Purposeful Global Engagement starts with effective engagement—around the world. And that means being a good global citizen. But what does that actually mean? What do ‘global citizens’ actually do? Laura Asiala explored the topic in a talk at TEDx Traverse City, in Traverse City, Michigan on May 11. She identifies five habits—listen, learn, link, and leave (it better!), with effective leadership at the heart of it. You can listen to her talk here, or read an excerpt below.
It’s August of 2009. I’m sitting in a conference room of a global manufacturing company about two and a half hours south of here, discussing with my CEO and vice president how our company can better serve people in underserved markets—but not though charity.
We wanted to figure out how to make the benefits of our technology available and affordable to consumers at the base of the economic pyramid, those four billion people in the world who live on less than $2.50 per day. But there’s a problem. From our conference room in Midland, Michigan, we can’t possibly even begin to see the realities and challenges facing these people.
“I wonder if we could gain insight into these markets through service first,” I said thinking out loud. “What if we sent employees into those markets, not to sell something per se, but to meet the people where they are and to provide some level of service that the community needs?”
Our CEO whirled around in her chair, pointed a highly polished index finger at me and said, “I want that.”
So here’s the first lesson: don’t ‘bounce’ an idea off of your CEO, especially if you have no idea how to deliver on it.
Fortunately, we found a way. Our company, working through a non-profit now known as PYXERA Global, launched one of the first global corporate programs to place corporate employees in pro bono engagements in undeserved markets around the world. In that first cohort, we sent a team of 10 experienced professionals from across the company to spend one month, at company expense, working with nonprofits and social enterprises in southern India.
The cohort was divided into teams, and one of these teams was assigned to work on a quality problem at Sustaintech. Sustaintech is a social enterprise in southern India which makes safe and fuel-efficient commercial cookstoves.
The members of the team working with Sustaintech had experiences in quality control, manufacturing processes, and the factory shop floor, but they didn’t know the solution when they left. They barely understood the problem.
They started by listening to better understand not only the root cause of the issue, but also the implications of the quality defect. Working with and learning from the people on the ground, they ultimately identified a welding issue, but didn’t have the direct expertise within their small team to solve it. What they did have was a broad base of manufacturing expertise throughout the company which had sent them, and they linked with their collective, professional networks.
Within 24 hours, they sent ideas to the team on the ground in India. With the local manufacturer, the team experimented with the suggestions, continuing to learn and adjust, and ultimately landed on a combination which was able to solve that key issue and helped to set Sustaintech up for further success. They left the organization not only with a solution to that issue, but also an approach that would enable them to solve similar quality problems in the future. Over the course of the month that they worked together, leaders emerged within the team and Sustaintech, changing as the situation evolved, allowing team members to play to their strengths.
Immersing yourself into a new environment to gain insight through service sets the framework of what it means to be a good global citizen—whether that is at home in your own neighborhood, at the state or national level, or abroad. And it takes real courage.
Today we’re talking about citizenship, contribution, community and courage. But what does that actually require that we do?
The team with Sustaintech provides us with some clues. Those have been validated and refined in conversations with leaders from every sector. There are five practices—or principles– that make global citizens successful: listen, learn, link, and leave all while leading, or being led.
Listen first. The Greek philosopher Epictetus pointed out that we have two ears and one mouth so that we listen twice as much as we talk. He’s still right.
This requires that you be present, get local, and go with a curious, open mind. Ask questions, listen deeply, and recognize that your way isn’t the only way and may not be the right way. Curiosity and appreciation are valued everywhere. It is the essence of respect.
Learn—and adjust. My friend Richard Crespin from CollaborateUp summarizes this beautifully: “Don’t fall in love with your solution, until you fall in love with your problem.” And when you’ve gained some insight, use action to keep learning. Try some stuff. Keep what works. Change the rest. Don’t be surprised—or stopped–by the surprises.
Link together. One of the most critical parts of being a good citizen is realizing that you act within a system, whether that system is clear to you or not. When you recognize that every interaction takes place within a complex ecosystem, it is never a simple “if, then”. Solving the world’s biggest challenges as a community is more like solving multi-variable calculus problems than simple arithmetic. Which makes it all the more important to nurture a diverse network of family, friends, and allies–they can be the difference between success and failure.
Mutually meaningful partnership is also crucial. There is no one individual, organization, or sector that can solve the most difficult problems alone. We all need allies. The false hierarchies that sometimes emerge in relationships between “donors and beneficiaries” or “experts and novices” can set partnerships off-kilter. As adults, we all have something to learn, and we all have something to teach. Partnerships work best when each party realizes everyone involved brings something of value, and people are not only allowed, but held responsible to contribute from their strengths.
Leave it better. Were you surprised that “leaving” is a critical success factor? Not to be confused with leaving because it got too hard, or giving up. But there will always be endings. The trick is getting them right. How will you ensure that you will have left a positive net impact when you are no longer here? This is the essence of sustainability: to build competence, capability, and confidence long after you are there to drive it personally.
And finally,
Lead and be led. The worst leaders always have to be in charge. That’s not leadership. That’s narcissism. The best leaders create an environment where everyone can meaningfully contribute from their strengths. That means there are moments when the best leaders take a step back to allow someone with a particular area of influence or talent emerge and take the lead, while they become good followers.
Leadership is exhausting. It’s so much better to take turns. Real leaders encourage everyone to see themselves as responsible and capable leaders when the circumstances demand it.
Back in that conference room in Midland, we started with a notion that by being good corporate citizens we could gain greater insight and understanding through service.
Today, dozens of multi-national companies have similar, global pro bono programs.
In June of 2016, employees from Dow, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and PIMCO formed a cross-company team known as the Global Health Corporate Champions to address specific public health issues in Ghana in association with the Global Health Fellows Program II, a USAID program.
The team used their operational, business, and consulting skills to address specific projects to build better systems and organizations for healthier communities.
Those goals are not only appropriate overseas. We are all too familiar that we face similar challenges here in the state of Michigan. They require courageous citizens to take action everywhere. There are borders of all kinds to cross, and ample opportunities to immerse yourself in service to listen, learn, link, lead, and leave the world a bit better than we found it.
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