Embodying change: Transforming power, culture and well-being in aid organisations
37 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago -A podcast for humanitarians who want to work in closer alignment to core values like compassion, accountability, solidarity and equity. Born in 2020 in collaboration with CHS Alliance and Mary Ann Clements, the podcast is now entering its next evolution and is hosted by Melissa Pitotti.
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Episodes
Identity and belonging with Annemarie Shrouder
March 25, 2024 11:24 - 41 minutes - 27.8 MBAnnemarie Shrouder shares her personal journey with identity and discusses her work building inclusive cultures and communities. She and Melissa explore the difference between learning and BEING something (embodying change), the challenges of mixed race identity, creating safe and/or brave spaces, and the importance of representation, belonging and community support. Topics Discussed: Identity and embodying change Inclusion and belonging in organizations Leadership, empathy ...
The #1 thing you need to transition, with Nasra Ismail
February 28, 2024 13:52 - 44 minutes - 32.9 MBIn this episode, Melissa Pitotti and Nasra Ismail have a candid conversation about navigating transitions, power dynamics, and the principles of localization in the humanitarian sector. They share personal anecdotes and insights into their professional journeys, discussing the challenges and opportunities they encountered along the way. From experiencing shifts in power dynamics to embracing localization as a personal and professional practice, they delve into the complexities of wo...
Giving Joy with Joy Kolin
December 08, 2023 16:18 - 45 minutes - 63 MBIn this episode Melissa speaks with Joy Kolin, Executive Director and Board President of Giving Joy. Joy has 20-years of experience in the field of international development, a career that has taken her to over 60 countries. Throughout her travels, Joy found herself touched by a common trend - the immense ability of women to affect positive change if given the resources and opportunities to do so. In 2018 she established Giving Joy as a way to harness and grow the power and the ...
Life-centric work with Wouter Smeets
July 07, 2023 09:12 - 51 minutes - 71 MBHow can we better manage our workload, as per Commitment 8 of the Core Humanitarian Standard?* In this episode Melissa speaks with Wouter Smeets, a design-thinker, about how to re-shape our work in a way that gives us energy, rather than drains it. He gives us some good questions to ask ourselves, like: How do we design our morning routine? What makes a break a good break? What task can we do first that will put us on good footing for the rest of the day? What are some life-centr...
A victim/ survivor perspective with Sabrina Prioli
March 24, 2023 14:48 - 53 minutes - 73 MBIn this conversation, Melissa speaks with Sabrina Prioli, the author of a memoir called “Rise up, phoenix” and one of the victim/survivors of the 2016 Terrain Compound Attacks in Juba, South Sudan. Sabrina shares her insights into how to better support victim/survivors and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions. She also explains the nuances of the words “victim” vs. “survivor” and how to cope when hearing about traumatic incidents like hers. *Note: This conversation i...
“Mental health at work” with Dr. Aiysha Malik of the WHO
February 17, 2023 13:36 - 34 minutes - 47.3 MBIn this episode Melissa speaks with Dr. Aiysha Malik, a mental health specialist at the World Health Organization working for a world that supports, improves, and does not harm mental health. They discuss the WHO guidelines on mental health and work and accompanying WHO-ILO policy brief. What do the guidelines say and what can you do with them? Check out the WHO guidelines on mental health at work here: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240053052 And the WHO-ILO m...
When you picture Doctors without Borders what do you see?
January 27, 2023 09:59 - 40 minutes - 55.5 MBMelissa speaks with: Dr. Chinonso Emmanuel Okorie, an MSF doctor living in Rwanda who recently completed a mission in Yemen; Lindis Hurun, the General Director of MSF Norway; and Ryan Rodrick Beiler, a multimedia producer for MSF Norway. They and several colleagues were involved in the production of a video that has made waves in the humanitarian community for its handling of structural racism and patient dignity using a technique called “the duet.” In this podcast interview they ta...
The Pledge for Change with Degan Ali of Adeso
January 09, 2023 13:30 - 27 minutes - 38.5 MBIn this episode Melissa Pitotti speaks with Degan Ali, the Executive Director of Adeso, about the story behind the Pledge for Change 2030. They explore the ways in which the process that led to the Pledge was informed by lessons learned from the Charter for Change and the Grand Bargain. They consider the need for brave leaders to have safe spaces to come together on tough issues - and for leaders to be evaluated on metrics of success other than “bigger is better.” They end with refl...
“Mental models” with Faye Ekong of RavelWorks Africa
September 19, 2022 08:53 - 40 minutes - 55.7 MBIn this episode Melissa speaks with Faye Ekong of RavelWorks Africa about common challenges in aid organisations, particularly as they relate to decolonising aid in a “post” COVID world. Faye Ekong is the Managing Director of RavelWorks Africa. She has been in Human Resources, Learning & Personal Development for over 10 years. She is an SHRM-Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), holds a Masters of Science in International Management and a Bachelor of Arts in European Studie...
