Learning Leadership

Around the world, the challenges of COVID-19 continue to test the resilience of Meryl Williams Fellows (MWF). Recent online leadership training for the second MWF cohort, delivered by Rebecca Spence and Philip Harrell, was itself an adaptation, in lieu of face-to-face workshops.

Here, our lead trainers, Rebecca and Phil, and two of the Meryls - Uugana Erdene, from Mongolia, and Dr Maria Mosqueda, from the Philippines - share their experiences of leading through a pandemic.

Dr Rebecca Spence, facilitating training in 2019

At few other times in history has so much been demanded of our leaders. With its emphasis on self-awareness and discovering the leadership skills within, the Meryl Williams Fellowship program is proving a timely antidote to the effects of the global pandemic.

"Your ability to lead is not so much a product of your hierarchical position, but rather your confidence and capacity to influence," says Rebecca. "Our fellows are professional women, but also daughters, wives and mothers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has asked them to make monumental changes overnight in very difficult political and economic conditions. Tough decisions with profound human consequences are confronting them every day.

"On top of the pandemic, some of our fellows have experienced natural disasters and even facing the threat of armed conflict. Homes, workplaces and communities have been disrupted, many have had to transition to new ways of living and working seemingly overnight. It is a time of immense volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity."

For Maria, Dean of the College of Agriculture at Xavier University, the professional challenges have been immense. As her university moved rapidly to online learning, she had to make hasty adjustments. Mastering new software to develop and edit her lecture videos was just the beginning.

"I have also worked closely with a core team of faculty and staff members, including student leaders, to convert many of our activities to online mode, and to provide online support to students and their parents," Maria says. "After launching free webinars in August 2020, our project team has now delivered 32 on subjects ranging from vegetables to African swine fever. We are blessed that our resource staff have been very generous in sharing their expertise, despite the attendant challenges."

But staffing changes have demanded other sensitive leadership skills, too. "For me, the most heartbreaking aspect of the pandemic has been communicating to colleagues that we have had to cut their work hours or temporarily cease their employment," Maria says. "Changes like this directly affect their livelihoods and family income. I have tried to communicate these decisions in an honest and caring manner, with an explanation of how the decision was reached.

"However, the pandemic has not stopped us from also celebrating important milestones. When we could not physically gather to honour retiring staff we conducted an online tribute that included our faculty and staff, alumni, and former colleagues from other parts of the country and abroad."

Social distancing has certainly challenged Uugana. While her partner would normally help run their broad-acre farm in eastern Mongolia, he became stuck in Australia, and Uugana has been busy caring for her seriously ill mother. Using regular Messenger "meetings" to instruct another family member to manage the farm, and budgets and logistics, has tested the couple's leadership capabilities.

"As I could no longer travel to the farm, all communications had to become virtual," Uugana says.

"E-management and e-farming are now part of our vocabulary. Before the pandemic, my partner and I would always be at the farm, working side-by-side on sowing, spraying and harvesting. We might now be physically absent, but that has not stopped the farm work."

Through it all, Uugana says she has drawn on her Meryl Williams Fellowship experiences.

"The main thing I have learnt is that I am a persistent person, with the ability to cope with change and challenges," Uugana says. "As the COVID lockdowns continued, I found myself working harder and taking on more responsibilities, to divert my attention away from negative thoughts. But I realised that to be able to work and care for my mother, and help others, I also needed to care for myself. So I took up walking long distances in the morning. Thanks to the exercise, I am again feeling energetic. It enables me to contribute to the cropping business, take care of my mother, and keep virtual connections with my family, friends and associates."

Maria has not travelled outside her province since March 2020, and has similarly found the blurring of home and work boundaries exhausting. "As time has gone on, I have learned to dedicate specific time to my work," she says. "I have also applied some of the things I have learned through the fellowship - like maintaining open communication, and knowing my strengths and weaknesses, and not hesitating to ask for help when I need it.

"I have sought opportunities for spiritual growth and nourishment through the university campus ministries programs, and opportunities that promote and maintain camaraderie among my colleagues. Personally, I have found the courage to try new things and to adapt, and I have been pleased to discover new patience and perseverance.
"Although I have always known and understood the value of clarity, communication and trust, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of these principles to me. I have worked hard to improve my communication, and not to compromise on my personal values, so that I maintain the trust of my colleagues."

Philip says the Meryl Williams Fellows are developing new strengths and capabilities during the most challenging of circumstances. "Many have described ways they are accepting, learning and adapting to adversity, and finding new ways of thinking and working," he says. "They are not just coping but thriving, which is building resilience. "

The CET © model developed by Philip and Rebecca outlines how to progress through any challenging situation or event. It comprises stages of coping (employing strategies to understand and deal with what's happening), embracing (working out the changes that are required to innovate) and thriving in a 'new normal'.

"Volatility requires us to adapt," says Philip. "Even in the most uncertain environments, we can create new direction. But it requires us to overcome our fears, to make bold decisions and to take risks; to be optimistic and courageous."

In stressful times, individuals commonly look to their leaders for clear direction and hope. Whether in the home or workplace, those leaders need to be capable of generating fresh ideas, and implementing action plans."Resilience is learned," says Rebecca.

"We can all become more resilient leaders by understanding that we have choices about how we react to every challenging situation. As the lessons emerge, we can also reflect on how things can be done differently in the future."

Written by Amanda Burdon

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