Basically a Rotary club is a collection of like minded volunteers interested in service. The key here is volunteers. Thus the president leads people who join Rotary because it helps them achieve their goal of giving back to society. Yes there's fellowship and more, but if the club didn't do service, it would just be a dinner club.
The President of a company doesn't lead volunteers, he generally leads people who need the job. In the case of a company, the President is at the top of a command and control structure, virtually everyone below needs the job, and will tolerate a lot to keep it. In actuality, most business Presidents also need the job, high incomes generally lead to costly lifestyles...................
The President of a Rotary club is the President of a group of volunteers. The volunteers may have a desire to do service, but feeding themselves and their family, housing, etc, doesn't depend on the Rotary job. The motivation is completely different from that for an employee in a company. Certainly Rotarians are motivated, why else would they pay money for the privilege of doing service work, and put up with rubber chicken meals?
As a result a Rotary President is a steward of the club, not at the helm of a command and control type position. It is a position that requires leadership and vision. Unlike a company President where the vision can be the President's vision only, a Rotary President needs to understand the vision of the club as a whole. And must follow the club's vision to keep members engaged. A Rotary President has the opportunity to guide the club's vision, to effect some changes, but it needs to be through leadership, not force of will.
