Manila, 29 March 2023 — Are you waiting for the right time that never comes?

Story

It happened last week. At the opening of the United Nations Water Conference in New York, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands urged participants to “seek collaboration in the murky waters of contrast.” The response he and the UN Secretary-General triggered was vibrant. At the end of the three-day conference, more than 700 #wateraction commitments were registered by businesses, governments, and organizations around the world. Moreover, in the face of a global water crisis, the sense of hope among many participants was palpable, not only at the UN in New York but also at the online events. Water practitioners globally showed that they are eager to work together and turn their commitments into actions for water security. 

How did this happen? The story behind the headlines is about two passionate leaders who decided to work together in driving the many changes and decisions needed to make the conference happen, from influencing governments to bringing the participants to New York (and the countless online sessions) and to challenging them to make commitments for water actions. These two leaders are Henk Ovink from the Netherlands and Sulton Rahimzoda from Tajikistan. Their two countries are as different from each other as you could possibly imagine, in almost all aspects. Yet they sought collaboration in the murky waters of contrast and decided to champion change together. They took it upon themselves to make this conference happen and drive its remarkable results.

At the closing, Csaba Kőrösi, President of the UN General Assembly, said, “The solution is in our hands. It is not rocket science. A cooperative water-secure future starts with political will, economic intelligence, and cultural tolerance and acceptance.” I think he was right and wrong. If he was speaking only to the member state ambassadors present, then yes, their task is to mobilize the political will of their governments. If, on the other hand, he was speaking to his global audience then, in my experience, he was wrong. Because change doesn’t start with expecting political will. It starts with champion leaders who drive the change, who don’t wait for the right time but create the right time wherever they find themselves. Why haven’t we seen more of that?

Challenge

The King’s caution about “murky waters of contrast” pointed to challenges on the road ahead. In the past, countless water conferences have already called for more collaboration across the many ‘silos’ that keep actors working in isolation. Repeating the motto that water is everybody’s business hasn’t changed that yet. The building of bridges for collaboration between government and business, and across the divides between sectors, disciplines, generations, and countries, has in practice been much more difficult than expected for most water practitioners. That explains why our world is still seriously off-track in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, including SDG#6 for water. Collaboration is much more easily said than done. 

How, then, can we turn the excitement experienced by the enthusiastic participants at the UN Water Conference into sustained collaborative leadership that exerts influence and moves us closer to the results we want to see in our workplaces and projects around the world? Reflecting on the champion leader stories of Henk Ovink and Sulton Rahimzoda, and the personal accolades they have received in countless posts and messages, we get some clues about what is needed. First off, their job wasn’t easy. They needed a strong sense of leadership purpose, not just the visions of their organizations, but their own personal visions for the work they chose to do. They spent time getting clear on their why, in an almost existential manner. Whenever I listened to Henk Ovink during the past few years, it was crystal clear to me that he knew what he was living for – why he was there. I heard his tremendous clarity and power of purpose.

Next came the skills to communicate their message effectively, time after time. I’m sure that, for many audiences, their insistent messages didn’t always come at the right time. Yet, they kept showing up, not just once, but repeatedly, over several years. That can remind us about leadership looking more like a marathon than a sprint. It’s endurance that matters. You have to keep going, also when it gets tough, as it surely did for them on their journey. In the end, by showing up with consistency and with persistence in their championing, they were able to build trust, win people over, and influence a host of partners in governments, businesses, and all kinds of organizations. That helped to prioritize the conference and attract partners and resources, so that alignment scaled among stakeholders around the world. Now that the conference is over, what will you do with their example?

Question

By writing the personal story of the extraordinary champion leadership shown by Henk Ovink and Sulton Rahimzoda, I’m hoping that you will review your own commitment to #wateraction, starting in a very personal way with your own leadership journey and your own transformation and growth as a leader. I hope the story will inspire you to grow your leadership instead of expecting leadership from others first. Why do I emphasize making this your personal choice? Because all the effective leadership development programs I have seen share something in common. They all start with self-leadership, before moving on to leadership in teams, and then on to influencing change in your organization, project, community, and the wider world. It always starts personally, with you (and me). What I learned is that to become a trusted and effective leader, we need to transform ourselves first.

Feeling surrounded, and occasionally overwhelmed, by our VUCA world realities doesn’t make this easy. You may think that you already have enough on your plate. And you are right. Investing in leadership development is so easily deferred to ‘when the right time comes.’ I understand that and empathize with you. And yet, I learned that ‘the right time’ never comes. It’s an illusion that turns into an excuse and a costly mistake. So, what do leaders do? They create the right time, even when it looks unreasonable and impossible. Fifteen years ago, when I shifted my career as an international water specialist towards helping others through leadership coaching, I was told this was not reasonable. Yet my purpose had become clear as it had for the leaders in our story. I’m here to support more professionals and executives who are stuck in their careers full of knowledge and yet are experiencing difficulties to influence the changes that truly matter to our world — including the building of trusting relationships and collaboration that this requires.

The call for leadership often doesn’t come at ‘the right time.’ In New York, the participants of the UN Water Conference called for change, and plenty of it! We can choose to respond positively even if our plates look full already. My personal commitment to #wateraction is to find ways to Coach more Leaders who want to drive positive change in their workplaces, empower them with personalized training, and challenge them to become trusted leaders by learning and practicing leadership behaviors together. That’s a marathon for me. Moreover, I support my colleagues at the International WaterCentre in their Call for Partners to develop the Pathway Program for water practitioners around the world to become change-makers. Now let’s turn to my question for you this week: What is your personal commitment to water security through leadership? Not your organization’s but your own personal commitment? Tip: don’t wait for the right time that never comes. Start with your leadership now.

P.S. On 31 March, we close our second-quarter enrollment of Collabs (that means you and three colleagues you invite to collaborate with) in the LEADyear 2023 Challenge to become a Trusted Leader. Many of our current Collabs are water practitioners on a personal journey to become trusted leaders who can drive or influence change. With only two days to go for the enrollment, I’m sure there are many reasons why this will not seem ‘the right time’ for you. Yet, with a change of perspective, you can choose to make it the right time. Message me if you have a question. Happy to help you get on board with us.