The Qatar Foundation Annual Report for the previous year was just posted. I have to admit that I rushed to the index to see where evidence of the work of team members with whom I work was to be found in its pages. There's lots of evidence and it brings great satisfaction to know that we are making significant progress.
For those interested in knowing more about the breadth of the QF initiatives, the annual report isn't as boring as one might typically find. This really is interesting reading.
When some international media are questioning what's happening with higher education in the Arabian Gulf, the Qf report is clear evidence that the answer is, "A lot...!" The kind of growth that is underway is mind-boggling to say the least and it's incredibly exciting to be part of making even a small contribution to what's happening.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Working in the 21st century
I had a simple, yet profound, meeting today that involved two faculty from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (one a female from Tunisia and one an African American male), an Indian national ex-patriot male, a Qatari male, and me. Each of us had our own accents, language and experiences but we were drawn together by the shared task of improving Qatar Foundation's acquisition process by engaging professors and students in project teams focused on various steps forward in the improvement process.
Seldom have I seen a group so open to each other and willing to engage in the give and take required to tap each others' insights and skills. It was the dual commitment to process improvement with the recognition of the need to learn and to foster learning for students that made it work. There wasn't one moment of hesitation throughout the 45 minute and I left feeling that this is the best of what higher education has to offer in the 21st century - diverse voices and intellects tackling tough problems together.
Simple pleasures of global leadership work...
Seldom have I seen a group so open to each other and willing to engage in the give and take required to tap each others' insights and skills. It was the dual commitment to process improvement with the recognition of the need to learn and to foster learning for students that made it work. There wasn't one moment of hesitation throughout the 45 minute and I left feeling that this is the best of what higher education has to offer in the 21st century - diverse voices and intellects tackling tough problems together.
Simple pleasures of global leadership work...
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Soulful to soul-full
Diane has been in Qatar for the last week for her spring break. We had a wonderful time seeing all the new things that are now available since she was here last July. We saw our first camel race (what a hoot), visited the Pearl (residential development for 50K people in the Gulf), went to the new Museum of Islamic Art, shopped and ate in the new sections of Souq Waqif, had dinner at the new "W" hotel (very chik/sheikh), had friends over, spent time with Darbi, and more. We had so much fun that this morning's return flight at 9 a.m. came as a bit of a shock. Diane and I were both caught off guard by how soon the time had passed and we had a great deal of difficulty parting. I left the terminal to drive home and could hardly stand the feeling of loneliness without Diane. This was truly a soulful morning with which I could only attempt to cope by keeping busy. I cleaned house, did laundry, exercised, went for massage, and ended the evening at a Qatar Philharmonic concert.
I was tired and really not in the mood for celebration at the beginning of the QPO concert. However, the visiting conductor, James Gaffigan, was fun to watch from the very beginning. The concert started with the Beethoven Overture to "Egmont," Op. 84, a piece that typically has a lot of energy so I wasn't terribly surprised that it was an instantaneous attention getter. At the conclusion of this first piece, I turned to the guy beside me and said, "I've never seen the Egmont performed with such drive." The rest of the performance was a gradual crescendo to the final movement of the Brahm's Symphony #2 and an encore of Brahm's Hungarian Rhapsody. I literally sat in my seat during the encore laughing as the boundless energy and excitement of Gaffigan enraptured the QPO players. The audience erupted in applause the instant the last note sounded and Gaffigan was called back for three curtain calls.
Soulful to soul-full may seem a bit strange as a title for this post. I had a very soulful day when Diane departed and the reality of our life on two continents returned to my consciousness. It is not easy living so far apart, although many in this area of the world do this on a regular basis. People make huge sacrifices to pursue a life that they see as providing greater opportunity than elsewhere. But, it isn't easy for anyone. As the day went on, I didn't recover but I did resign myself to Diane and me being together soon (late June) and eventually together on a permanent basis. In the meantime, I was nurtured today by the numerous guards and service people with whom I've become acquainted. Darbi came over and took care of me for a while this afternoon. And, my heart was restored by listening to great music that can never be underestimated for its power. Soulful to soul-full was the journey of today. I miss Diane and the familiarity of the U.S.A. but I still cherish the experience that I'm having here in Qatar.
I was tired and really not in the mood for celebration at the beginning of the QPO concert. However, the visiting conductor, James Gaffigan, was fun to watch from the very beginning. The concert started with the Beethoven Overture to "Egmont," Op. 84, a piece that typically has a lot of energy so I wasn't terribly surprised that it was an instantaneous attention getter. At the conclusion of this first piece, I turned to the guy beside me and said, "I've never seen the Egmont performed with such drive." The rest of the performance was a gradual crescendo to the final movement of the Brahm's Symphony #2 and an encore of Brahm's Hungarian Rhapsody. I literally sat in my seat during the encore laughing as the boundless energy and excitement of Gaffigan enraptured the QPO players. The audience erupted in applause the instant the last note sounded and Gaffigan was called back for three curtain calls.
