We all engage with communities on some level in our work.  But the difference between meaningful engagement and mediocre is the difference between the community adopting new technologies or maintaining behavioral practices beyond the life of the project versus a full stop.

So how can we more meaningfully engage with communities?  Lucky for us, Deb Cummins of Bridging Peoples has significant ex...

Our career is unique in that we cannot always escape the stress factors at work just by going home.  I can think of times when I had a lot going on in the office, only to come home and find out there is no power or I am out of water and have to use my drinking water for bathing.  Although by themselves these situations are manageable, over time they can build until you start to become frustrated...

The majority of us participate in humanitarian response at some point in our career or even in "non-traditional" contexts - whether it be from a flood, drought, civil unrest or landslide.  The traditional model of sourcing funding through governments can be cumbersome, and the consequence costly.  My guest today Sean Lowrie is the Director of START Network and has some forward thinking ideas aro...

We have a lot of jargon in our industry, and recently it is becoming more and more common for donors and organizations to talk about "learning cultures" and "adaptive management".  But what does that really mean, and how does it relate to our day to day work?  My guest today, Guy Sharrock, has almost 40 years' experience in development and 17 of those in monitoring and evaluation and most recent...

This interview is a bit different - and that is because it is not from an aid worker perspective on humanitarian leadership, but from the donor perspective!   In this interview an individual working for a large, global donor shares, well, the good, the bad and the what you should never do when working with a donor.

He has a lot of great advice for all you leaders who interact with donors whethe...

In this interview Edna Morris, with forty years' experience in the male dominated restaurant industry, shares some great advice to apply to our field in many of the patriarchal contexts for men and women.  For example when Edna was told by several men that the role she had taken at a new job should be for a man, she shares how she handled this situation in a way which earned her respect. She als...

We’ve all been tortured by the same old “let me show you ALL my results” presentations in international development. They all kind of blend together after a while. So how can you make your public presentation (sharing of Baseline or Endline Results or Strategy) more memorable? Well you’re in luck, because in this episode I share three proven ways to conduct a presentation that will leave your st...

According to the 2016 UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization survey, 40% of adults in low income countries are illiterate. This does not take into consideration the number of innumerate adults, which can be higher in some situations.

It is important to remember that as you are reading this you have an unintended bias toward communicating and interacting with literate people.  Howe...

Today's episode is a little different - it covers three stories, two of my former direct reports and one colleague, who all experienced changes in their work and lives due to coaching.  I hope their stories will inspire you to understand how much coaching can help move you forward in a way that a normal conversation cannot, even in the context of international development.

Thank you to Yane Pin...

I am excited to introduce two of my former students, Brenda Kamboga and Bronwen Moore.  In this episode they share what they learned in my coaching course, The Aid Worker's Guide to Successful Coaching 101, and how it changed their perspective in how they approach their teams and at home.  You might be surprised by what they have to say, and some of the advice they give in starting your own coac...