Increase our ability to adapt: A conversation with Nicki Scott

Meet Nicki Scott. A change-management consultant and a member of the Rotary Club of The North Cotswolds, England, Scott helped develop our Action Plan as part of Rotary's Strategic Planning Committee. She is the 2022-23 vice president of Rotary International.

Q. Why is increasing our ability to adapt one of the priorities of the Action Plan?

NICKI: Everyone, and every organization, is looking to make a greater societal impact. It's an enormous opportunity for Rotary to be a thought leader and a sought-after partner. But if we want to lead in a time of accelerating change, we need to become — and to be seen as — more agile and relevant.

Q. What are the challenges?

NICKI: As an organization, we're very fragmented and hierarchical. We have rules, officers, titles, and committees instead of teams. The more administrative layers you have, the more removed you are from the actual work.

We need to look at leadership as something anyone at any age can own. You don't need 40 years of experience before you can significantly contribute. Remember, Paul Harris was only 36 when he started Rotary.

Q. Where are you seeing opportunities?

NICKI: Before the pandemic, a large percentage of Rotary members didn't really think or see beyond their club. They didn't have a sense of themselves as a global network of change-makers. During the pandemic, people were joining virtual meetings in different districts and countries and seeing for the first time all the things Rotary was doing.

We're capitalizing on this momentum. I worked with a team in Great Britain and Ireland that started a Rotary global hub, an online platform that connects people to clubs but also gives them the opportunity to participate based on causes rather than location. And their involvement can be episodic rather than tied to a weekly meeting at a specific time. It is proving very successful in both attracting new and retaining existing Rotarians.

Learn what your club can do at rotary.org/actionplan