Musings on Unity and Leadership

Rotary and February 23

The month of February is very special in the Rotary calendar because it includes the anniversary of the first meeting of Rotary held on February 23, 1905, now designated as the World Understanding and Peace Day. Interestingly, the first Rotary meeting held on February 23, 1905 was a Thursday, which is surely the inspiration behind the weekly Thursday meeting schedule of various Rotary Clubs, including Asia’s First. As the Rotary World celebrates “Understanding and Peace Day”, may all Manila Rotarians be inspired to honestly imbibe what it truly means to foster unity, peace and understanding among his fellowmen and brother Rotarians.

Primus Inter Pares:*

Often called by its Latin form, primus entre pares, a first among equals structure is based upon a shared respect between each person within a team or the organization. A first-among-equals approach means that in the context of the work within a club or organization, the person with the most immediate responsibility for the work leads. The others assist as servant leaders. In a first-among-equals situation, each person comes to the group with their own set of responsibilities, their own perspective and their own commitment to the overall interests of the individuals in the group. They come to contribute. But leaders, especially elected leaders forming a decision-making body, must come primarily with the interest and well-being of the organization in mind. They must find a way to work together.

Servant Leadership:**

Beginning in the middle decades of the 20th century, leadership began to cease being synonymous with the concept of management. Experts like Peter Drucker and James Magregor Burns began to address leadership as a separate field of study. During this time, Robert Greenleaf became one of the first writers to advance a fresh approach to leadership. He bridged the traditional structural approach to leadership with a more human-centered approach. Greenleaf’s contribution to the field of leadership is known as servant leadership. Greenleaf was addressing a problem that he saw, not unlike Lord Acton, as the unconstrained ego of organizational leaders.

* ** Dr. Ed Brenegar, Circle of Impact (June 21, 2018)