“Everyone needs a safe space to flourish,” with Oge Chukwudozie of RSH Nigeria
August 22, 2022 12:32 - 48 minutes - 67.1 MBMelissa speaks with Oge Chukwudozie about the Safeguarding Resource and Support Hub’s exciting pilot project accompanying 10 local Nigerian organisations as they work to change their organisational cultures. Oge emphasizes the value of cultivating a safe and supportive workplace culture and the importance of leadership “walking the talk.” Organisations often issue written policies without addressing the underlying social norms of the organisation that block the full implement...
“Culture is the key,” with Dr. Gaya Gamhewage
July 21, 2022 13:08 - 48 minutes - 66.6 MBMelissa speaks with Dr. Gaya Gamhewage about her work in the world’s premier health organisation, the World Health Organisation (WHO), to prevent and response to sexual misconduct. They talk about the importance of leaders being vocal, explicit and sincere about their commitment to living the organisation’s values. They also surface a variety of tangible things organisations can do to reduce the exploitation of power, like: - admit when there are failures, even though i...
Governing Well with Aseem Prakash and Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken
May 19, 2022 14:06 - 50 minutes - 70 MBMelissa speaks with Aseem Prakash and Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken about how governing boards of aid organisations can “govern well.” They discuss the power dynamics present in any group of humans, embracing difference and true diversity, prioritising lived experience, modelling behaviours, and asking smart questions. Professor Prakash studies NGOs and nonprofits, and voluntary/private regulation, environmental policy and climate governance. He is a widely published author. He has a...
Making power visible with Dr. Emilia Roig
April 14, 2022 10:49 - 25 minutes - 34.8 MBAccountability has been defined in the latest version of the CHS guidance note as "the process of using power responsibly, taking account of, and being held accountable by, different stakeholders, and primarily those who are affected by the exercise of such power.” Dr. Emilia Roig, author of “Why We Matter” explains in this Embodying Change episode that “a lot of people don't see power, and that's a problem. Because if you don't see power, then you cannot tackle power imbalances...
Evolution or revolution? Umut Dilara Baycili of Mavi Kalem on organisational culture
March 09, 2022 06:39 - 37 minutes - 50.9 MBMelissa talks about organisational culture with Umut Dilara Baycili, a child psychologist working for Mavi Kalem. This humanitarian NGO and CHS Alliance member supports women and children in Turkey with a team that includes doctors, psychologists, sociologists and social workers. It is not unusual for people working for NGOs like Mavi Kalem to experience stressful and traumatic situations. In addition, local and national NGOs often face an uphill battle in accessing sustainable...
The data tells a story, with Dr. Liza Jachens
January 17, 2022 09:37 - 32 minutes - 44.5 MBMelissa speaks with Dr. Liza Jachens, an occupational health psychologist, lecturer and research associate who has partnered with six major humanitarian organisations looking at their staff’s experience of work-related stress and its effects on their mental health. Humanitarian work carries a “high emotional load” often exposed to trauma. Dr. Jachens has found that humanitarians are two to three times more likely to develop a mental illness (like anxiety, depression and PTSD) than...
Root. Rise. Pollinate!
October 12, 2021 09:13 - 51 minutes - 38.7 MBShawna Wakefield, Kristen Zimmerman and Rufaro Gwarada tell the story of Root. Rise. Pollinate! - informed by their previous experiences in aid and development. They share learning from their ongoing experiment to shift culture through connecting inner and outer transformation. They discuss practicing new ways of being and doing the work, counter-balancing harmful systems, accountability, responsibility and relationship, decision-making, inter-generational dialogue and much, much mo...
Building Belonging with Brian Stout
September 26, 2021 11:34 - 49 minutes - 38 MBMelissa and Brian Stout of Building Belonging discuss how transformation happens – for individuals, groups, societies and the planet. This includes inviting others to co-create compelling visions, holding space in containers with maximal diversity, stepping into our power and agency, and embodying the change we want with accountability, compassion, grace and challenge. Brian Stout is the source for the emergent collaborative that has become Building Belonging. Drawn to mediation a...
Torrey Peace of Aid for Aid Workers
August 19, 2021 06:40 - 44 minutes - 61 MBThis episode is dedicated to humanitarians around the world on World Humanitarian Day. Melissa and Torrey Peace of Aid for Aid Workers Leadership Podcast do a podcast exchange about people-centred leadership. In this conversation they cover: The importance of empowering the people closest to the problem, as they know best how to solve those problems. This relates to high performing teams as well as to the localisation conversation. Three common limiting beliefs that hold leaders...
