When I began to seriously study the science of how adults learn in the context of a team and in another culture, I learned things like:
- “Involve me, so I can understand” from Dwight Smith, author of Creating Understanding an expert of culture in Africa.
- “Coaching requires curious questioning” in my coach training from Bob Hancox
- “Shut Up and Listen” from Ernesto Sirolli’s acclaimed TED Talk
I really started to internalize such things when I saw them practiced by Ken L, IBEC’s senior consultant while on a BAM coaching trip to Kazakhstan about 15 years ago. After ten days or so coaching more than a dozen businesses operated by Kazak believers as well as expats, we attended church on Sunday and without his knowledge, Ken was called to the front and awarded a plaque, as the pastor said, “Ever since the wall came down and the Soviets left, we had no end of people coming from the USA telling us how to do business, but this is the first time anyone came asking us questions and listening carefully.”
Yes, these principles have not changed, and it is welcome to know IBEC coaches still practice these principles. I asked current coach Matt Todd for his thoughts:
The simplest way I can state it is that NOTHING REPLACES BOOTS ON THE GROUND! When I was training my replacements in my former business, I implored them of the necessity of getting out from behind our desks and computers, making the drive to the job site and seeing what was really going on, because nothing, absolutely nothing replaces that. We are all editors, and even with technology tools, you are getting feedback or an interpretation of what is actually happening in real time. While in many cases the practicality of relying on a picture or a description from someone else can keep things moving, nothing replaces the context of being there in person.
It’s all about context – cultural, geographical, social, language, relational, etc. In all the BAM projects I have been involved with, Ghana, Tunisia, Romania, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Egypt, I can tell you without question, being there in person created a whole new level of engagement on my part in understanding the travails of the practitioners. No picture or well told stories could replace the roughly 4 ½ hour “drive” [more like an amusement ride] from Accra to Nkwanta to truly recognize the transportation issues that the BFresh water business was facing. The toll it was taking on their equipment and the robust challenges they faced daily to do what in our context would seem so simple. Just the most basic elements of daily movement, logistics, utility consistency, [electricity, running water [clean water] that we take for granted, give you an entirely different sense of what it takes to approach the often Sisyphean task that our BAMers face.
I am told by the team of my newest venture [which I will see August in Kazakhstan] that “There is no other way to explain all that we have going on here without you seeing it in person!” From what I have seen so far working with this business, I am convinced that such is true.
Larry W. Sharp, BAM Support Specialist, IBEC Ventures
Larry.Sharp@ibecventures.com