Elearning! Magazine: Building Smarter Companies via Learning & Workplace Technologies.
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Tips Tips 40 February /March 2015 Elearning! Leadership Zaire, which is now the Demo- cratic Republic of the Congo. It then subsided to the point that no one paid much attention to it. Last March, in an area near the Guinea and Sierra Leone border, the virus developed, spreading into Liberia. Te model of transmission between humans is through contact with bodily fuids and secre- tions. When this happened, it was caused by a lack of educa- tion. People were not following the right procedures to contain the virus. Te virus was spread- ing due to an African tradition in that when someone dies, ev- eryone tries to touch the body. Tat's how it got disseminated through many communities. In the broader scope, the death toll and the growing numbers of cases is alarming. From an environmental perspective, this is also a seri- ous concern. When someone passes away, the body is sup- posed to be cremated, but because Liberia doesn't have the capacity to do this prop- erly, it conducts mass burials. When multiple bodies buried near wetlands decompose, it poses a serious threat to the water sources. More than 75 percent of the population in Liberia has no means of get- ting water except from natu- ral creeks or wells, which may become contaminated. So when people drink the water, it's a major environmental concern, so we engage in edu- cational awareness in these communities. Q: WHAT IS YOUR AP- PROACH TO LEAD- ERSHIP, AND WHAT'S THE IMPACT YOU'VE EX- PERIENCED AS A RESULT OF YOUR WORK? Koffa: When I meet with leaders, I share a clear sense of direction and leadership — much of which I learned during my studies at Ameri- can Public University. I find there needs to be passion for your work. Passion inspires leaders to make a difference, therefore driving protocol, which is how you create a level of connection with the people and the causes you support. Leadership is about how effective you are in cre- ating new relationships and building upon established ones to bring together the science, policies, procedures and awareness that's needed to solve problems. So I talk about the need for creating partnerships as well as for education to drive worldwide impact. I emphasize education, because there is a defciency. Working with the Liberian EPA, I found that about 90 percent of the agency's 150 employees had less education than a high school diploma. It's difcult to solve technical issues with this lack of train- ing. We volunteered our time to educate people, starting with how to do an environ- mental impact assessment (EIA). Tat worked well, but we also wanted to ensure the next step was addressed, which was leadership training. It is critical for any organi- zation, agency or country as a whole to overcome the lack of training and education. Then you must provide the right leadership skills to actualize the training into results. Only when you have trained, well- qualified people who know exactly what they must do, can you achieve the greater goal. It's through education, training and effective leader- ship communication that we can bring change in the tradi- tional protocols to eradicate this crisis. We've helped to create a level of heightened awareness that never existed before. To- day, no company does busi- ness without first conducting an environmental impact as- sessment. We've also added a corporate social responsibil- ity clause, which ensures that corporations provide incen- tives for the communities in which they operate, includ- ing employment, schools, clinics and more. It's all about development through education, training and op- portunity. We hope to build on the progress that is under way in hopes we can reach a level in Liberia so (a) it's no longer considered a country of misfortune, but instead, a country of hope and (b) to inspire positive changes toward worldwide social and environmental impact. —The author has more than 10 years of combined experi- ence in corporate and strategic partnerships for leadership, talent, and professional devel- opment across industries. She serves as director of Corporate and Strategic Relationships for American Public University System and is a contributor to The Inspire Leadership Se- ries. Her passion is to inspire authentic leadership develop- ment, lifelong learning, and meaning ful individual and or- ganization transformation, so leaders develop to their highest potential and performance. Her thought leadership has been featured in conference and related venues for Human Capital Media, Enterprise Learning, E-learning, Chief Learning Officer, and Train- ing, among others. To read the full article or to subscribe to American Public University's Inspire Leadership Series, visit www.GreatLeadersInspire.com. 'What is critical is to overcome the lack of training and education. Ten you must provide the right leadership skills to actualize the training into results.' —Morris Kofa, co-founder, executive director Africa Environmental Watch