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L-030 · Theme 4

New Leader Mentoring

Use New Leader Mentoring to help first-time leaders begin with clear authority, support and realistic expectations.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry
L-030 · New Leader Mentoring
Theme
Theme 4: Leadership, Culture & Club Experience · Subtheme 2: First-Time Leaders
Source material
Current playbook index title and category plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

These sources support general principles for leadership, culture and club experience, accessibility, privacy, safety, systems or responsible governance; they are not an endorsement of New Leader Mentoring, a finding that it suits any club or approval of its local design.

Primary references consulted

  • Learning & Reference - learn by role (Rotary International - My Rotary)
    Used for: Rotary's current Learning & Reference hub identifies president and committee roles, links role resources and provides access to role-based learning and training materials.
  • Engage emerging leaders (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary encourages clubs to assess club health, ask members what they want, take suggestions seriously, support leadership and provide relevant service and learning experiences.
  • Governance for good: A guide for Responsible People (Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission)
    Used for: Good governance requires understood roles, authorised decision processes, checks and balances, appropriate delegations, written decisions and oversight of finances and operations.
  • Hosting accessible and inclusive in-person meetings and events (Australian Human Rights Commission)
    Used for: Inclusive in-person events require accessible invitations, venues, transport, formats, technology, activities, adjustments and a clear contact for participant requirements.

Candidate District material

No candidate local guide was used for this version. The current initiative identity and the attributed primary references remain separate.

Theme 4 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

  • 4 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
  • 4 attributed source claim(s) were mapped to their bounded use in this initiative.
  • Candidate District material remains separate and does not establish this result.
See each source's scope and limit
  • Learning & Reference - learn by role
    Supports: The availability of current Rotary role resources and learning pathways for club and district leadership preparation.
    Does not establish: The duties, delegation, eligibility, appointment method, authority or training completion of a particular person in a particular club.
  • Engage Emerging Leaders
    Supports: Member-centred discovery, mentoring, feedback, emerging-leader support and club-health review principles.
    Does not establish: That a person is ready for office, should be selected, has consented to a role or can exercise authority outside the club's rules.
  • Governance for good: A guide for Responsible People
    Supports: Good-governance principles for roles, delegation, decision processes, records, accountability, financial oversight and organisational purpose.
    Does not establish: That a Rotary club is an ACNC-registered charity, that ACNC duties apply or that a proposed delegation or decision complies with the club's governing documents.
  • Hosting accessible and inclusive in-person meetings and events
    Supports: Practical accessibility and inclusion safeguards for in-person leadership, learning, meetings and events.
    Does not establish: Accessibility conformance, the adjustments a person needs or the suitability of a particular venue, format, activity or event plan.

What still needs a person to confirm

  • Confirm the club's governing documents, election or appointment method, role authority, delegation, budget and reserved decisions before assigning leadership responsibility.
  • Confirm which incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, privacy, safeguarding and other duties apply to the club and this local design.
  • Test accessibility, workload, belonging and alternative participation routes with affected members rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
  • Confirm every local fact, starting point, measure, cost, owner, capability claim and learning need before the club decides to proceed.
  • Resolve any candidate District-source provenance and approval decision without treating the candidate as controlled authority.

The source-verification release gate remains closed.

Checks still on hold

Still an internal draft: source interpretation, local suitability, accessibility, governance and editorial approval remain open checks.

What could this idea change?

It helps knowledge, confidence and encouragement move between members instead of resting with a few people.

It may suit: Members seeking guidance or a new challenge, and the people offering practical support.

Could this work in our club?

  • Consider New Leader Mentoring when someone is taking responsibility for the first time or inheriting a role with little guidance.
  • A club where the club can develop a defined capability through real but bounded practice, feedback, authorised decisions and a deliberate handover.
  • A club with a real need for supported first-time leadership and capacity to support a consent-based capability partnership with a defined goal, boundaries, practice and planned ending.
  • A 90-day trial of New Leader Mentoring with a starting point, named participants, a resource ceiling and a scheduled continue, adapt or stop decision.

Before you start

  • A board-approved brief naming which bounded first role, authority, coach and success evidence a new leader will receive, the local authority, people affected, fixed constraints, resource ceiling, decision date and stop conditions.
  • A starting-point record and participant plan suited to a consent-based capability partnership with a defined goal, boundaries, practice and planned ending, with accessible information, voluntary choices and a supported alternative route where needed.
  • Named delivery, evidence and decision owners, including a person authorised to pause New Leader Mentoring when a safeguard, permission or boundary is not met.
  • A proportionate check of governing documents, privacy, information security, accessibility, conflicts, safeguarding, work health and safety, records, finance and referral duties for the actual local design.

At the end: At the 90-day review, compare the recorded measures with the starting point, resolve the listed governance holds and tell participants whether New Leader Mentoring will change, continue or stop.

Made for this initiative

Tailored supporting documents

These working documents use the decisions, safeguards and evidence needs of this initiative. Complete them with the people affected and keep the agreed version with the club's project record.

01

New Leader Mentoring Capability and Outcome Brief

Define the capability, real work, authority and evidence required.

Open supporting document
02

New Leader Mentoring Expression of Interest and Conflict Form

Support fair participation and transparent conflict management.

Open supporting document
03

New Leader Mentoring Role, Authority and Confidentiality Agreement

Keep learning work within approved boundaries.

Open supporting document
04

New Leader Mentoring Learning and Practice Plan

Turn the capability goal into deliberate work and feedback.

Open supporting document
05

New Leader Mentoring Observation and Feedback Record

Capture behaviour and impact without personality judgement.

Open supporting document
06

New Leader Mentoring Decision and Governance Check

Protect formal authority, conflicts and required approvals.

Open supporting document
07

New Leader Mentoring Handover and Continuity Pack

Transfer work, learning, access and open decisions.

Open supporting document
08

New Leader Mentoring First-Time Leaders Delivery Check

Test whether New Leader Mentoring genuinely advances supported first-time leadership within the subtheme boundary.

Open supporting document
09

New Leader Mentoring Compact and Session Record

Keep expectations, authority, privacy, feedback and closure explicit.

Open supporting document
10

New Leader Mentoring Evidence, Decision and Close-Out Record

Bring the evidence, limitations, participant response and final decision for New Leader Mentoring into one accountable record.

Open supporting document

Before your club says yes

Does the idea fit?

Talk with the people it is meant to serve and check that the need is real.

Who can say yes?

Name the person or group that can approve the work, spending and any safety arrangements.

Are people protected?

Check privacy, consent and safety. Collect only the information you genuinely need.

Can everyone take part?

Check the language, format, place, technology and cost for barriers.

Are the facts and permissions right?

Check names, claims, images, quotations, partner references and Rotary branding.

How will we learn?

Note where things stand now, check in at 30, 60 and 90 days, and decide what to do next.

Worksheets for your club

Open them online, print them or change them to suit the way your club works.

01

Conversation guide

Use this worksheet to hold a respectful conversation, hear different views and tell people what happens next.

Open worksheet
02

People and opportunities matching sheet

Use this worksheet to help people choose roles or opportunities that suit them without asking for more personal information than the club needs.

Open worksheet
03

Check-in log

Use this worksheet to hear what people experienced and decide what to change next.

Open worksheet
04

Review template

Use this worksheet to note where things stand and choose a few useful signs that will help the club decide what to do next.

Open worksheet