Leadership Mentoring Circles

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.

A simple way to start

1. Write the decision brief for Leadership Mentoring Circles: define which capability, experience and bounded support a mentoring relationship will develop, the starting evidence, people affected, local authority, resource limit, success signals and stop conditions. Who could lead it: Board sponsor and leadership-development lead
2. Publish the capability and decision need, invite interest fairly, ask about access and workload, declare conflicts and separate development from any formal appointment. Apply this specifically to Leadership Mentoring Circles and record which relevant experiences or users are still missing. Who could lead it: Board sponsor and leadership-development lead with the access and privacy contacts
3. Build and test a facilitated conversation with a published influence boundary and balanced participation for Leadership Mentoring Circles; complete the Leadership Mentoring Circles Facilitation and Influence Run Sheet, rehearse the boundary wording and confirm who may decide, refer, pause, recover or close the work. Who could lead it: Facilitator, mentor or role supervisor
4. Use real but bounded practice, observation, reflection and specific feedback; protect confidential information and keep every reserved decision with the authorised office-holder. Capture only the evidence needed to judge whether Leadership Mentoring Circles advances ethical mentoring of future leaders. Who could lead it: Facilitator, mentor or role supervisor
5. Compare the evidence with the starting point, validate meaning with affected participants or users, record gaps and unintended effects and prepare a de-identified themes record and response register showing how participant input affected the decision without overstating what the trial proves. Who could lead it: Facilitator, mentor or role supervisor with an independent reviewer

What should we look for?

• After 90 days, review Leadership Mentoring Circles. Look for regular mentoring conversations, goals chosen by the learner and growing confidence in independent judgement.
• Leadership Mentoring Circles produces a de-identified themes record and response register showing how participant input affected the decision by the promised decision date, with evidence limitations, participation gaps and unintended effects stated.
• People affected can explain the purpose, their choices, the boundary and how to raise an access, privacy, safety or governance concern.
• The trial shows whether ethical mentoring of future leaders improved from the recorded starting point without shifting hidden workload, risk or exclusion elsewhere.
• Every accepted action has an owner, due date and completion evidence, and the club records a reasoned continue, adapt, refer, scale or stop decision.

Before we say yes

• Does it fit a real local need?
• Can people take part safely and fairly?
• Are the facts, permissions and Rotary branding right?
• Who will lead it, and when will we review it?