I was glad to recently be part of the Harambee podcast, one of the products of Think Africa’s members initiative that is still going strong. In the podcast, I talk about leadership and the legacy I leave after serving as the Chairperson of the organization for five years.
One of the questions I have often received during my Chairmanship is how I manage to do everything I do (even though I always feel like I could be doing more). This is because I have been a very pro-active and involved Chairperson, from fundraising, building partnerships, doing marketing and sales, event organization, community building, you name it. And by no means by myself, but I was always actively involved, thinking and looking for ways to drive all those efforts in order for the organization to carve out its niche and make an impact.
I think underneath that question of how I do everything that I do is how I do it on a volunteer basis. With salaried work, there is a clear reward model. However, with volunteer work, the reward is not regular nor guaranteed, and the threshold for quitting when things get challenging is very low.
In the chat with Cucu, I reflected that more than passion and belief in Think Africa’s mission, it is persistence, the ability to continue the course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition, that has actually kept me going as well as become good at things I didn’t know.
Being persistent. That is my superpower. And it is a quality that I even wish to instill in my children – especially as I see my daughter giving up easily on things when they get challenging.
To give a concrete example: in my first year of being the Chair, one of Think Africa’s long-term members gave compelling reasons why the organization needs to collaborate closely with the Africa department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA).
I wrote several emails to the office, including the director of the department as well as made phone calls, but all went unanswered. One day I was at work and happened to see that the director was speaking at an event that afternoon that was organized by the Finnish-African Association.
Luckily it was a day when I had no meetings, so I jumped on the tram and went to the event. After the director’s speech, I noticed she was leaving and not staying for the networking session. I followed her and while she was putting on her jacket, I introduced myself, Think Africa, and why I believed it was important that she meet with us.
I think I was six or seven months pregnant at this time. After this initial meeting, I immediately followed up with an email and asked for a meeting, and Think Africa got invited to meet with her and the other Africa regional departments at MFA. And to this day, we still have a good partnership with the Africa department at MFA and have been honored to have many office members participate in our events, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
And it’s this kind of work, the necessary work, that is also the invisible work. The giving up of your time to attend something, the preparation of the one-minute, two or three-minute sales pitch, the follow-ups, the preparation should you get that meeting, the not giving up if your emails or calls do not get answered, etc.
I have so many persistence stories like these. From coordinating a big event like Think Africa Week each year with close to zero budget at the beginning but with the vision that it must get better each year, to spending nights writing grant applications for them to be rejected, but not quitting until you find a way to learn, pivot and make it happen (read more on my advice when it comes to grant applications here).
In all this, what I have come to learn is that being persistent is worth it in the end.
In the podcast, I share a few achievements, but there are many, many more which add fuel to the persistence 🙂.
What is next for me after leaving the Chairmanship? The empowerment of African people is my calling I believe and the next venture will definitely revolve around that. I will, of course, continue to be involved as a dedicated active member of Think Africa and supporter of the good work, and I hope that many come on board to support.
Let me also know what your superpower is. What keeps you going?