In the framework of Grassroot Diplomat
When asked what makes the human story powerful, it is not the series of triumphal and periodic victories or on-stage-speeches with a handful of ovations, but rather failures and persistence to overcome and embrace those failures for real human stories. Diplomatic service is a challenging and twisted path to take, but once you have stepped in, it will overtake you with its challenges and opportunities. When you 'notice' a problem, you are lucky, as there is a new opportunity to solve an old problem. Problems create opportunities, but opportunities can sometimes be confronted by challenges while serving our country and meeting the national values and goals. As our ambitions, passions, and innovations occasionally become corrosive for the system unless they are presented with the right quantity and at the right time and in the right place within a holistic goal and vision. Yes, surely, we can choose or calculate the 'right' time and the right place, but it happens, that the right sum may not be controlled, and all those misunderstandings and misperceptions germinate for that reason. So, how to know - keep going or better to stop? There are more emotional questions than reasonable answers like one always hanging like a sword of Damocles: 'When quitting isn't the answer?'
Undoubtedly, it will always be easy to read or write about success stories of people who have overcome difficulties or problems, be it in our workplace or family. However, it will be much easier instead of being soaked in our problem, look at that problem from above, gradually flipping from the deductive point of view to inductive. Life becomes more colorful when looked through the artist's glasses. Charlie Chaplin depicts this rather vividly when describing life as a tragedy when looked inside and a comedy when observed from above. Of course, we cannot change the problem, rarely can oversee or 'predict' the future, but we can affect the calamities this problem may bear in case we alter its direction to a place/context where it will be transformed into an opportunity by itself. For example, poets, painters, musicians, artists transform their problems or tragic circumstances into pieces of art.
This kind of example can be the initiative of the British Government organizing global relay marathon for COVID-19 to help people cope with the pandemic raising money for charities on the frontline, assisting for vaccine research, protecting vulnerable populations and supporting protective and medical equipment. More than 3000 UK government staff and their families ran, walked, or rode one mile, outside or at home over a live 24-hour period creating a global wave to draw attention to the benefits of exercise in coping during the lockdown period. Participants take a picture or video of themselves which then is shared on social media using #diplomile. The virtual baton then is passed on via text message to the next participant and so it continues around the world. 'Raising awareness of mental health is very important for me, as I've experienced over the years the toll anxiety. … People must have the tools and resources to get the help needed,' says Andreanne Lafrance, Political and Public Affairs Officer, British Consulate General in Montreal. In Canada, this event became a joint project and has been marked as Mental Health Awareness Week to highlight the need to support mental health and family crisis programs during the pandemic. Here we can see how British and Canadian officials worked together for a holistic goal and vision to transform the problem, the global problem into an opportunity to help more people not only providing with medications, equipment, consultations, but also engaging the public and supporting morally.
This experience is perfectly reflected in the words of Israeli diplomat Meirav Shahar in her TedTalk when she says; '…as a diplomat, you get to explore new destinations, new cultures, new people. You look for new opportunities, look for good stories, good stories in the sense that will be good for you, for your country and for the country you are serving in. …I feel that as a diplomat you want to change the world, you want to make it a better world, you want to assist where you can. …This was one of the reasons I chose to be a diplomat.' In any kind of profession, there will always be challenges and opportunities and we always need to remember why we have started, what was our goal, the vision we would like to reach by being a diplomat. I case the very question springs up from time to time, 'When quitting isn't the answer', here we can juxtapose another question, 'Why did I become a diplomat?', 'What was my cherish dream to become a diplomat?' and again, 'What was my vision to become a diplomat?'. This will fire us with strength - always getting up and always looking up.
'If you cannot change your life, change your attitude towards your life', writes Maya Angelou. Diplomacy is the right attitude we adopt to adapt to changes and difficulties. 2020 has begun with death toll challenges of COVID-19, affecting our everyday lifestyle, thinking, activities, etc. and surely affecting our working style. This breakdown and challenges we are facing nowadays will influence not only our personal and career life but also direct our mental balance and health, which can become the greatest challenge. Nevertheless, when we could overcome this breakdown we would enter another phase - a new phase, as the Canadian UN diplomat Louise Blais describes. She shares her story of how past breakdown helped her cope with the pandemic. Blais, one of Canada's two deputy ambassadors in the United Nations, survived the post 9/11 anthrax scare as a young diplomat and mother in Washington, D.C. But less than a decade later, it all came crashing down while she was serving in Paris. Blais suffered a massive nervous breakdown that stopped her life and career. She lost weight and the will to eat, suffered facial paralysis, heart palpitations, and numerous other symptoms. "I had a massive burnout in Paris 10 years ago. I basically had to rebuild myself from scratch. … I'm so glad it happened to me back then and I built the kind of resilience now that not only helps me through the crisis but also can help my team and my co-workers and my colleagues from other missions." Blais said she decided to speak publicly about her past mental breakdown because she has already "come out" within Global Affairs Canada and because others might find it useful as they cope with mental health challenges during the pandemic. Today, in addition to co-managing a major diplomatic mission under threat, Blais is a member of the task force at Global Affairs Canada that is administering the department's "duty of care" response to protect its diplomats abroad. She worked on the early March recall to Canada of staff who has health vulnerabilities, including for age or diseases that can render people more vulnerable to the coronavirus. In the interview, Blais said the number one lesson she learned from her breakdown is that leaders of all stripes need to make the welfare of their staff their top priority. "It was more what was going on inside of me that was the problem," she said. "I was a very hard-driven person. I had no patience for anyone that wasn't performing at the highest levels, so I had to completely change my leadership style." It took her three months from "not being functional at all to emerging" and then another year to apply a hard lesson when she went back to work: put employees' welfare first. "I don't focus on the output because that will come if I'm focusing on the most important thing, which is them," she said. "I've been absolutely shocked in my career how that shift has actually made work around me more productive than driving people based on results." Coping with the challenges is an opportunity we can create for others.
