How could International Development and Humanitarian Organizations “Work Well Together" in a Diverse and Unequal World?

Re-Birth: Insights from a Country Director's Visit to Plan International Canada on how International Development and Humanitarian Organizations could “Work Well Together" in a Diverse and Unequal World.

I joined Plan International as Country Director in Nigeria in October 2021, which I consider to be the initial revival into a new organization and culture. Through this period, I have had an experience of Plan from the inside (before now, Plan had been an organization I had admired and imagined being part of from the outside). An agency seeking the rights of children and equality for girls for over eighty-five years across seventy-five countries - certainly, there is the value this organization brings to the lives of children, especially girls, to remain successful over these years. Exactly two years in post, the reality of the task ahead as Country Director in Nigeria has just begun to set in, especially as Plan Nigeria has recently acquired a new status as an organization in Nigeria - “Prospective Member”! (A Prospective Member within the Plan Federation is a member that has shown potential to become a full member within the Federation).

Plan International Nigeria’s New Status

To be Locally Led and Globally Connected, To be an Inclusive and Diverse Organization across all levels of decision-making, and To expand the frontiers of our Localization agenda are statements of intent and deed from the Global Leadership of Plan International. To bring these statements to life, amongst other major actions and initiatives, a special event held in June 2023 captured the moment the Members Assembly of the Plan Federation approved that Plan International Nigeria would become a Prospective Member of the Federation - the first African Country to sit at the highest decision-making body of the Members Assembly of the Plan Federation. As a prospective member, a timescale of a few years has been provided to enable Plan Nigeria to meet some commitments, after which she will be inducted as a full member of the Members Assembly. Brazil and Indonesia were inducted at this same event as full members of the Members Assembly after completing their journey as Prospective Members.

Accompaniment

Leading Plan Nigeria through this transition will require new courage and probably an advanced skill set to accomplish this seemingly daunting task. However, I have been overwhelmed with support and encouragement from the National Directors of our existing Member Organizations across Europe, Canada, and the US. For example, in the spirit of one out of four of Plan International’s core values - “We Work Well Together” Lindsay Glassco - President and CEO of Plan International Canada, after agreeing to be my buddy to accompany me through this transition phase, invited me over to her office in Toronto to spend a week immersing myself into the real-life experience of a National Organization within Plan Federation. Lindsay said, “Charles, you will most likely gain tangible experience that will be useful for you back in Nigeria, and equally, we could use the experience to establish a strong bond between your team and mine.” One week in Toronto, and I can say I got my “re-birth”!!!

People at the Center/People Matter?

“People at the Center” is the fifth organizational value Plan International Canada upholds in addition to Plan Federation’s four values; it was evident that this value has been transformed into the working culture, not just by Lindsay and the leadership team, but by most people in the organization. A few minutes with Brendan Schulz - Vice President Talent and Culture, and his team revealed how intentional they are with sustaining a culture where people are actually at the center of everything they do at Plan Canada. According to Brendan, this begins with how they recruit and induct new staff members into the organization.

For example, contrary to the prevailing culture of organizing a party and sending gifts and flowers when staff leave, the reverse is the case at Plan Canada, where new joiners are celebrated and given flowers/gifts upon joining the organization. I mean, how would you not love that? This restores my confidence in the leadership practice that “People” are the most priced asset of any organization. A recent pulse survey revealed that over 90% of Plan Canada staff feel valued, know their contribution to their organization’s strategy, are very happy to recommend the organization to friends and contacts and feel empowered to do their jobs. Outstanding! ‘Values drive Culture, Culture drives Performance, and People exhibit Culture’ - was a quote Brendan and his team left me with, which inspired me to strengthen our people and culture experience at Plan Nigeria.

Innovative fundraising?

I spent some time with Goodwin Gibson - the Chief Development and Marketing Officer, and his team. The Marketing and Philanthropy teams led by Jason Matta - Vice President of Donor Marketing, and Shannon Cummins, CFRE - Director of Philanthropy, are well structured with a delicate mix of professionals from diverse backgrounds. Same with the Communications team led by Dena Allen - Vice President Communications and Public Engagement. Goody’s team is one of the two teams responsible for all income to Plan Canada. All of the operations in this team are digital. Raising quality income for any organization will require clever thinking, the right mix of skills and experience from diverse backgrounds, leveraging resources and relationships across units, and keeping your cost centers lean. All of these are qualities I observed when I spent a whole day off-site with the Philanthropy team. I came away from interacting with this team with a better appreciation for fundraising from individual donors, and I will certainly revise the projections we have prepared for Plan Nigeria. One thing that stood out for me from this team is their determination to be solutions-focused, the space to try different approaches, and the freedom from fear of failure. Powerful!

Implementing Organizational Strategy?

