Reflections on the Philippines Gathering

There’s something special about being in the same physical room as others these days.  One of the high values we have had as a Global LDHR team is getting together twice a year, spending prolonged time just chatting without agenda and eating meals together.  It’s even better when we get to do this with others as well.  A few weeks ago, the GLDHR team met jointly with Global Digital Strategies in Manila, Philippines to see what our points of collaboration might be.  We also got to spend a day with the wonderful Philippines LDHR team.  This is Bong Visey’s reflections:

“It was a privilege for our LDHR Team  (Philippines) to spend a day [November 8] with the Global and Regional Leaders of Cru Leadership Development and Human Resources during their conference in Manila.

We were blessed to hear stories on how God has been at work in the different countries specially about Staff Recruitment, Development and Care. They were also candid in sharing the challenges they faced, the solutions they tried, and what were the results. We were given the opportunity to engage in the discussions and even share about a project we did recently. We were able to express what are the things that we are trusting the Lord for our people and organization. 

It was a treat from God to have finally seen face-to-face these wonderful leaders who have been serving us through LDHR. It was both fun and funny to say, “so you are that person in Workplace!” The sharing and prayer times in small groups gave the meeting a much more personal touch. The global leaders were so generous in giving their encouragement and appreciation.

Our time together affirmed our calling and direction. It also inspired us with new perspectives and ideas in developing effective leaders, growing people, and healthy teams to help increase capacity in fulfilling the Great Commission.”

I think the privilege was all ours – The LDHR team in the Philippines are a collection of experienced and quality staff, beautifully dedicated to the care and development of their staff team.  These are some of the reflections from the Global team on our time together and with the Philippines staff:

”I was impressed by the innovative spirit of the team. I loved the way they were inspired by the I-GO internship to create their own Philippines Capacity Internship program.”  Mary

“I was inspired by the innovation of the Philippines LDHR Team.  I was encouraged by my time having personal discussions with members of the LDHR Team in the Philippines”                                                                                                                               Mike M

“I loved getting to know some of the Philippine national staff and even having quick conversations has led to fruitful connections over implementing NST on a Learning Management System.”                                                                                                           Kelly

“I appreciated seeing how each of the Philippines LDHR staff used their different gifts to make pivots to help the ministry be more effective. It was refreshing to see how they use the fundamentals to grow in recruiting (like an intern strategy) and provide capacity for the ministry!”                                                                                                                     Marc

“Though I participated virtually, I loved the session with the LDHR department, especially the recruitment tactic of using the younger generation to their peers.” Adantsi

The Philippines is part of the SESA region, so our LDHR leader Arjun Pulami took the reigns in coordinating much of our time together.  Arjun has worked closely with the Philippines LDHR team.  We asked him what he thought they did well.  These are his highlights:  

• Commonalities and Trends: There is recognition of shared trends and commonalities in discussions about new staff, generational differences in calling, and the ability to pivot despite cultural variations.
• Recruitment Approaches: The effectiveness of recruiting younger staff through younger staff members and the shift toward making recruitment every staff member’s responsibility are highlighted and appreciated and the I-Go initiatives to recruit younger staff for capacity role 
• Flexibility and Freedom: Encouragement is drawn from the leadership’s openness to new ideas, the ability to pivot, and the freedom given to teams to try different approaches.
• Global Collaboration and Contribution: The importance of global collaboration, with examples like the Philippines taking a stage 3 country approach and actively contributing resources to help other nations, is emphasized.
• Peer Learning Environment: The value of having open conversations about what is not working and the ability to adjust within a peer learning environment is highlighted.
• Career Pathways: Enthusiasm about learning on career pathways, indicated a positive reception of this particular aspect.

The whole time we spent together energised us all, and seeing how we could naturally collaborate and work together was encouraging and motivating.  Our final reflection should go to Andrea, who sums it up beautifully:

“What struck me was the power of sharing ideas or lessons with each other– I saw it in the collaboration with Digital Strategies as well as in the time with the Philippine LDHR team and also in the sharing of expertise from our own team members.  We stimulate each other’s thinking when we share what we’re doing. That, in turn, leads to innovations that may be quite fruitful. Gets us thinking in different ways. Love that.” 

By Bong Visey, Arjun Pulami and the Global LDHR team  

Compiled by Paul Cheesman