So, why all these questions and analysis on career challenges and opportunities arise, why people sometimes feel insufficient or unproductive in their workplace while others flow in their career path. Very rarely, we analyze ourselves, go deeper into our thoughts, and discover our strengths and weaknesses. It won't be a surprise to state that even when applying for a new position the interviewer is not looking at what points we have earned while studying but rather what recommendations we have, what changes we made in our 'community', how we engage socially or what network we have. While thinking about 'quit or not to quit' others will already make a risk and step forward. International affairs can be highly unpredictable and difficult at times, so a career in Foreign Service can be rather competitive and fierce. However, there are some TOP TIPS;
- Being yourself, knowing your qualities and skills; A career in international affairs is not merely achieved through having the right skills and experience. Although important, you must first and foremost possess the right qualities. These include open-mindedness; a measured temperament; curiosity; humility and respect for others, but moreover authenticity.
- Maintaining knowledge of current affairs; Not sticking to only traditional education, which requires expenses, but rather focusing on self-education. Whether you are a researcher in a specialist field, a diplomat on a posting, or a generalist in an international organization, you are working within a context. Being pro-active, take risks, do research on what organizations exist and what interests you, and, most importantly, get involved. In this context it will be much easier to pick a discipline and try to develop it in your field. With this an exotic language combination can become a major asset. Another valuable piece of advice that was offered by Jonathan Paris, a London-based political analyst, is how very important it is to improve your writing skills and start publishing your ideas. Not only is it satisfying to see the results of your hard work going into print, but it also establishes you as a member of the research community. Furthermore, it forces you to clarify your thoughts and to fit them in the current state of research in your field. Writing book reviews or blog posts could be a good way for those who are still in the early stage of their careers to get published.
- And more importantly, plan your career path, clarify your goals, and build your vision.
When quitting isn't the answer! Why people quit we understand but why they are not, we cannot explain. In any moment of our life, we are standing in front of choices. The choices we make define the next phase of our life and in the end, create who we are or who we could have been.
Sources
- Diplomats share their stories with Chevening Scholars https://www.chevening.org/news/diplomats-share-their-stories-with-chevening-scholars/
- TOP TIPS FOR A CAREER IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS http://www.gdforum.org/top-tips
- CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN IN OVERSEAS DIPLOMATIC POSITIONS https://www.diplomacy.edu/sites/default/files/IC%20and%20Diplomacy%20%28FINAL%29_Part16.pdf
- Canadian UN diplomat says past breakdown helping her cope with the pandemic https://www.cp24.com/news/canadian-un-diplomat-says-past-breakdown-helping-her-cope-with-pandemic-1.4891371
- UK in Canada #diplomile Relay Marathon for COVID-19 and Mental Health Awareness httpshttps://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/uk-in-canada-diplomile-relay-marathon-for-covid-19/
- UK diplomats in Canada take part in 24hr Global Relay Marathon https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-diplomats-in-canada-take-part-in-24hr-global-relay-marathon
- Why did I become a diplomat? | Meirav Shahar | TEDTalk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbXOJJKIWTE
- Mastering the Art of Everyday Diplomacy | Alisher Faizullaev | TEDTalk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eI6qa-DyT0
- The Secret Life of Diplomats| Joey Hood | TEDTalk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6b2DBMRy4g
- The Art of Diplomacy | Tayo Rockson | TEDTalk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ4IyNVJ0Ng
- PHILOSOPHY OF DIPLOMACY: ANTI-DIPLOMACY OF THE POSTMODERN AND UNIPOLAR WORLD https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327861717_PHILOSOPHY_OF_DIPLOMACY_ANTI-DIPLOMACY_OF_THE_POSTMODERN_AND_UNIPOLAR_WORLD