School of Humanity Marika Guderian

 In this episode, I talk to Rashad Nelms, humanitarian, global strategist and executive coach, who helps others to achieve their full potential. Why is putting yourself first so crucial for achieving your full potential in the aid sector and anywhere you work? 

While it can be very rewarding as an aid worker, this job is also no exception. For some of us, it can become draining over time when putting in long hours. That’s why it’s important to remember the age-old rule of flying in an airplane: put your own oxygen mask on before you try to help the person sitting next to you. While this may go against every fiber of our intuition to take care of ourselves first before helping others but the reasons for this rule of thumb are clear: if you pass out 10 seconds into an emergency, you won’t be able to help anyone around you. How to put yourself first, to help others is what we will talk about in this episode.   

 We often pass a large portion of our lives without a plan, only to question the choices we made later on. We might have taken the first job and became comfortable. In our 30's, we then come to realize that some of us never got the  long term contract in the humanitarian sector or the career we desired. In a conversation with Humanitarian Master Coach Kate Roberts, with over 20 years of experience in humanitarian settings, we explore why we don't plan our careers and life and what to do about it.   

In this episode, I talk with Liberty, who is an international successful tennis player and now coach, about the importance of discipline as a  mindset on the pathway to success. Shortcuts in life, the lack of commitment or hard work will show eventually and Liberty will share his lessons from sports and how they apply to our life that will help us to truly achieve our goals. 

A humanitarian aid worker sent an email to the counsellor seeking help but it went to all staff.  She wanted to disappear from the face of the earth  because everyone knows now but why do we feel embarrassed? Why is it such a taboo to ask for help?  These are the questions we will explore in this podcast episode together with Omneya Makhlouf, who not only sent out this email but talked about it on all her social media platforms. It is more important than ever since COVID-19 pandemic where for instance in the United States alone, about 4 in 10 adults report symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, that we seek professional help. 

In this episode, I talk to psychotherapist Mark Snelling and former aid worker about how our very own childhood has potentially influenced subconsciously our decision to join the humanitarian sector.  In conversations with aid workers, you will hear a long list of issues that we are dealing with on a regular basis: long working hours, management issues, loss of motivation, problems too big to solve and painful events and trauma. But sooner or later, we start to talk about the main issue: relationships. In our conversation, we talk about how humanitarian work offers a powerful solution on a much more unconscious level to personal relationship insecurities. Humanitarian work takes the focus away from personal pain towards the needs of others. 

Humanitarian organizations have paid increasing attention in recent years to the psychological wellbeing of aid workers. But one major challenge aid workers continue to face is being left out: that of deeper levels of relationships. What is the impact of humanitarian work on personal relationships of those who deliver it? In a conversation with Pauline Busson, a former aid worker turned Love Coach who has helped hundreds of clients to turn their relationship life around to finally have fulfilling and supporting relationships that are crucial in the aid sector, we explore the challenges around relationships in the aid sector.