John posted this on August 12, 2010 to his blog.
As many of you know, I am spending all of August in Uganda working with a non-profit organization named
Bead for Life which has helped thousands of women start businesses while leaving a life of poverty behind. Day after day I have been inspired and challenged by the stories of these women, many of whom are widows at a very young age in a country with high rates of HIV.
Bead for Life is a fascinating organization that began when two women from the U.S. decided to try to find a market for the beautiful beads crafted by women in refugee camps in Kampala. Inspired only by the poverty they saw and a desire to help, knowing little about business or marketing, they embarked on a journey to create steady incomes for women in Uganda while teaching them to be entrepreneurs. Today, Devin Hibbard overseas a four million dollar operation that has changed the lives of thousands of women and created an entire “Friendship” village where women who never dreamed of owning a home have paid for homes with beads.
Of course I have been inspired by the courage of these women, but I have also been reminded of what it takes for any organization to succeed. On my first day here I attended their monthly staff meeting and witnessed all the elements of a great organization. Devin is a leader with great passion whose dream is contagious, the staff members see the deep purpose of their work and staff meetings reinforce this purpose, people treat each other like family, appreciation sits alongside a passion for excellence, and they consistently bring in outsiders to challenge their assumptions. These are the elements I have seen again and again over the last twenty years that are the hallmarks of great companies whether in the business of profit or of doing good (or ideally both).
In my first book sixteen years ago,
Awakening Corporate Soul, we interviewed people asking them to tell us about their most engaged times at work. Again and again they told us that in their most engaged times they saw the connection between their work and its deeper meaning. Spending time here in Uganda reminds me that when we tap into people’s desire to serve, they will engage deeply in their work. Years ago, the founder of
Land’s End told me that in the early days of their company staff members volunteered together helping inner city kids in Boston and he was daunted by how passionate his people were doing that work. He wondered how he could get them to bring that same passion to their day to day work for his company and set out to help them see the deeper meaning of his company and its services. They also continued to provide opportunities for people to volunteer together.
Being of service here has ignited my spirit. If you have not taken time to serve lately or to remind your people of how they are serving, remember that serving will ignite your passion and engages your people’s energy.
From Uganda, Dr. John Izzo