Club Visioning arrives in District 1220

In October, I wrote about representing my Rotary District at RIBI as Club Visioning was introduced to Rotary in Great Britain.   As a follow-up to that event, District 1220 became the second district in RIBI to hold it's own Club Visioning facilitators training event  with RI Coordinator Peter Davey leading the seminar.  I was privileged that Peter asked me, along with David Morris of RC of Melton Mowbray (District 1070), to assist him in presenting club visioning to those gathered.   

The day went really well and District 1220 now have the nucleus of a District Facilitation Team to be one of the first (if not the first) RIBI Districts to go 'live' and take Club Visioning to Rotary Clubs helping them in their strategic planning.

A Club Vision Facilitation is a four hour evening session that assists Key leaders and interested members of a Rotary Club in achieving continuity, consistency and consensus. The facilitation session is intended for all interested Rotarians in the  club—from the newest members to the most tenured. The breadth and depth of the facilitation exercise is optimized when club leaders (past, present and future) and member opinion leaders participate. It is suggested that no more than 30 Rotarians are present

It is expected that:

• Attendance at the event by present council members, the current president, president-elect, president-elect nominee, immediate past-president, and two other past-presidents. Their collective involvement is essential.
• Participants to commit to the entire 4-hour exercise.
• The number of Rotarians committed to a session will be no less than 12 for the smaller clubs but no more than 30 (to maintain the time schedule and allow fair and full input from all present). Each Club requesting a Vision Facilitation will designate a "Coordinator" who will work with the District Vision Facilitation Chair providing all the information and direction individual Rotarians will need in preparation for the session. During the Vision Facilitation session, a team of facilitator will lead a process consisting of an overview presentation, a writing exercise, data collection, consensus voting and summary with action plan development. There are at least three measures of success for clubs that complete a Vision Facilitation:
1. An immediate measure of progress will be the members’ pledge and willingness to move the planning processes from a nice-to-do concept to meaningful growth programs for the club, its members and its community.
2. The second is that the output from this session is woven into the annually plans of the incoming and succeeding Presidents. It will be reflected in the continuity and consistency of programming and leadership of your Club.
3. Finally, the long-term mark of accomplishment will be at the end of three-five years when your club advances from where it is to where it wants to be.

Club visioning in itself is not a “membership drive initiative.” It was designed to help clubs develop a sense of direction and the structure necessary to achieve the club’s goals.  It is an exercise which strengthens the club and a byproduct of this is an increase in membership.

Club visioning is not something that is ‘placed’ on clubs from District.  Club Visioning Facilitation is by invitation.  The club invites the Facilitation Team in to lead a session.  It is important that the club ‘own’ the whole process, that the movers and shakers within the club are present, and that the club cast their own vision with the facilitators extracting from members what they really want for the future of their club.

Vision Facilitation is never carried out by an individual.  Districts are encouraged to build district facilitation teams, and depending on the number of attendees at a session, 2-3 Facilitators will be present working together as a team.  The facilitators are neutral, not imposing their ideas but drawing (extracting) from the members THEIR vision and THEIR ideas for the success of THEIR club.