Paula Ramírez of Breathe International
July 29, 2021 16:32 - 42 minutes - 31.2 MBMelissa talks with Paula Ramírez of Breathe International. In their conversation they cover: Her journey from focusing on peacebuilding for nations to peacebuilding from within. The political aspect of being mindful and aware The body as a source of learning How to be a living example of mindfulness in the workplace The irony that humanitarian work usually doesn’t make space to get to know each other as humans Examples and benefits of leaders and emergency responders introdu...
Hope Chigudu reflects back on the Global Gathering
June 27, 2021 15:58 - 52 minutes - 41 MBMelissa talks with Hope Chigudu, reflecting back on the 20-21 May Global Gathering entitled “Living our values: Care, culture and power in aid organisations” held by the CHS Alliance. In their conversation they cover: The connections between power, culture and care The importance of leadership, of using language that people can understand in different contexts, of raising awareness about power in our spaces The value of rituals, for individuals and communities The idea of accou...
Mary Ann Clements previews the Global Gathering
May 10, 2021 07:27 - 18 minutes - 26.1 MBIn this conversation Mary Ann Clements explains the background and the hopes for the 20-21 May 2021 CHS Alliance virtual Global Gathering on Living our values: Care, culture and power in aid organisations. This free virtual gathering is the first of its kind in our sector which will bring together leaders and practitioners who are interested in the question of how we live our values in aid organisations. The combined focus of how we treat ourselves and our staff brings together th...
Naser Haghamed, former CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide
April 14, 2021 09:09 - 38 minutes - 53.1 MBAt the end of January 2021 Naser Haghamed completed his 5-year stint as the CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide. Melissa reflects back with him about leadership, staff well-being and organisational culture for the ICVA-CHS Alliance “Leading Well” project. In their conversation they consider What it’s like to be in constant “firefighting mode” as a CEO of an organization operating in multiple conflict zones and navigating complex donor and regulatory requirements The importance o...
Julia Sánchez, Secretary General of ActionAid International
February 25, 2021 02:11 - 46 minutes - 35.7 MBMelissa talks with Julia Sánchez, Secretary General of ActionAid International. The conversation was part of an ICVA-CHS Alliance joint project engaging aid leaders on the issues of staff well-being and supportive organisational culture. ActionAid’s ten principles of feminist leadership include elements that explicitly link to staff well-being, like self awareness, self-care and caring for others. They also include ingredients for a supportive organisational culture like: dismantl...
Episode 13: Commitment Eight with Gozel Baltaeva and Adrien Muratet
December 16, 2020 15:31 - 37 minutes - 29.1 MBMelissa talks with Gozel Baltaeva and Adrien Muratet about Commitment Eight of the Core Humanitarian Standard. What are the data and the practitioners saying about people management in the humanitarian sector, especially during COVID? Gozel Baltaeva is the People Management Adviser and point of contact for tailored support on all people management topics for CHS Alliance members. With a master’s degree in Business Administration and Strategic Human Resources Management, Gozel offer...
Episode 12: Listening to your people with Roger Parry
December 04, 2020 02:31 - 42 minutes - 32.4 MBHow can we know how staff are doing during these crazy times? Ask them. Melissa talks with Roger Parry, Director of Agenda Consulting. His organisation specialises in employee and volunteer engagement surveys for non-profits. He shares his insights on how staff engagement has increased in the turbulent year of 2020, on how people are experiencing stress differently based on their gender, age and race, and on what it could look like if we tried – as a sector – to track well-being a...
Episode 11: "Small but potent acts of compassion" with Rachel Coghlan and Jules Frost
November 20, 2020 12:38 - 44 minutes - 60.8 MBMelissa and Jules Frost talk with Rachel Coghlan about what humanitarians can learn from palliative care. Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients and their families who face problems associated with life-threatening illness. Like the topic of mental illness, the subject of death and dying can be difficult to discuss. Compassion is a common theme that comes up in both domains. This conversation highlights small but potent acts of compassion that can be carried out...
Episode 10: Brendan McDonald from Uncomfortable Revolution
November 06, 2020 16:45 - 42 minutes - 59.1 MBIn this episode, Melissa talks with Brendan McDonald, co-founder and COO of Uncomfortable Revolution. They explore lessons learned from a big push to get the issue of aid worker well-being on the agenda in the run-up to the World Humanitarian Summit. To learn more about Brendan’s work, you can find him: · on Twitter at @7piliers · Uncomfortable Revolution at https://www.urevolution.com/ · his 2015 article in the Guardian at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-de...
