Week 3 Reflection
In Week 3, I began putting greater emphasis on the local engagement element of my Leadership in Action project. Having spent the first two weeks developing my understanding of cross-border infrastructure and transport policy, I began conducting interviews with local leaders and other relevant stakeholders to better understand how these issues are experienced and addressed in practice. These conversations were an important step in moving beyond desk-based research and ensuring that the project was informed by the perspectives of people with direct knowledge of the challenges surrounding regional connectivity.
The interviews gave me the opportunity to speak to individuals with different experiences and perspectives on infrastructure, transport and regional cooperation. Rather than approaching the conversations simply as a way of collecting information to support conclusions I had already reached, I tried to use them to challenge my assumptions and identify issues that had not appeared clearly in the existing literature. I found that local perspectives often placed greater emphasis on practical barriers, such as the implementation of policies, coordination between different authorities and the realities of moving people and goods across borders. This helped me appreciate the difference between a policy being well designed on paper and being effective in practice.
One challenge I faced was ensuring that the interviews were genuinely useful while also being respectful of the time and expertise of those I was speaking to. I had to think carefully about how I structured my questions so that they encouraged discussion rather than leading interviewees towards the answers I expected. This required me to become a more active listener and to be comfortable allowing conversations to develop in directions that I had not anticipated. In some cases, the most useful insights came from follow-up questions rather than the questions I had initially prepared.
The interviews also highlighted the importance of considering different perspectives when thinking about regional integration. It became clear that greater cross-border interdependence can create significant opportunities, but that its benefits depend on whether infrastructure and transport policies account for the needs of the communities and stakeholders affected by them. This reinforced my belief that strengthening the AU cannot be considered solely at an institutional level. Effective regional integration also requires policies that work for people and businesses operating across borders.
From a leadership perspective, this week challenged my understanding of what it means to lead a research project. I initially associated leadership with taking responsibility for producing a strong final output. However, the interviews showed me that leadership can also involve creating space for others to contribute their knowledge and allowing their perspectives to influence the direction of the work. I had to be willing to listen, reconsider my assumptions and adapt my research questions when the evidence pointed towards a different direction.
Overall, Week 3 was an important transition from researching about cross-border integration to learning from people directly connected to it. The interviews have given the project a much stronger practical foundation and will allow me to compare the policy frameworks I have been researching with the realities described by local stakeholders. In the next stage, I will begin bringing these perspectives together with my existing research to identify common themes, policy gaps and potential areas for improvement.