Amazing article that highlight
qualities that next generation of development professional should possess. Out
of the many information, I liked the approach of reverse mentoring,” which is
effective at creating a dynamic exchange between the “old school and new
school” to build respect to what each other brings to the table and ensure a
diversity of voices and experiences are represented. In fact it is a two way process of collecting the ideas or
ensuring the idea collection process inclusive of all which ultimately have
impact in an intervention.
In usual mentoring process,
senior staff supervises and support the work of juniors’ which in fact is very
much required. But in reverse mentoring, senior staff supports the professional
development of junior but also senior get new and innovative ideas from the new
staff on topic such as social media, current trends and technology. But in our
national context there is a gap in between two level of staff even though it’s
not much visible (may be a topic for research??) , for example we have a
culture of prefixing Sir or Madam while calling the senior. Similarly senior uses
the term like Bhai(brother) and Bhaini(sister) to call. In fact using these
terms in a practice is absolutely fine and of course it promotes the
brotherhood in working environment. But sometime I really wonder, is this
something among the many factors that act as the cultural barrier for reverse
mentoring process in settings like ours?
The article also highlights that in
10 years, the technology, skills and approaches used by development
professionals will be significantly different than they are today. If one aims
to dedicate the career in this field it’s also important to update with the new
technology and inventions happening in passage of time.
Very importantly article mentioned
that apart of technical competencies one has to also have the soft skills,
that helps to properly frame the technical skills in humanitarian settings.
Therefore, it’s not only technical but also an interpersonal trait that person
needs to have to become a successful humanitarian professional.
Proud to be the part of
humanitarian setting!
The content here mentioned is my personal feeling.
The content here mentioned is my personal feeling.