Episode 9: People at the Centre with JRS' Melly Preira
October 22, 2020 03:52 - 46 minutes - 64.4 MBMelissa talks with Melly Preira, the Human Resources Director at the Jesuit Refugee Service about why she is passionate about employee well-being and how she went about introducing major changes her humanitarian organisation's staff support. Melly’s HR Department supports 56 countries in 10 regions and implements HR management practices, tailored to both the field and HQ. She guides senior management on the development and promotion of strategic policies and projects to support th...
Episode 8: The Vulnerable Humanitarian with Gemma Houldey
October 02, 2020 14:41 - 28 minutes - 39.5 MBDr. Gemma Houldey shares with Mary Ann her views on well-being in the aid sector, particularly the nuances that arise as a result of gender, race and professional status. She previews some of the concepts explored in her forthcoming book, including perfectionism, vulnerability and daring to have difficult conversations. During this period of COVID-19 and stark reminders of racial injustice, we have an opportunity to pause, slow down, and be with the parts of ourselves we don’t like....
Episode 7: Duty of Care at IRC with Lana Baqaeen
June 25, 2020 07:00 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBLana shares how International Rescue Committee (IRC) implement their Duty of Care programme, providing professional mental health support that covers all staff and their families. They provide comprehensive support in a number of different languages, offer virtual wellbeing support and are thinking about the cross-cultural issues that are important in meeting their Duty of Care to their staff around the world. Our conversation with Lana is an important example of how good practice i...
Episode 6: Mental Health in Aid with Imogen Wall
June 11, 2020 07:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBImogen Wall is a former BBC journalist and UN spokesperson, now an independent communications trainer and advisor. She specialises in crisis response with a particular emphasis on mental health, peer support, critical incident management and safeguarding in humanitarian contexts. Her previous frontline humanitarian work includes field postings in Indonesia (Aceh), Sudan, Haiti, Philippines and HQ work in New York and Geneva. Recent clients include DFID, the London School of Hygiene...
Episode 5: COVID, Organisations & Mental Health with Dr Peter Mills, Cigna
May 28, 2020 07:00 - 21 minutes - 20 MBDr. Mills trained in medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London. He is an accredited specialist in respiratory diseases and still practices medicine on a part-time basis at the Whittington Hospital in London. In addition, he has a masters degree in Infectious diseases and a PhD in the field of cell biology. Peter has been at the forefront of the digital health “revolution” over the past two decades, having helped a number of organisations in the UK and US d...
Episode 4: Coping with Covid Mindfully with Hitendra Solanki
May 21, 2020 07:00 - 59 minutes - 91.3 MBHitendra Solanki is a senior lecturer in development studies at London South Bank University. He’s been active in the development and humanitarian sector for over 16 years. Most recently, he worked as a Mindfulness and Wellbeing Adviser in Action Against Hunger UK. He also led the 3-year Mindfulness & Wellbeing project as part of the Start Network’s Transforming Surge Capacity programme. You can see us reference his work in the recently published paper, “Working Well? Aid Worker Wel...
Episode 3: Coping with COVID & its impact on our lives Part Two with Don Bosch
May 14, 2020 03:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBIn this show, you'll hear Melissa interview Don Bosch, Director of Risk Psychology and HEAT Training at the Headington Institute. Don is a licensed clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst with 35 years of experience and understands human behaviour and brain function. Outside of Pandemic, Don is often in the field doing debriefs, working with global response teams, and providing psychological support for security trainings. He is a lifelong mountaineer with a love for adventure, tr...
Episode 2: Coping with COVID & its impact on our lives Part One with Kristin Dunscombe
May 07, 2020 18:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBIn this show, you'll hear Melissa interview Kristin Duncombe a therapist and couples counsellor, life coach, and author. She’s based her career on working with international and expatriate individuals and families following her own experience of growing up across Africa and Asia as the child of a diplomat and having lived internationally most of her adult life. You can check out her work at her website here: https://www.kristinduncombe.com/
Episode 2: Coping with COVID & its impact on our lives Part One with Kristin Duncombe
May 07, 2020 18:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBIn this show, you'll hear Melissa interview Kristin Duncombe a therapist and couples counsellor, life coach, and author. She’s based her career on working with international and expatriate individuals and families following her own experience of growing up across Africa and Asia as the child of a diplomat and having lived internationally most of her adult life. You can check out her work at her website here: https://www.kristinduncombe.com/ The cognitive distortions identified by D...
Care & Compassion in a time of Covid-19 with Tanya Wood
April 22, 2020 05:00 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBIn this show, you'll hear Melissa interview Tanya Wood, Executive Director of CHS Alliance. You can find out more about CHS Alliance at https://www.chsalliance.org/ and about Tanya here. This podcast series is part of the CHS Alliance Initiative to Cultivate Caring, Compassionate aid organisations being led by Melissa Pitotti and Mary Ann Clements who host this podcast and which you can read about here: https://www.chsalliance.org/get-support/article/cultivating-caring-compassiona...