This week, the Lessons from Leaders guest is Tessie San Martin the CEO of FHI 360. We are honored to have her as our leader in this episode.  While there are many gold nuggets in this episode,  for me there are two that are the most compelling.

The first is when Tessie reminds me that "we can do hard things."  Just look at how successfully the INGO sector pivoted in 2020, she points out.

The second nugget is when Tessie talks leaning into the new normal and what that means for INGOs. "We have to reimagine. We are creating what's next in our industry. The settings in which our organizations were designed, if very different than how we are forced to operate today. The question for us now becomes: How can we be effective and how can we deliver?"

Tessie began her leadership journey with Amigos de las Americas.  This is something that she and I have in common.  In this program youth volunteers went to Latin America for 3 to 5 weeks to participate in vaccination programs.  

From that experience, Tessie began to realize what she was capable of doing.

"At a young age, I came out of this experience [working with Amigos de Las Americas] thinking 'I can do anything.' I earned a sense of self confidence, I learned how to make decisions, communicate with others, and lead."

While working in different countries, Tessie shares that what she learned most in addition to outreach, community help, and vaccinations, was about herself.

After volunteering internationally with Amigos de Las Americas for her first time as a sophomore in high school, the following 2 years she decided to return to volunteer but this time as a part of the staff in a management role. She was responsible for running a vaccination program which in her words taught her one critical thing:

"I have never wanted to do anything else. I was hooked on the idea of making a difference and working with others. The international development bug bit me, and never let go."

Our conversation went into leading in today's environment.  Tessie shares her perspective that "INGOS are operating in settings where we are not created to operate.” (At the 10 minute mark if you want to jump right to it.)

What she means in this and explains is that INGOS, some of which were created decades ago, were not structurally created to face a global pandemic, hybrid working, racial injustice, the list from the past 2 years goes on and on. Her encouragement to acknowledge the hard things we have all conquered is notable and refreshing. Her observation is that it's time to create, try new things, and not force what once worked to where an organization is now.

And then, one of my favorite parts of our conversation: INGOs can do hard things...

 “Collectively the global development sector has been through a lot. By and large we are on the other side of it but we have adapted and adjusted to rethink how our businesses and organizations needed to run. We can do hard things.”

She continues, “We have to continue to reimagine in 2023. We are not ‘back to normal’, we are creating a new normal.”

Tessie shares her thoughts and plans on how to take the organization she leads, which has been around for over 50 years, into the future, through the trials of these past 2 years and out the other side. I highly suggest listening to this episode to be inspired and tactically supported.

Thank you Tessie for sharing your leadership story, and for the much needed reminder; we can all do hard things.