Table of Contents

1. Who should be nominated to attend the Institute courses?
2. What are the costs?
3. Why do we need a leadership institute?
4. What are the courses?
5. What are the teaching methods? 
6. How do you become part of the RLI Faculty?

7. How are RLI Graduates Recognized?

8. How is RLI Different from PETS (President Elect Training Seminar)?

1. Who should be nominated to attend the Institute courses?

The Institute recommends that clubs nominate those Rotarians who appear to have the potential for club leadership, not necessarily as future presidents. They should preferably be at least 3-4 years away from a possible presidency or other key leadership post. Candidates should certainly have a strong interest in Rotary and be ready to be exposed to the larger world of Rotary. The Institute requests each club to nominate one or two Rotarians each year and to support previous nominees in completing Parts II and III. Other Rotarians interested in building their knowledge or Rotary and more effectively using their Rotary membership can also attend. 

2. What are the costs?

The current course fees are $95 per registrant per day. The fees cover lunch, coffee breaks and considerable materials given to participants. Course fees also pay for meeting space, audio-visual equipment and promotional costs. The Institute strongly recommends that clubs pay the fees for their participants.

3. Why do we need a leadership institute?

Rotary needs a constant influx of leadership as club officers, etc. change every year. It is difficult at the club level to learn enough about the exciting world of Rotary with its 1.2 million members in 168 countries. Furthermore, leadership skills in a voluntary organization are often different from business leadership skills. It is important that club leaders have every opportunity for education because the success or failure of our clubs depends in large part on the quality of their leaders.

4. What are the courses?

The Institute offers a leadership course in three full day parts (Parts I, II, III). Those completing each part are eligible for the next part. The courses are designed to provide Rotary knowledge and to develop leadership skills for voluntary organizations. Some examples of course sessions include, "Rotary Beyond the Club", "The Rotary Foundation" (2 parts), "Membership"  (2 parts), "Leadership" (four parts), "Creating Hands On Service Projects", "Vocational Service", "International Service", "Analyzing a Rotary Club", "Creative Service", "Public Relations", "Public Speaking" and other subjects.

5. What are the teaching methods?

The Institute believes in course sessions with as much discussion/participation as possible, led by trained and experienced facilitators. Discussion breakout sessions are limited to approximately 10-15 persons. Lectures are strictly limited. Course methods include discussion groups, role-playing, problem solving workshops, creating projects and audiovisual presentations. Everyone participates during one of the Institute's sessions. A course workbook, extensive online materials, the RLI Manual, session program agendas, and faculty listings are provided to each attendee. RLI students are leaders and will be personally engaged in, and many times leading the sessions.

6. How do you become part of the RLI Faculty?

The Faculty for RLI is composed of experienced Rotarian leaders with special training in facilitation and presentation skills in small group settings. You are cordially invited to make application, attend and participate in RLI Instructor Training usually held in conjunction with Zone Leadership Training in Greensboro, NC in June of each year and become a future instructor of RLI. Applicants are screened by the RLI Faculty Coordinator and must have requisite skills or experience adding significant value to the RLI Faculty. The exact dates for training are posted on the Faculty page of the web site. For more information on Faculty opportunities contact Bevin@RLI33.org.

7. How are RLI Graduates Recognized?

Rotarians completing all three undergraduate parts of the Institute will graduate from The Zone 33 Rotary Leadership Institute and will receive appropriate recognition. This recognition includes the presentation of a RLI Diploma at their Rotary Club, and the presentation of RLI Graduate Lapel Pins at the appropriate RLI Event.    

8. How is RLI Different from PETS (President Elects Training Seminar)?

First, RLI is targeted toward "prospective club leaders" and those who wish to learn more about Rotary. PETS is job-specific training, for the role of being Club President. 

The standard  PETS curriculum is a 1 1/2 day course with one segment each on Club Administration, Rotary Foundation, Membership, and Service Projects, along with District Sessions on Roles & Responsibilities, Goal Setting  and Publicity. These are all geared toward that President's specific year of service as President. However, we all hope that the knowledge a President gains from PETS training and the experience of their year as the leader of the club inures to the benefit of the club for the duration of their membership.    

Obviously, President-Elects come from many backgrounds and start from many different points on the "Rotary knowledge" scale. A major challenge of PETS is to bring President Elects to more uniform point of Rotary knowledge while not boring those who have greater Rotary knowledge or experience.  

RLI has a significant "leadership" component that is not a part of the PETS curriculum. There is time for a more thorough look into what leadership is and how to exercise it effectively, how to "team-build", and then how to carry those leadership concepts through to service projects, committee & club meetings, public speaking and the like. There is just not time to develop and apply these concepts in the sessions at PETS dealing with goal setting and club administration.              

PETS courses are generally larger in size (30-50 persons) and require less facilitation and more lecturing to accomplish the session goals than do RLI courses (10-15 persons). RLI courses are more participative, interactive, and in fact, our student lead many of the class segments. While RLI Participants tend to learn from each other, PETS participants necessarily are exposed to a specific set of information that is sought to be imparted in each session. In RLI, we encourage students to explore, discuss and study those area of being a Rotarian that excite them, hoping that as that spark is ignited, that they will take that enthusiasm and knowledge back into their club and apply it as a Rotarian, that is, as a leader among leaders.    

RLI is more "voluntary" than PETS. From personal observation there are always a few people who do not want to attend PETS or think it is a waste of their time. In RLI everybody in attendance has either been honored by being selected to attend, or they had the motivation to sign up themselves to learn more. This spirit is infectious.  

Both PETS & RLI have Facilitators and Discussion Leaders who are at the top of the Rotary Training field. There is much overlap between our RLI Faculty and the PETS Faculty chosen from year to year. RLI Faculty Trainers actually assist in training many of the PETS faculties. Both organizations are very fortunate to have very talented and very dedicated Senior Rotary Leaders involved in both administration and faculty. 

Lastly, there has been a conscious effort made by RLI not to duplicate the PETS curriculum. There continues to be an effort to keep the RLI curriculum different, and responding to needs not met by the other components of the Rotary International Recommended Training cycle, like PETS, AGTS, DTTS, District Assembly, DRFS, and regional events, like Regional Rotary Foundation Seminars and Regional Membership Seminars. 

It is our philosophy at Zone 33 RLI that every positive learning experience you can give to someone who wants to serve others is a plus for their club, our organization and our world!