Why We Should Stop Running to Help Developing Nations....and Start Paying Attention

This is the third and final blog in a series that examines the concept  of bias as it relates to CSR, leadership and cultural intervention.  The core business elements of The Acacia Group, Socially Responsible Leadership Experiences 

“Deep in every liberal sensibility is a profound sense that in a world of moral uncertainty one idea is sacred, one belief cannot be compromised: the rich should help the poor, and the form of this help should be aid…[and yet]…across the globe the recipients of this aid are worse off: much worse off. Aid has helped make the poor poorer, and growth slower.” Dambisa Moyo, in "Dead Aid"
 
Over the past 5 decades, developed countries have poured over a trillion dollars (US) into developing countries. Yet for many observers there is little evidence of the sustainable improvements in the lives of the world’s poor that would be expected from this level of investment. Something does not seem to be working. Books are written, suggestions made, studies conducted, debates held, and international commitments made. So why is there this ongoing deep disconnect between the desire of people and countries to help others from making a sustainable and positive difference?

Stories and myths abound of well intentioned individuals and organizations that follow the well trod path to developing communities and countries wanting to make a difference and only making problems. And yet there are successes. From my own experiences and readings on the topic I am increasingly curious about the emergence of what appear to be approaches that seem to break from our cultural beliefs regarding development and aid. I am curious about a need for a shift in our thinking:

From "We are experts" To "I have something to learn from you" - North American culture values experts and specialists. We are well educated and we believe that our knowledge is true – therefore if we bring our knowledge to a developing community or country their circumstances will improve. This is a belief that leaves little room in our thinking to hear and perceive the knowledge of the people we are coming to help.


From "We can bring in a solution from elsewhere and it will work here" To "Your circumstances are unique and need to be understood before a solution can be created" – Modernism has led us to believe that processes and structures can be transferred from one context to another and that they will `fit’. Years of organizational experience should be telling us that this is rarely the experience.

From "We can talk about your needs without you in the conversation" To 'You are the most important participants in the conversation" - In the Foreword to the book Dead Aid, the contributor Niall Ferguson makes an important observation – “…it has long seemed to me problematic, and even a little embarrassing, that so much of the public debate about Africa’s economic problems should be conducted by non-African white men.” Effective conversations happen when all the people involved come into the conversation and are prepared to listen and be changed by the conversation. It is in conversation where we chose to be open to new possibilities, especially when all perspectives are present
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From "There is one right way" To 'There are multiple and contradictory ways to the outcomes desired" – It is uncomfortable for us to live with the ambiguity of multiple and contradictory solutions and we have a socialized preference to reject ambiguity and to move to quickly to action. We want people and governments to move quickly and to make decisions correctly, and we have low tolerance for error.
Fortunately there are personal mastery competencies that we can foster that will help us shift our thinking:


Humility – a belief that there are things that I don’t know and I want to learn from you.
Curiosity – a willingness to be open to other perspectives and to examining my own deeply held beliefs.
Unhelpfulness – as Peter Block identifies in Community : The structure of belonging,  - don’t be helpful. Being helpful and giving advice are really ways to control others. In community we want to substitute curiosity for advice.
Embrace Ambiguity – Acknowledgment of the liberating concept of  "I don’t know what I don’t know and things will emerge as we learn together".

Looking for some ideas on how to shift your thinking on international aid? Check out Community Enterprise Solutions and Changemakers. Or, share some of your own thoughts as to how we can move beyond our bias’ and neo-colonial attitudes and behaviors.

Personal - Organizational Dissonance

Regardless of our role in an organization, I suspect that just about everyone has experienced times when in their own personal life journey they are confronted with the realization that they don’t like who they have `to be’ in order to be successful in their current organization.
This week I found myself in a number of conversations in which there was a recurring theme - the individuals were asking `how do I find an organization that is aligned with my values, where I can engage in work that is meaningful to me and is personally satisfying, and where I can make a difference?’ In each case the individual was well educated and highly skilled in their chosen profession. They wanted to do more than practice their skills, they wanted to make a difference and were frustrated by the systems in which they found themselves working. They were experiencing organizational - personal dissonance.
I have been in that place of dissonance and for me the ultimate outcome was that I left the organization – preferring to give up the security of organizational life for consulting and contract work where I could work with people I enjoyed, doing work that I was passionate about, and doing work in a way that was aligned with my values.
Organizations today cannot afford to lose employees who want to bring more than just their technical competencies to the workplace. People will join an organization that allows them to use their technical skills, but they will leave organizations that do not allow them to engage their areas of passionate interest – including their emotional, relational, and spiritual passions. How many organizations do you know that view their people as `talent to be managed’ or as `discrete skill sets’ to be plugged into an organizational need rather than as whole and integrated individual with hopes, dreams and needs for making a difference.
In my conversations this week I heard expressed both passion and frustration. There was an understanding of the need for their organization to make money and to balance their budgets – but there was a sense that their organizations were falling short of their responsibility to make positive contributions to their communities and the clients that they served – and that making money and balancing budgets did not have to be at odds with the social responsibility of the organization to people and communities.
I don’t believe that there is a perfect organization out there – all organizations are challenged to balance the often competing agendas required to be a sustainable organization. That many organizations have remained focused on the financial bottom line to the neglect of engaging the creativity and passions of their employees’ is a reality. However as organizations seek to hold a competitive niche in the marketplace and retain highly skilled staff, engaging staff and fostering creative and innovative thinking is the organizational leadership challenge of the day. Creating a workplace that values the passions of staff will require leadership that appreciates diversity in perspectives, can be inclusive of all that individuals bring to the workplace (and not just their technical skills), can leverage differences to foster creative solutions to organizational and societal problems, and thus improve organizational effectiveness.
As leaders, how are we challenging and developing our own leadership to lead from a place of valuing diversity, leveraging differences, and practicing inclusivity. Do I as a leader not also have a responsibility to examine my leadership paradigm and decide whether or not I need to shift my view of leadership as being centered in positional authority, hierarchy, and control and move towards one that values interconnectedness, creativity, and wholeness? Can I choose to lead so that my organization becomes the organization that I want to be a part of?
At The Acacia Group we believe passionately that a new leadership model and paradigm is needed and that the shift requires a transformation of leaders before an organizational transformation can occur. We have developed and offer socially responsible leadership residencies through which individuals have opportunities for transformative learning – preparing them to live and lead as socially responsible leaders in their community and their organizations.Check out our website for upcoming residences at www.theacaciagroup.ca , sign up for our blogs at http://theacaciagroup.blogspot.com/ and join us as we twitter at http://twitter.com/theacaciagroup