Rotary Leadership Program

"Rotary Leadership Program--- Incompatible Personality Traits"

by. PDG Rodolfo Balmater

One the benefits of joining Rotary is the opportunity to continue to learn on the subject of leadership. As mentioned in the  book “Spiritual Leadership”written by Henry & Richard Blackaby, “ the greatness of an organization will be directly proportional to the greatness of its leader. It is rare for organizations to rise above their leaders. Giant organizations do not emerge under pygmy leaders; therefore, the key to growing an organization is to grow its leaders. Ultimately, leadership is more about “being” than about “doing.”

What do we learn from this observation?

A successful leader must continue to grow personally. The essence of  effective leader is a  self-centered effort to broaden and widen his personal growth. Meaning that apart from his technical skills and industry knowledge, a leader must also be able to equip himself on  human behavioral skills. The ability to understand the dimensions of personality traits among men.  This issue of understanding  human skills is becoming more sensitive  in a service organization like Rotary .Just remember , when you join Rotary , you are not expected to gain financial  rewards  nor recognition of your efforts. Indeed, being a Rotarian is a thankless job. Why? The philosophy of Rotary is to provide service to humanity to promote goodwill, understanding and peace among men. In fact, it is an inner satisfaction of serving fellow human being whom you do not even know intimately.

What are the challenges of service organizations?

A service organization like Rotary is a grouping of volunteer professionals who perform service without any expectations of rewards. Rotary is in existence in Indonesia for more than 50 years. And worldwide, Rotary’s life is now more than 106 years.

The challenge in Rotary organization is that its growth on membership is not fantastically registering an increase worldwide. The existing membership in the last 5 years always hovered near 1.2 million members. In Indonesia, the number of membership in the last 4 years was reaching between 1600 to 1800 members.

The philosophy of undertaking service to humanity is an honorable action and yet many possible candidates are reluctant to be involved. Why? Is it expensive to join & maintain weekly meeting? Are the requirements too tough to be a member? These are not the clear answers for the candidates reluctance.

What about the existing membership in Rotary organizations?  Why some members who have been Rotarians for more than 5 years also leave the organizations.?

With above observations, one possible answer is the inadequate understanding of Rotary members in managing  different personality traits . Understanding human skills is an essential tool for a successful leadership.

How do we learn incompatible personality traits in service organizations?

A book written by Helen McGrath, PhD and Hazel Edwards, MEd, entitled  “Difficult Personalities”, presented several  types of incompatible personality traits as follows:

Personality Trait # 1---Extroverts & Introverts

The characteristics of Extroverts follows:

(a)    Often friendly, talkative, easy to get to know, easily express emotions, and what you see is what you get

(b)   Often take action and then think about it afterward

(c)    Use dramatic language for effect

(d)   Tend to think our loud

(e)    Like variety—like to socialize to relax & wide circle of friends

(f)     Relatively comfortable being the center of attention

(g)    Tend to talk more than listen and often interrupt.

The Characteristics of Introverts follows:

(a)    Fairly self-sustained and are often happy with their own company

(b)   Tend to think first and then act

(c)    Often very loyal to a few close friends, rather than wide circle of friends

(d)   Prefer constancy & routine

(e)    A strong need for privacy & not center of attention

(f)     Need privacy to mentally rehearse before speaking

(g)     Tend to listen more than talking

(h)    Reserved but rich in inner world of ideas, emotions and impressions

Given this type of  personality traits, a leader must be ready to manage the different characteristics of Extroverts & Introverts. A different strategy must be deployed how to talk, work and deal with people with these type of personalities. A typical example, if you are dealing with extroverts better use email to avoid wasting working time . While for introverts, phone calls are relatively short and personal contact is done only if deemed necessary.

Personality Trait # 2---Planners and Optionizers

The characteristics of “Planner” profile follows:

(a)    Prefer to have life under control with structure, set procedures, and established routines

(b)   Collect information for decisions in an orderly fashion

(c)    Make decisions relatively quick

(d)   Meet deadlines with little trouble

(e)    Use “to do” lists as a way of life

(f)     Usually give work priority over play

The characteristics of “ Optionizer” profile follows:

(a)    Prefer flexible lifestyle

(b)   Often meet deadlines by last-minute rush

(c)    Delay deciding in case something better turns up

(d)   Make last-minute changes

(e)    Feel there is never enough information to make decisions

(f)     Often give play priority over work

In different Rotary Club leaders, you may find these two types of personalities. We may expect conflict arises between the “Planners” who may press for quick decisions, whereas “Optionizers” may prefer to put things on hold. Consequently , both are frustrated. We need to understand the different strategy to be deployed in handling these type of personalities if we intend to achieve an effective results.

What lessons learned ?

As a leader, it is essential that we learn beyond our technical skills. As we grow in the ladder of organizations, the more we are sensitive on the behavior of the people we deal or work with. Having a better understanding, it will spell the success or failure of a club leader. Therefore, in a service organization, it is important to have a better understanding on the dynamics of human skills.