NGO Soul + Strategy 063. Decolonizing think tanks, policy research organizations and consulting agencies: Ajoy Datta
Summary
How can the feelings of people who work in organizations both facilitate and suppress change?
What makes people attach reputation and credibility to another person? And how does this relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and these may work out in practice?
What's the problem with think tanks from the perspective of a decolonization goal, and what has been the problem historically?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Ajoy Datta, consultant, policy researcher, and coach, on decolonizing think tanks, policy research organizations, and consulting agencies.
Ajoy’s Bio:
- Independent consultant
- Over 20 years of experience in the global development and humanitarian sector
- Supports leaders, teams, organizations, and networks to collaborate, perform better, learn, innovate, and change
- Performs designing, monitoring, and evaluating work to engage with and influence policy and practice as well as strengthen decision-making systems
- Worked 12 years at the Overseas Development Institute (DI)'s research and policy unit
- Worked 3 years at the On Think Tanks (OTT) consulting group
- Started at VSO, the British volunteer agency, in Zambia
We discuss:
- The useful role of psychodynamics in organizational development: what goes on in our minds, consciously and unconsciously, while working in organizations. Some of these feelings are suppressed and below the surface
- Decolonizing organizations means that we aim to do away with hundreds of years of Western, global North power, such as philosophical underpinnings, concepts, frameworks, assumptions, knowledge systems, and leadership profiles.
- When organizations recruit people who are dissimilar in demographic or experiential profile from those that were thus far considered the 'norm', the 'default' -- if their organizational culture, expectations towards staff, and org systems don’t adapt to these new profiles, tension will be the result. These people will be at higher risk of either leaving or being ‘spit out’
- The phenomenon of the glass cliff: when people with demographic profiles different from what was the norm thus far are recruited to high-risk leadership positions, and then fail.
- What to do about all of this? 1/ Name and acknowledge what is happening. If we fear talking about it, it will never be addressed; 2/ “decriminalize bias"; 3/ create a safe container for discussion; 4/ communicate externally but also internally
Resources:
YouTube video of this podcast
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