One of my mentors, Otive Igbuzor , introduced me to a concept he termed ‘Strategy Implantation.’ The concept seeks to ensure every single component of an Organization is part of conceptualizing the strategy and contributes to delivering it. This is what I did see at play during my visit as well. Every team presentation to me at Plan Canada started with a slide presentation of the Country Strategy, what part of the strategy they are responsible for, and how each team member delivers a specific function that adds up to it. I recall speaking with the Director of PLAY (Policy, Leadership, Advocacy, and Youth) - Anjum Sultana MPH (She/Her) , and her team, responsible for their youth engagement across Canada. I heard words like “enterprise goals” (departmental goals) and “team goals”; the same conversation and terminology I heard when I met with Dena Allen - Vice President Communications and Public Engagement, and her team - enterprise goals, team goals, and how each team member contributes. Dena mentioned that they have to deliver each of their team goals for Goody - the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, to be able to deliver the enterprise goals. By the way, this is all digital and built into their internal systems, which allows staff to create objectives and access performance. Staff only have to click on a drop-down menu to align individual activities, goals, and objectives to team goals already defined in the system, all connected to enterprise goals and the strategy. There is so much to learn from here. One cannot second guess what a staff is doing at Plan Canada as roles are well spelt out and aligned in teams. This, in my opinion, is a high level of efficiency and effectiveness, which I will explore how to build for Plan Nigeria on our new journey upward. Amazing!

Transparency and Accountability

Performance Management, Accountability, and Stewardship of Resources were three key observations I experienced at the Plan Canada Townhall meeting (what many other Organizations will call an “All-staff meeting”). An organizational scorecard is deployed to measure the performance of each team, leadership team, and even public profile in Canada. The conversation featured how all finances are received and expended. This level of transparency was impressive. Every single staff draws their annual objectives from the Plan Canada Strategy in such a way that it is quite easily verifiable how each staff contributes to the work of the Organization. A key learning that I took away from this engagement is that an Organization that maintains a culture of self-reflection in an open and empowering way will most certainly always remain successful. I had the privilege of having lunch with Tanjina Mirza - Chief Program Officer, Nadine Grant – Vice President International Programs & Business Development, and Sangita Patel – Vice President Program Management & Compliance.

We discussed how the grants being implemented in Nigeria from Canadian funding are faring, but she preferred to use the time to ask me for feedback. In her words, she asked me, Charles, please give us honest feedback - What should we do better? What should we consider changing? How can we serve you better at Plan Nigeria? This is not a fluke, as this culture of stewardship and accountability is driven by the very leaders of the Organization. Bernabe Yameogo – Vice President Program Effectiveness & Quality and his team presented how they have developed and apply a an organizational wide high level results framework from which results from individual actions, projects and investments are recorded. This sort of leadership built around accountability and stewardship of resources is needed in every Organization to ensure that resources in both cash and people’s time are used in prudent ways. Inspiring!

Leadership by Example by Everyone

Leadership and Internal Governance are the hallmarks of most successful Organizations. By this, I mean the leadership displayed by every senior member of the Organization in positions of authority. I accompanied Lindsay to attend two external engagement events for donors, led by Goody Gibson and Shannon Mclnnes - the ‘Philanthropy Guru.’ One of these events was hosted by the former Board Chair of Plan Canada - at her residence. These events revealed how leadership is exemplified from the top, with the Board members actively raising funds and getting their networks to do the same. Lindsay and her leadership team were also involved in fundraising and engagement with donors. This flows down to all members of Goody’s team in Marketing, Philanthropy, and Communications. In fact, the ambition of the Plan Canada team is for everyone to be an expert fundraiser. The largest grant by size and duration for our development programs in Nigeria and two of our most successful humanitarian interventions are funded from the efforts of Plan Canada - it was therefore humbling to come in contact with how some of these funds are raised and the people who continue to give to support Plan Canada’s work in Nigeria and across several countries around the world. This undiluted leadership is what I have now tagged “Leadership by example by everyone.” No one is on the sideline or cheerleading team. Everyone is on the pitch, taking action and accounting for the time and resources at their disposal. What Plan Canada has written in words as their Strategy, I could feel in action working from the office with the teams. There comes a time when the quality of our actions should account for much more than mere words on paper. I suspect Plan Canada is on a journey with this leadership and people-centered culture. One can almost taste the sweet fragrance of the destination, but the aroma is felt in the journey and that is powerful.

Call to Action - What next?

So, I got to experience firsthand how a National Organization within the Plan Federation is structured and operates. This is a significant experience I would never have achieved from a workshop or training exercise alone. This experience is timely, as my team and I have just begun a journey leading Plan Nigeria into this new world of great National responsibility in Nigeria for Nigerians. To say this was an induction of some sort is simply inadequate, hence why I have described it as a re-birth, a second one since my first was at my induction when I joined Plan International two years ago.

Certain Truths remain self-evident: People are gifts! Each person embodies unique gifts, and humanity comes alive and is at its peak when we take time to unravel our gifts. Therefore, every human interaction is an exchange of gifts, and it is human nature to treasure gifts. We are gifts to each other in our workplaces, within our teams, and the Organization at large. If we recognize this simple truth, we will do more to collaborate and explore how we can help bring out the best in each other. I experienced so much gift sharing at Plan International Canada, and I hope I remained a gift to them as well, with all the love and joys I brought from Nigeria.

I remain deeply grateful to Lindsay Glassco for her leadership, and by her kindness, I came to experience the gifts that you all are at Plan Canada. I appreciate all the staff and Board members and the donors I had the pleasure of interacting with - your openness and authenticity prove the gifts that you are. I desire that the experience I have shared here will be reflected upon by as many of us within the Plan Federation and, from there, continue to build an Organization fit for the future to remain relevant to children, girls, and young people we seek to serve.

Charles Usie

Country Director, Plan International Nigeria

[email protected]

October, 2023