These past six weeks of LiA with make_sense gave me new perspectives on becoming a leader. I learned that leaders should be open to feedback and treasure collective intelligence. I have significantly improved my design thinking, teamwork, and project management skills.
I have discovered that I have the potential to lead a community despite facing various challenges. Before this programme, I did not expect myself to have the ability to take up a leadership role, especially with people that I have never met before and in a new environment. After this program, I found I could achieve it if I took the courage to explore and step out of my comfort zone.
I learned that it is much more efficient to divide the tasks of each team member based on their strength. In our project, I am detail-oriented and creative. So, I mainly worked on the visuals of the workshop and researched food waste data. One of my project partners Bethany had fast typing and excellent organizational skills. Thus, Bethany mainly worked on arranging the project timeline, allocating tasks, and taking notes during the meetings. Another of my project partners Natalja had good communication and outreach skills. Therefore, Natalja mainly worked on reaching out to various organizations, communicating with make_sense and Bio-Eco, and taking a lead speaker role during volunteer meetings.
I also learned that when leading a project, it is common to encounter various challenges that we have never faced before. We should always “expect the unexpected” and prepare for the worst by having a contingency plan. For example, if no organization collaborates with us to hold the workshop, we can create an online resource about food waste management on social media like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.
After the programme, I have not only recognized my potential as a community leader but also made me have second thoughts about people’s attitudes towards the world’s climate. Before the programme, I was pessimistic about climate change movements. Although there are various non-governmental organizations like Green Peace and climate activists like Greta Thunberg taking action to make a change in the environment, I can often see negative comments on them. For example, some people say climate action wastes time and money, and that we should focus on economic development instead. However, I believe they are not aware of the urgency of global warming, which might negatively affect billions of lives. After the program, I can see a lot of organizations and volunteers in Mexico City devoting themselves to tackling this world crisis. It makes me feel more reassured that there are still people passionate about tackling environmental issues who share common thoughts with me. I feel more motivated to make an impact on the world’s climate with these passionate organizations and people.
I remember the make_sense team shared with us these two important ideas, “Be a compassionate leader and listen to the community’s need, even if someone else says this is not the correct action” and “to challenge my friends and family if they are saying things that are disrespectful and unfair to the community”. I will keep these in mind for my future journey.
In short, it was a memorable experience to build my social connections, cultural intelligence, and leadership abilities. If I have the chance to have the power to manage social and environmental projects, I am going to implement my solutions using the design thinking strategy.