What's New in the RLI/NEA Curriculum for the Fall/Spring 2011-2012 Semester?

Effective public speaking is a valuable acquisition for those interested in motivating groups in Rotary and other venues.  District Governors are required to deliver highly effective speeches that convey the direction the district takes for the Rotary year.  Other Rotary leaders may need to develop their ability to give an effective speech.   The Graduate Session Course "C" of RLI/NEA offers a facilitated course on the elements of giving a good speech. The first part of the session ranks the fear of speaking before a group.  It is listed as the #1 fear on various lists.  The highlight of the course is the opportunity given to participants to prepare and deliver a five minute speech.  After ten minutes of preparation the class is allowed to present a speech of their choice or an assigned speech.  Experienced Rotarians at this level of the RLI curriculum tend to give effective talks that reflect their years of dedicated service in Rotary.  It was a pleasure to listen to the quality of the content delivered with true conviction and sincerity at the session that I was privileged to facilitate.  Mark Twain is credited with saying:  "It takes no more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu (without rehearsal) speech."  RLI leadership training over the years empowers attendees of these leadership sessions to deliver speeches that reflect the beneficial impact of the RLI training system.  Regional Vice-Chairs that have observed the graduate session on "Effective Public Speaking" can give more insight on this offering.

Resources:

Frank Talk on Public Speaking-published by Reach Forward Publishing 2010
Elements of Great Public Speaking by MacInnes, J. Lyman
Dale Carnegie Courses

How a Blog Becomes a Technology Accelerator for RLI/NEA

Rotary Leadership Institute International is the recognized prime mover in organizing and delivering leadership training in the global Rotary world. Officers of the organization are fully aware of the need to become even better at leadership training.
"Good to Great" by Jim Collins who has written a well-researched book on organizational behavior and analysis in the corporate world. The central concept of the book is about transitioning organizations from good to exceptional. To do this he illustrates how three concentric circles work together to produce impressive results:
Circle #1 A culture of discipline Circle #2 Organizational relentless pushing Circle #3 Technology Accelerators (Ex.Blogs) These three inter-locking disciplines can advance our organization toward excellence enhanced by technology.
The overlapping of these principles of success in organizations is a validated process.
There is no doubt about the "culture of discipline" nor the "organizational relentless pushing" (nearly 300 districts) within RLI International. The third concept of using "technology accelerators" such as RLI Facebook and the RLI/NEA blog are designed to quicken the communication and understanding needed to excel in a fast paced Rotary world.

The Frank Wargo Story

You've met him, you've heard his emotion filled stories. NOW, read about his experience with RLI International from the start. Find out more about Frank through his book: The Frank Wargo Story

Contact Frank at: frank.wargo@snet.net

RLI International NEA Fall Semester Sites

View RLI International Fall Semester Sites in a larger map

Welcome to Official Blog of RLI International NEA

Welcome to the official blog of RLI International NEA. Please consider this blog as a team effort to refine "best practices" at RLI sites as determined by the leadership of RLI International NEA.
It is designed to post, in written format, concerns on the blog. Practices that are working well at your site are most helpful. Additional comments and questions are welcomed and are essential to making the process work. Just click on comments (hypertext) at the very end of the posting and write your response. Best practices can be archived as references for the future.
Please join in the discussions!

Will RLI Become a "Structured Program of Rotary"?

The proposed RLI resolution 13-COL 2013 was passed at our recent D-7170 District Conference in Albany. There was only one vote opposed to the resolution. It appears that there are some Rotarians who view RLI as a stand alone entity unrelated to Rotary. The designation of RLI as an "Official Affiliate" of RI or as a "Structured Program of Rotary" indicates that the program will be operated independently as provided for and regulated by the Code of Policies of the Board of Rotary International. The wording "at no cost to Rotary" makes clear that RLI will continue to be self-sustaining. The benefits of the program are that these facilitated meetings continue to inspire and ignite the spirit of service above self for Rotarians across the world. It is my hope that debate at the 2013 Council on Legislation will examine the impact of the Rotary Leadership Institute and determine it should become a "Structured Program of Rotary".

District Governor Support Equals Success for RLI Programs

As we approach the 2011-2012 Rotary year beginning July 1st, we all have high expectations for the success of RLI. Incoming District Governors are the active ingredient in the success or lack of success of our programs in most districts. If District Governors are participants in the program and value the concepts of leadership development, they can foster appreciation for the program in the club members. District Governors Elect find the RLI spring-meeting-schedule can be utilized to complement the PETS program in the leadership training cycle for President Elects. President Elects who attend RLI meetings in addition to the PETS program are fortified with Rotary knowledge and networking opportunities that will prepare them for the year ahead. Member districts of RLI show their support with their yearly dues payments. Some districts show additional committment by budgeting funds for club members who otherwise might not attend. Investing in leadership development in this way results in membership retention and prepared leaders in the Rotary clubs for years to come.

