What went well?
The progress I made; what was achieved and done
This week I made steady progress on my projects on my equity project and my case studies project. Additionally, I started work on my “Welcome Survey Project.” My task was to analyze collected data on the 2023 Africa Land Accelerator cohort. The cohort was surveyed on their businesses, challenges, funding, finances, etc. before they began the program. My task was to make sense of the data to tell the story of the cohort.
What could have been done differently?
Things that did not get done and/or could be changed
Looking back I wish I had asked better questions about the equity project so that I could have a clearer sense of the audience and the purpose. I think the final product would have been better if I’d established the parameters sooner.
What did I learn about myself when working with others?
Contributions, behaviours and values I exhibited
I spent most of my week working with data so the ability to analyze data and interpret results was absolutely critical for my leadership development this week. Moreover, as always, my ability to work and think independently was crucial. I think another important aspect that I developed this week was not just to analyze data, but think about its largest implications. For example, asking myself, “Based on this data from the cohort, what does this mean for how we should adapt or modify the program so we can better serve the purposes of the cohort?”
What did I learn about leadership?
Leadership attributes and insights I developed
This week I thought a lot about cultural intelligence and awareness. As the Land Accelerator team puts together the trainings for the African entrepreneurs, it’s important that they keep in mind (and then also when we’re doing the trainings) that they meet the entrepreneurs where they’re at. Norms around business behavior, loans/banking, politeness, etc. are different there than they are here.
What do I want to develop or focus on next?
What I still need to develop
As I think through how I’ll present this data to the team in a few weeks, I need to think through how to best tell a story around my projects, i.e. how can I present data and findings in such a way that it inspires action and change on the WRI team?
I'm Alannah Nathan, a Senior in Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, pursuing a degree in Global Business with a minor in French. My research outside of class work focuses primarily on the energy transition from an economic and environmental perspective.
My 2022 Laidlaw Undergraduate Research project seeks to evaluate how three Oil and Gas Majors – Eni, Total Energies, and ConocoPhillips – position themselves in the energy transition, with a focus on a possible discrepancy between how the Majors talk about the energy transition in annual reports and what commitments they plan to make (example: Net-Zero by 2050) as well as where they spend their money.
My 2023 Leadership-in-Action project is work with the World Resources Institute (WRI) within the Forest Program. I will be supporting two key programs: the Land Accelerator and TerraFund. WRI’s Land Accelerator program is aimed at supporting entrepreneurs based in Africa restore degraded soil through for-profit business models. The program provides capacity building for the entrepreneurs with trainings in pitching, financials, business development and more. I will be helping run these trainings and providing assistance as needed to ensure quality results from the program. I will also be assisting with TerraFund which provides loans for entrepreneurs restoring degrading land (including some of the LA alumni).
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