Soulful to soul-full may seem a bit strange as a title for this post. I had a very soulful day when Diane departed and the reality of our life on two continents returned to my consciousness. It is not easy living so far apart, although many in this area of the world do this on a regular basis. People make huge sacrifices to pursue a life that they see as providing greater opportunity than elsewhere. But, it isn't easy for anyone. As the day went on, I didn't recover but I did resign myself to Diane and me being together soon (late June) and eventually together on a permanent basis. In the meantime, I was nurtured today by the numerous guards and service people with whom I've become acquainted. Darbi came over and took care of me for a while this afternoon. And, my heart was restored by listening to great music that can never be underestimated for its power. Soulful to soul-full was the journey of today. I miss Diane and the familiarity of the U.S.A. but I still cherish the experience that I'm having here in Qatar.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Offer what you have...
I just returned from a quick trip to the U.S.A. for the annual convention of the American College Personnel Association. I also stopped by Oxford to visit with family which offered great renewal in preparation for my return to Qatar. The ACPA convention was both taxing and rejuvenating because I had to tell the story so many times about how I came to Qatar, what I do, and how this is such an unusual, challenging, and fulfilling place. I was exhausted by telling the story but I was rejuvenated when I reminded myself of the purpose of this work by tell others about it.
The only problem with this scheme is that returning to the work is a bit of a rude awakening. For an entire week I only talked about how great the work is and seldom did I allow myself to focus on the challenges we face. There is no judgment in this comment - just description. The fact is, for cultural, organizational, and many other reasons, this work is tough. I had two meetings today where colleagues were on the verge of saying that they couldn't continue to push. I empathized but recognized a struggle in working abroad in higher education that most other people don't face - the struggle is in the very natural resistance to change and to doing things through different cultural means. The only way I can figure to get out of this is to offer what you have, hope that it makes a contribution, and then let the chips fall as they may.
What I mean here is that it is very important to me that I give my all to my work but there are limits to my ability to bring about change. Others around me have to welcome it and see the opportunity in what I propose. There may be a variety of reasons why ideas I hold dear may not be timely, will never work, or need to be packaged in another way. I can also do everything to my best and things will still not turn out. The natural tendency for agenda-driven Westerners is to internalize the blame and get down about things not moving ahead. What I'm beginning to learn, and I believe is essential to expatriate success abroad, is recognizing that it is my/our responsibility to offer what we have but to let it go. To not let go would mean to harbor thoughts, questions, and to hold on to a type of grieving for what we hoped would unfold. My view is that this kind of internal struggle only festers and makes things worse and that seeing my responsibility as offering my best and then letting it go is the only way to maintain one's sanity.
Expatriate work is fascinating and so powerful but it is not easy. After all the questions I answered at ACPA, I returned with a proposal for my youngest daughter who lives in Qatar - to write a book introducing the dynamics of working as an ex-patriot in higher education. I drafted a book outline on the plane and hope that Darbi and I will be able to dig into this in the coming months. Much of our content will come from our respective blogs. So, if you have been reading our stuff, let us know of those things that have been most provocative. We'll be sure to include those as we forge ahead.
The only problem with this scheme is that returning to the work is a bit of a rude awakening. For an entire week I only talked about how great the work is and seldom did I allow myself to focus on the challenges we face. There is no judgment in this comment - just description. The fact is, for cultural, organizational, and many other reasons, this work is tough. I had two meetings today where colleagues were on the verge of saying that they couldn't continue to push. I empathized but recognized a struggle in working abroad in higher education that most other people don't face - the struggle is in the very natural resistance to change and to doing things through different cultural means. The only way I can figure to get out of this is to offer what you have, hope that it makes a contribution, and then let the chips fall as they may.
What I mean here is that it is very important to me that I give my all to my work but there are limits to my ability to bring about change. Others around me have to welcome it and see the opportunity in what I propose. There may be a variety of reasons why ideas I hold dear may not be timely, will never work, or need to be packaged in another way. I can also do everything to my best and things will still not turn out. The natural tendency for agenda-driven Westerners is to internalize the blame and get down about things not moving ahead. What I'm beginning to learn, and I believe is essential to expatriate success abroad, is recognizing that it is my/our responsibility to offer what we have but to let it go. To not let go would mean to harbor thoughts, questions, and to hold on to a type of grieving for what we hoped would unfold. My view is that this kind of internal struggle only festers and makes things worse and that seeing my responsibility as offering my best and then letting it go is the only way to maintain one's sanity.
Expatriate work is fascinating and so powerful but it is not easy. After all the questions I answered at ACPA, I returned with a proposal for my youngest daughter who lives in Qatar - to write a book introducing the dynamics of working as an ex-patriot in higher education. I drafted a book outline on the plane and hope that Darbi and I will be able to dig into this in the coming months. Much of our content will come from our respective blogs. So, if you have been reading our stuff, let us know of those things that have been most provocative. We'll be sure to include those as we forge ahead.
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