The Potential Impact of RLI on Deaf Rotarians

The Rotary Leadership Institute continues to have world-wide appeal to Rotarians across the globe. District leadership in District 7120 have reached out to try to include deaf Rotarians from the Rochester Deaf Rotary Club in the RLI experience. For many years incoming President Elects from this unique Rotary Club have attended the day and a half sessions at Multi-District PETS held in upstate New York. Last month at the PETS lunch table we had a three-way discussion among the deaf Rotarians, a certified interpreter and interested Rotarians. The interpreter explained how video conferencing called IP Video Relay Service (IP-VRS) can reduce the costs of leadership training for this limited population of Rotarians. Such a proposed version of RLI would use the existing curriculum that all Rotarians currently use . The preparation on the part of the RLI facilitators would be extraordinary and designed to appeal to deaf Rotarians.
Using video conferencing this way would allow for other deaf Rotarians to participate in RLI. Imagine hearing about leadership development from the point-of-view of deaf Rotarians!

Lasting Impressions Made By Faculty At RLI

When evaluating the impact of Rotary Leadership Institute we want to acknowledge the important part forged by the facilitators. As we review the evaluation/suggestion forms at the end of the meetings, the participants like to name the facilitators that stand out for their facilitation techniques. The Faculty can make a lasting impression on the attendees. The impression left by certain skilled facilitators can motivate the learners to come back to RLI sessions year after year. These stalwart Volunteer/Faculty come to the event the Friday night dinner ready to give real meaning to the slogan service above self. Saturday morning they arrive early ready to get started with the proceedings of the day. Their professionalism and dedication are extremely important to the success of the Rotary Leadership Institute now and going forward. We are thankful to have them on our team.

Leadership Development: Your Guide to Starting a Program

A handbook published by RI (250EN) to groom future club officers and enhance their professional lives is available online. Here are the guidelines for creating a leadership development program in a Rotary club: (communication skills, goal setting, accountability, leadership styles, ethics and mentoring) If these guidelines look familiar-they are elaborated on in detail every spring and fall semester at the Saturday RLI events. These guidelines from the Leadership Development Handbook for Clubs could serve as a preparatory step to advancing club members into the RLI forum for interaction across Rotary districts. Examine the handbook at http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/250.pdf

Last Saturday March 26th at RLI Owego we had an average turn out of attendees. We had ten Faculty and 47 participants. Two Part I-Part II-Part III and Graduate. At the review afterwards there were questions about the evaluations. One suggestion that was made by the Faculty was that we color code the comment/suggestion cards. That way we can track whether the comment came from Part I-II-III or Graduate. This might make the comments and suggestions more meaningful for future meetings.

Sharing the Good Times at RLI

Here-online-is a place to continue the "grassroots" nature of The Rotary Leadership Institute. My first encounter with RLI about ten years ago got me thinking about opportunities to serve and learn more about Rotary. There was so much energy contained within those first sessions of RLI it was amazing! The interesting part was that the same thing was happening for the others attending. Looking back on the experience I can understand more about the down-to-earth qualities of the people participating in this experience. "The people"- That is so very much a part of the "power" of RLI. This is one perspective on the vast experience we have all gotten through RLI. What's Yours?

Annual Breakfast Meeting of The Rotary Leadership Institute

The annual Rotary Leadership Institute Annual Breakfast Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday May 25, 2011. The meeting will be held at "The Foundry" 333 St. Joseph Street, New Orleans, Louisiana at 7:15 a.m. Doors open at 7:00 a.m.

Breakfast Choices:

Full Plated New Orleans Style Breakfast or Vegetarian

$40.00 (US) per person

Speaker: Past RI President Luis Vincente Giay of Arrecifes, Buenos Aries, Argentina

Send Check to: Michael Rabasaca, 210 Thomas Road, Mendham, NJ 07045

Planning on seeing YOU there!

Rotary District 7730 Conference First To Adopt RLI Legislation

The business session of the 2011 Dsitrict 7730 Conference adopted unanimously a proposed enactment to the 2013 RI Council on Legislation regarding The Rotary Leadership Institute.
This marks the first official aproval of the resolution by a District in the Rotary World.

The proposal asks the RI legislative body to request that the RI Board of Directors consider designating RLI as an "Official Affiliate" of RI or as a "Structured Program of Rotary", operated independently by clubs and districts individually or as multi-district service activities as provided for (by Rotary rules) and at no cost to Rotary.

The proposal was approved by RLI international and similar endorsements from districts around the world are being sought before the 2013 Council.