National and international consultant in the field of education and Ladner Rotary member Avis Glaze gave this invocation at the club's October 27th meeting.
Recently, I listened to the speech of Rob Jetten, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, at the United Nations General Assembly. He made history as the country’s youngest ever leader and Prime Minister. He is 39 years old.
This re-awakened one of my concerns regarding leadership and the need for leadership succession and development planning in an organization. Who was his mentor, I wondered. How well is he prepared for the hurdles, setbacks, and trials, inherent in leadership, especially at that level and in these challenging times? Who is there to support him when the going gets rough? Does he have the humility to listen to the advice of individuals with more experience?
Then I reflected on how we are mentoring and supporting those who will replace us in our organization. We are very fortunate that mentorship is one of the goals of our Membership Committee.
It has been said that the quintessential leadership legacy is passing the torch. It means mentoring and supporting those who will replace us. It means identifying and developing in individuals the values, beliefs, dispositions, motivation and drive to carry on the important work of our organization. It means knowing and doing what it takes to achieve the goals and deliver on the promises and commitments we make to our organization and our community.
Passing the torch means knowing when to step aside to ensure long term growth, innovation and the need to attract fresh talent.
Researchers tell us that passing the torch ensures fresh ideas and new perspectives. It builds reliable pipelines for organizational renewal. Our younger members are in tune with the modern cultural values, norms and expectation. They know what the needs of our younger people are and we want to attract new members. The infusion of new ideas and new ways to achieve our goal of building and contributing to community provide the motivation for us to pursue this goal with tenacity and enthusiasm.
Thanks to our current Rotarians for your efforts to expand our membership. The Rotarians you have attracted recently and those who have been our loyal members and leaders, have outstanding talent, experience and commitment to community development.
The future of Ladner Rotary is certainly in good hands.
