No room for complacency
on Roundabouts in Delhi (India), 31/Dec/2010 07:14, 34 days ago
This has been a great week workwise. Now that I am starting to get used to the way in which people at my organisation work and who’s involved in what, I am able to get into my own working rhythm. I’m certainly kept on my toes and have almost thought that things have moved a little too fast at times. On day two of being at the organisation I was asked by my boss, the Chief Exec, to produce an outline of an advocacy framework for the organisation for the next 2yrs. In week two I presented my ideas so far and was asked to identify which issues the organisation could campaign on and organise a session for all members of the team to share their ideas for campaigns. This week, week three, I held a brainstorming session forthe other team members, it went really well and by the end of the session it seemed like there was a clear winner in terms of which issue the organisation could focus their advocacy framework around to start with. For a moment I felt like the model vso volunteer as I’d even used my ‘Participatory Approaches: A Facilitator’s Guide,’ to plan the afternoon’s session.The last few weeks have been fantastic as it’s been brilliant to start applying my experience of advocacy and campaigning in a different context and see some of what I learnt during my vso training come to life. However, what I’m also starting to learn is that there is no room for complacency and that even when you think you’ve made a breakthrough things are never quite that simple. For example, after my amazing meeting I’d gone away buzzing thinking I was vso volunteer extraordinaire only to be called back a few minutes later. I was told that although it was great that we’d collectively agreed on an issue that the organisation ought to be focusing on, it was still important to think big and not limit ourselves to one issue at a time. This was followed by a long list of proposals that had not even been discussed in the meeting. I think my mouth might have dropped open slightly as it felt like the last two hour session had almost not happened but I also smiled at myself a little for allowing myself to get ahead in thinking that I had everything all wrapped up and that in my third week I’d got the organisation sussed. So at the moment it’s an odd mixture of being kept on my toes and feeling like I must deliver the goods immediately, whilst trying not to get too ahead of myself and learn more about what the organisation already knows and already does and does very well. All the time repeating my mantra of “specific, measurable, achievable, timed objectives” and “impact impact impact,” until I start to sound more like an army general than an NGO worker.