Humility and the Ability to Admit Failure: Meeting Sir Fazle Abed ...

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One of my favorite moments from my last few days in Bangladesh was meeting Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the Founder and Chairman of BRAC. Forty years ago after the liberation war and in the face of a devastating cyclone that killed hundreds of thousands in Bangladesh, Abed ? a relatively wealthy professional who had studied in England ? founded BRAC, intending it to be solely an immediate relief effort. However, once he began this work, he realized development required a lifelong commitment ? and that he would be in it for the long haul. BRAC transformed over time from an emergency relief organization to one focused on rural and community development for the long-run.

Sir Abed was inspiring because he embodied some of the qualities I most admire in good leaders: he was self-critical, self-aware, honest about failures, hardworking, and humble.

Sir Abed was eloquent but soft-spoken, almost surprisingly so for the leader of such a large international development organization, illustrating the qualities of ?quiet leadership.? He was inspiring in his humility and down to earth nature, without a trace of arrogance in his demeanor. And perhaps most of all, he was open about the challenges BRAC has faced and continues to face over the years. An intern asked Sir Abed how he feels 40 years later, having built such a large and incredible organization. Did he feel proud of all he had achieved? His response was that BRAC still has a long ways to go in improving development in Bangladesh; their work is far from over. He was glad, certainly, to note BRAC?s progress ? but recognized how much more there is to do in Bangladesh. He was focused on the future, on improving the organization, on pushing to be better. He realized that BRAC could not afford complacency.

It is clear that this attitude of self-improvement, honesty, and humility permeates the organization from the highest leadership levels to the grassroots volunteers and field workers. BRAC considers itself a ?learning organization? because it constantly recognizes its mistakes and innovates solutions to improve its programs. In 1980, one of BRAC?s earliest employees, David Korten, identified BRAC?s strength as a learning organization, noting that BRAC has an ?unusual capacity for rapid learning through the constant identification, acknowledgement, and correction of its own errors.? In his book about BRAC, Ian Smillie writes that one of BRAC?s strengths is ?its acknowledgment of failure as part of the learning process.? As Smillie comments in Freedom from Want, BRAC was, even at the organization?s founding,

??Brutally honest about what had been achieved and about what they had learned. They also demonstrated a clear ability to roll with the punches, adapting to new circumstances and better understanding. The average aid recipient would shrink from the idea of describing so many setbacks to its primary donor. But this kind of report would be typical of the BRAC approach over time. The idea was not to prove that they had all the answers before they started, but to find out what worked and apply the lessons.

?A quick look at reports published by BRAC-RED, BRAC?s Research and Evaluation Division, reveals that the organization is not afraid to be honest and relentlessly self-critical, using data to precisely monitor and evaluate its programs. BRAC-RED?s reports never fail to point out the gaps in service delivery and suggestions for improvement, thus exemplifying the organization?s capacity to be honest, learn, and innovate. Even conversations with senior management reveal that HRLS is eager to hear criticisms of the program and fresh outside perspectives, rather than shying away from negative feedback. In addition, BRAC?s ?capacity to learn is supported by the proximity of senior management to the ground, which enables senior managers and field staff to communicate constantly about what is working (or otherwise).? New ideas and innovative solutions are welcomed at all levels of the organization, and the experiences of field staff eventually do work their way up the ladder to be implemented by BRAC. Although the organization is not perfect, the fact that staff take a critical perspective to their work is inspiring ? and is a hallmark of its success.

Meeting Sir Abed taught me several things: the value of humility, the power of ?quiet? leadership, and the importance of organizational learning, openness, and honesty. These principles have helped BRAC constantly innovate and never take its progress for granted, and I believe that these leadership qualities are essential for the next generation of leaders in social justice, human rights, and development efforts.

Related posts:

1. BRAC?s Enterprises: Inspiration for Development Cynics
2. State?s Failure to Protect: ICAAD Illuminates the Struggle of Indo-Fijian Women Through Domestic and International Law
3. What makes an effective non-profit?
4. Witnessing community empowerment in rural Bangladesh

Source: http://akhilak.com/blog/2012/09/27/humility-and-the-ability-to-admit-failure-meeting-sir-fazle-abed/

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