Aid for Aid Workers Leadership Podcast

Last week we reflected on who we became as a leader over the last year and how it helped us achieve what we have so far. This week we focus on how to achieve what we want for the next year (our "one thing") and how you can create weekly actions to do so. Your resulting "one thing" and the weekly actions you can take should leave you feeling inspired and motivated to get started on becoming your ne...

What have you accomplished over the last year as a supervisor and leader? And more importantly, what led you to achieve what you have - and what may have prevented you from achieving more? Taking the time to reflect on questions such as these can set us up for greater growth and success in the coming year. Just like we do project relfections, we should reflect on our own learning too. But learning...

The way we see our role as a leader relates directly to the way we use our time and the impact we create. It also relates to the level of overwhelm and burnout we experience. Based on some common misconceptions, I am sharing how you can make the most impact as a humanitarian or development leader. You'll learn two shifts in perspective that will help you focus your time and prioritize what will ma...

How much does your team rely on you? Maybe it's not the entire team that needs your help. Maybe it's one or two people. You have shown them how to do something again and again... And still they don't do it on their own. If you recognize this situation, it is likely you are partly responsible for it. You may think you are being helpful, but your actions as a leader are creating a team that's depend...

Another year is almost over, and if you're like me, you may be asking... where did my time go? And better yet, what have I accomplished? Depending on how much you respect your own time, you may find yourself either doing urgent work for others, or doing important work for yourself. What's interesting is many of us don't even realize when we are not respecting our time. We think we are being produc...

Are you being a team player? You may be surprised by the answer. I see many aid worker supervisors saying "yes" to take on more work, so they can be a team player. But ironically, many times by doing this they are doing the opposite. They are not being a team player - they are actually letting their team down. There is a small difference between REALLY being a team player and not being one. Small...

It is very helpful as humanitarian and development leaders to ask ourselves about patterns we see with our team's behavior.  Once we understand the "why" behind our team's behavior, we can ask ourselves what role we have in contributing to it, and whether we want it to continue or change. Today we are going to focus on the reasons why our team asks us for advice. Why do they ask us what to do? It...

What is your most important priority as a humanitarian or development leader? Something that if you don't prioritize, your work will suffer, as well as those around you? It's not a donor proposal. Or a community visit. If you said your own health and wellbeing, you're right! If we are not healthy and in a positive mindframe, then the quality of our work will not be our best. And so we will not mak...

Today I'm excited to introduce the stories of three of my students and how they've incorporated coaching in their work.  I'm sure you can learn something from their journey that can inspire you to become an even better leader.   The first interview is Helen Henderson, an Australian who works as a Program Manager for Marie Stopes.  The second is Paulina da Torres, who is Timorese and works for a so...

If you consider yourself a perfectionist, or lacking confidence, or experiencing imposter syndrome, chances are you have an inner critic. You know - the voice in your head which says you're not enough, or that your work is not good enough. It is SO common - I have several of them and see them show up in many humanitarian supervisors I coach. And yet, sometimes we forget that this inner critic is N...

"One the Annual Report is done, I will develop my team." "Once we hire the new person, I will take that course." "After the year end close, I can visit the community." See a pattern here? The pattern is thinking that later is better- and that we don't have enough time right now. And the thing is - once "later" comes (after the annual report, year end close or new staff hire) we STILL say "I don't...

Even though development and humanitarian work is unpredictable, there are some things that we know will happen. When I was in South Sudan, these included: - Delayed procurements - Last minute government meetings - Late liquidations submitted by partners I knew these things were going to happen, and yet, I planned my time as if they were not. Looking back on this, I find it so fascinating how we of...

Many of us spend a lot of time preparing for meetings and for events on what we're going to say.  We practice PowerPoint presentations. We review our agendas. But a few months from now, what will be remembered - what you said, or how your attendees felt afterwards? It is rare we remember everything someone said - but we will remember how we FELT during an event or presentation. And yet, we rarely...

What is your relationship with your team? Do you tell them what to do? Do you do work for them? How often do you feel frustrated by another mistake, or something that's gone wrong for the sixth time? If you answered yes to any of the above, you may be in a parent-child managerial trap. We may not even be aware of how we can become parents sometimes when managing our teams. But the result of this t...

In this final part of the three part series, I talk about what a leadership legacy means and how it can help us create lasting impact. You'll hear about my own leadership legacy, and why I am so grateful for having spent the time to envision it and then create it. If you're feeling demotivated or lost as a leader in the humanitarian and development sectors these days, this episode is for you. And...

Last week we looked at how to become aware of how you're using your time as a leader (in part one here) . This week we will now look at how you WANT to be using your time so you can make the impact you're seeking. This means looking at how can we use our time more effectively? There are many ways to do this, and in this episode I share some of the ones that I find aid worker leaders struggle with...

How do you want to be remembered by your team and others one to five years from now? What will be your Leadership Legacy?   Something that you will look back upon and think "wow I am so proud I achieved that." Over the next three episodes, I am going to discuss how to achieve a Leadership Legacy - how to be intentional about the impact we want to make and how you can achieve that impact as a leade...

What can you do with four more hours in your work week? What if I were to tell you that you can get more done NOW without having to add more hours? That you can step closer to "work-life balance" and not working on weekends? It all has to do with HOW you manage your current time - not the amount of time you have. After coaching many aid worker supervisors, I can tell you there are certain behavior...

I LOVE questions. Not all questions.... The powerful questions. I collect them actually.  :) And so it's not easy for me to pick out three favorites.  But I have chosen three that really helped me as a leader, and I know can help you too. In this episode I share three of my favorite questions that have inspired others to take action and also helped me understand them better. You'll learn what type...

Most of us are hoping there will be significant changes in the humanitarian and international development sectors in the next few years. You're probably already familiar with some of the wish list: localization, decentralization, greater equity and inclusiveness. This sounds great, but how likely is it to happen? And what role can we as leaders play to help make it happen? In this episode I take t...

You hear me talk a lot about coaching. But I haven't really explained the differences between formal coaching and informal. Today I've invited a guest to discuss the differences, benefits for your team and some practical ways to start. Elena Sancho has 20 years experience in the aid sector and is now a certified professional coach.  She shares her journey in finding coaching, and how she has since...

What's the biggest adventure you've ever had? For my guest today, it's hard to choose. Birgit Hermann has run marathons with penguins, biked through Africa and traveled all over the world. Her love of nature as well as her adventures has shaped the way she leads and how she's now inspiring others to follow their dreams and get out of their comfort zone. One tool that has helped Birgit become the l...

Most of us can recall examples of when a leader or someone we know brought to attention a policy, way of doing things or something someone said that overpowered someone else or a group of people. And we ALL have opportunities to speak up for those who have less power than we do - whether it's someone of another gender or race or a beneficiary.   But how do we speak up in a way that is productive a...

You may not even be aware you are doing it. How much your everyday language - and the WAY you talk about situations, impacts the way you lead yourself and others around you. Language that makes things seem extreme. And in the humanitarian and development world, there is PLENTY to exaggerate. "The donor always delivers proposals late." "The community is never on time." "My team doesn't communicate...

We all know them. Leaders who are not aware how their behavior impacts their team. They have no idea that they frequently put the team down or start yelling for no apparent reason. The kind of leader we all want to avoid and avoid becoming. One of the best ways to become the leader you admire is by being aware of how your behavior is being perceived by others. In other words, becoming more self-aw...