More on Leadership

The leadership conference gave me an interesting opportunity to reflect on the work that I've been doing in Malawi and also the way in which I communicate it. People doing development work often have a vested interest in communicating one side of a complicated story. They often share stories of people struggling in a difficult environment. And, there's no doubt that there are many people struggling in a difficult environment in Malawi, but there are also many incredibly smart, educated, capable people working to develop their country. The one sided reporting does attract funding to development projects, however, I believe it often reduces people's expectations for what is achievable and it often reduces the value that is placed on the people who are working in-country to implement these projects. Development funding is (rightly) targeted at the poor. However, this fact coupled with low expectations of field level implementers often seems to correlate with a lack of investment in the professional development of these staff.

If the messaging begins to change, if people see countries like Malawi as places of beauty and substantial future growth, then perhaps the valued placed on developing people within its systems will be increased. People will see young Malawians capable of changing their world. They will begin to see that the investment of building the skills, energy, and confidence of young Malawians will have significant impact on Malawi's future (think of many of the successful companies of the world and the way that they invest in their staff - for example Google).

I will try to focus on some of the most positive sides of Malawi and some if it's most high potential people in my next few posts. I look forward to hearing what you think.