NB Leadership Roundtable

On Tuesday, I attended a roundtable on leadership development in NB. About 30 people from various backgrounds were brought together in an attempt to understand the state of leadership in our province.

We were divided into groups to tackle the task of determining the barriers and facilitators of leadership development in NB. We considered awareness of best practices, interconnectedness, power and control culture, the number of programs available to young people, to name a few. It was interesting to see the difference in opinion between people's perception of these topics. Take interconnectedness. I felt that it was a barrier while most of the others at my table viewed it as a facilitator. One gentleman was amazed with the number of people he was able to meet when he first arrived in NB. For him, the interconnectedness of people connected to his sector amazed him. From my perspective, I feel that the interconnectedness occurs within small groups that are siloed from each other, and creates an almost false sense of connection with a greater number of people.

Could NB ever be a hot house for leadership development? I think that a few things need to happen:
1. our culture needs to allow for risk taking and failure
2. the programs offered to develop leaders have to fit people's demands
3. for the province to benefit from leadership development, people need to be able to stay here. this means that they need access to employment opportunities
4. role models need to be showcased from various sectors

We left the meeting with a commitment to get together again. Instead of waiting a year to reassemble, we'll pick up where we left off in 2 months. Talking about leadership and having it become a common household term will be one of the first steps toward building that hot house.

Relationships are key

This is the half-way point of my week long provincial tour with 21Inc. We're in Bathurst, resting and thinking. Thinking about the past 5 days spent with 20 other young NBers, on a bus with little sleep, moving from community to community, watching relationships grow. It's now 2 in the morning and I can't sleep yet. There's so much information I've absorbed and haven't yet processed. My thoughts have been occupied lately with this question of 'what motivates people to create change?' What has to happen during this tour to create the momentum within each of us to take our ideas and solutions and turn them into action? I believe there are 3 necessary factors:
1. knowledge: people need to learn about the problem
2. capacity to create change: people need to feel that they're capable of implementing their solutions
3. relationships: for me, this is the 'make or break' aspect of having the energy to create change

During this tour, I think it's imperative that we form relationships, to some extent, with people who live in the spaces we visit. Without relationships, we will always see the situation through an outsiders' lens.

A short story

It took about one and a half years of living and working in Zambia to finally reach the first of many realizations: I couldn’t participate in international development as it was being practiced. I think I panicked when I had initially put words to this feeling. I tried for a while to convince myself that this nagging voice could and should be silenced. After all, wanting to be a development worker was the justification I had used in 2005 for leaving my family, friends, and country. My path was clear – until I realized that it wasn’t a path I wanted to go down. I remember the moment when I thought ‘Would the people I’m dealing with choose to use the money we’re spending on this programme to build a toilet?’ I started to realize that as an NGO, we had decided to prioritize resources for each and every family we worked with. We, as WaterAid, chose to build toilets, hand washing facilities, and water points over school fees, food, and clothing – without really asking each family what they needed. After many more months of soul searching, experiencing, and trying to understand, I had come to a conclusion. For me, the most dignified and appropriate way of contributing toward development in Zambia would be to work toward providing opportunities for people. With access to opportunities, people have the freedom to make their own choices over their resources. And to me, the most obvious means of providing people with opportunities is through job creation. Even though I feel strongly about environmental and social justice, I believe that people’s basic needs have to be met before they are able to fully participate in those causes.
Take NB for instance. How are we ever going to tackle the issue of sustainability when an entire demographic of our population has to leave our province in order to make a livelihood for themselves? This is the demographic most likely to fight for change. They have the energy, idealism, and freedom to question circumstances and push the envelope. What will keep them here? Pristine forests? Gender equality? Perhaps. But without a job, they can’t survive.
This, my dear friends, is why I want to see this initiative of self-sufficienty move forward. We have an obligation to our region, our home, to bring it back to life in an appropriate, flourishing manner.
NBers are the only ones who will truly bring change to NB.

Living consciously

It’s interesting how contrasting circumstances can shed new light on a familiar environment. Spending time away from the Canadian way of life has given me a different perspective of the routine I had once been accustomed to. Since I was now used to a new lifestyle, I found myself questioning the choices that had seemingly been made unconsciously before I left for Zambia. Choices like where to buy food and clothes. Choices like the amount of water to use for cooking, bathing, and washing. Choices like the amount of money spent on things we have been convinced we need. Because I have seen a contrasting way of life, I now have a different reference point from which to make decisions. I have spent the past 3 years of my life constantly asking myself if I need or simply want something. There was a constant internal dialogue trying to justify each use of resources. This was a bit extreme and definitely caused some stress, but I better understood the decisions I was making.
Back in NB, I feel like it would be very easy to get caught up in the tide of society again and base my decision making on those around me and the influences I see. I’ve realized that one of the major lessons that I can infuse into my life here in Canada is to live consciously. To question why I’m doing what I’m doing. To understand the consequences and impacts of my choices. I’ve struggled with the need to take what I saw in Zambia and apply it to my life here. I think I now realize that it’s not about the specific action, rather a change in mindset.

What a great leader can accomplish

Interesting article in the TJ about the differences between Danny Williams and Shawn Graham:

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/553589

It really highlights some great points.

Appropriate Change

Some of you may be wondering why I became so interested in NB. For the first 24 years of my life, I was pretty content to accept the state of our province. I hadn't known anything different, and was unaware of the relative situation of NB compared to the rest of Canada. But something changed. While I was in Zambia, I remember wishing that I was Zambian. A Zambian with the same access to education and opportunities I had as a Canadain, but with the ability to understand and gain trust at a deeper level. And now I'm in NB. And I'm from NB. I've spent most of my life in this province. I am in tune with the underlying cultural norms and unconsciously I understand considerations that go into forming decisions. I am truly affected by my actions in this province. My family is affected by my actions (to some degree). I am finally fully accountable for my choices and feel the burden of being a foreigner lifted. Now, I can truly attempt to participate in appropriate development to see NB reach its full potential.
That's why I care about NB.

EWB conference culture shock

I've just arrived back from the EWB National Conference in Toronto and feeling some culture shock. The conference itself felt similar to a family reunion - the one with the side of your family that you like ;) There were times where I felt as though I was completely in love, surrounded by so many people very dear to my heart. I definitely recommend taking opportunities to move away from your current bubble of life. Not forever, but just to remind yourself that the world is much larger than your own environment. The change of scenery will make you appreciate what you have that much more.
I want to thank my second family (you know who are) for continuing to push my thinking, showing me such compassion, and inspiring me to keep growing. I miss you already..