformational journeys.

Undoubtedly, the greatest cultural transformation Rotary has ever witnessed is that from a male culture to a unisex culture. Has your club culture completed the transformation? Are female members equally represented, welcomed and involved?

Another important transformation is from a covert culture, where in the past we have been somewhat secretive and unwilling to tell our story, to an overt culture; transparent, open and more willing to communicate what we stand for and what we do.

We are also transforming our culture from exclusive to inclusive, from rigid to flexible, and from formal
to informal.

Rotary was once an organisation of business leaders, but we now include community leaders within our membership. And we once had a strong culture of member attendance (at meetings), which is transforming into a culture of member engagement.

As I see it, our most important transformation is still ahead of us, a shift from a meeting centric culture to a service centric culture. If we focus our efforts more on service, using our members’ valuable time more efficiently and productively, we will become a far more relevant organisation.