CANADA NEPAL GENDER IN ORGANIZATIONS

Section VI: References

Reference #4: Coaching

| Key Learnings | Some Examples of Successful Coaching|

Gender Integrated Organizational Development:
The NGO Coordinator's Coaching Role as Change Agent

6. Gender Inclusion Strategy

Gender inclusion in a mixed (women and men) organization is always a painful intervention. The coach needs to adapt the process approach for encouraging women to participate in the NGO activities. A gender balanced core team can be selected and promoted in the NGO. In mixed NGOs, a homogeneous group of women members can be coached so that they will be encouraged and become confident. If they get encouragement, a group of women activists within the NGO can be prepared who are more conscious on what is happening in the organization. A women NGO can remain as a women NGO, and should not be forced or expected to include men. Women can be coached to avoid male domination or influence. Because the culture and therefore the organization discourage women members to bear responsibility in the beginning, moral support is very important thing for them.

The coach facilitates PNGOs to bring gender policy in their organization. The gender policy of an organization contains all the gender requirements of an NGO. Not only in preparing policy but applying it into the practice, the PNGOs need coaching help. Regular assessment of the progress according to the policy is also essential. PNGOs prepared some tools and techniques as well to incorporate gender into their programming, like gender lens.

The underlying approach of a gender inclusion strategy is to empower women to take control of their personal and organizational lives, enabling them to have impact in changing gender relations. On the other side is sensitizing men so that they change their attitudes and behaviour, and take their share of responsibility for changing gender relations.

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7. Key Learnings:

Coaching helps to translate learning into action.
Training in itself is nothing. One individual gets various training in a whole career and acquires a lot of knowledge but it is not applied in practical field. Coaching provides an opportunity to clarify and validate one's own understanding through discussion on the subject matter. One person's concept is tested through the different angle of various people and this clarification brings motivation and acceptance in someone. Finally it brings attitudinal change in a person that causes the application of learning in individual life as well as in organizational life.

Coaching needs a trusting relationship between coach and coachee.
Mutual respect for coaching is a must. Having discussions with people and giving them choices can be only meaningful in the situation if participants respect the coach. The coach's reputation and skills both equally determine the degree of trusting relationship between both sides. Individual meeting with the members and staff is effective to make an organization more transparent and reflective. More and more emerging causes that can create conflict are explored and facilitated to analyze with the members with optional remedies.

Gender and caste analysis in an organization is helpful for making organizational capacity building intervention in Nepalese context.
Organizational capacity building means developing an individual's capacity most importantly. Individual capacity building depends on the background of such individual. Two factors are the most important in determining the personality of an individual in Nepalese context - gender and caste. The socialization process of an individual is mostly focussed in the context of these two factors. Organizational capacity depends on the person to person relationship and these two factors are most important influences on that relationship.

Low profile of outsiders increases acceptance among NGO people.
Differences in living standards show differences in thinking. A coach with a high profile creates distances between local people and the intervener. To be a faithful friend of NGO people, it is important to accept and apply NGO spirit. A low profile automatically gives moral strength in a coach that is used for improving the performance of NGOs.

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8. Some Examples of Successful Coaching
A woman NGO was a sleeping NGO in the beginning. It had not run any programs and most of the members were teachers. They used to come late to CNGO programs or used to participate poorly. This was because of their ignorance of issues and context. As they were sensitized on gender issues, they saw how it was connected with the problems of their own members. They started to work for women who were victimized by her family or husband. The PNGO committed to their objectives to maintain their activities even without resources. More women applied in the organization for membership. Now the organization is performing as a top NGO in the district. The coach here only made them appreciate "objectives of NGO establishment" and "everything can be possible even without external support."

A Dalit NGO was stuck with their fundamental agenda of "touchability/ untouchability." They had one donor to support them on this specific issue. So, they ignored gender issues in their own organization. But after discussion with members on "GRO" (Gender Resource Organization) and "DRO" (Dalit Resource Organization), they came to the conclusion that working on Dalit women issues as a necessity in their district. After that they took the gender issue as their own organizational issue and they demonstrated additional commitment toward CNGO project. Now this organization has a good reputation as a GRO among development agencies of the district.

Another women's NGO had a single dominant leader. The NGO leader used to practice one person decision-making in the institution. The NGO leader and other members were oriented on governance and leadership together and this was followed up intensively by the NGOC. As a result, the NGO leader herself realized the wrong practice and allowed other members to be part of "real decision-making team." This organization has improved itself so much that many district stakeholders are seeking their expertise in specific areas, like domestic violence.

CNGO project intervention in the district encouraged PNGOs to apply their learning in the community. PNGOs asked for financial support from CNGO to deliver training to other members in the organization and the groups in the community. In the beginning the project was designed as a non-funding and software delivery program. But PNGOs raised financial issues to apply their skill and learning in practice. CNGO decided to provide Rp 5,000 per PIF event, because training was not enough for capacity building and they needed a venue for practice. PIF is one of the major components of capacity building. PNGOs got the opportunity to apply their learning and raised gender awareness in the organization and community. PNGOs conducted all the learning events to other NGOs through PIF, which increased their confidence to facilitate district level participants. PIF provided the opportunity to PNGOs for developing small proposals and reports, which enabled their capacity in those additional areas.

The NGOC has responsibility to coordinate the CNGO program with PNGOs, local NGOs, NGO Networks and local government (DDC, VDC and Municipality) in the district. The NGOC coordinated and increased linkages with line agencies and DDC for NGO/DDC partnership program in the district. In the beginning when DPP workshop was organized in the district, only those who took part had been visited already. The learning was that personal linkage increases organizational linkage; the NGOC started to visit and inform DDC, CDO and line agencies with PNGOs representatives about the next meeting. As a result, most of the stakeholders attended the workshop.