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...

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 d...

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 mind-frame, then the quality of our work will not be our best.

And so we wi...

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 criti...

"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 "...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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....

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 ...