Reflecting on my Social Sabbatical … it is a about the people
I returned from my SAP Social Sabbatical (SoSa) in India on the last weekend, and I am still in the process of sorting all the experiences and memories.
Providing new ideas and accelerating the concept phase
What an amazing journey it was supporting the NGO Conserve India in New Delhi. Together with Evie and Denis we worked hard to come-up with a proposal on an incubation strategy for PlastiSkul in India.
We brought in, the best we have — utilized our different skill sets, not missed to argue, and applied several adjusted methodologies we know from our corporate world in the context of our project with the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
Based on the feedback we received from Conserve, our results instilled new ideas and speed up the next steps, with a much clearer path forward.
We are looking forward to seeing how this will evolve and flourish. We wish Conserve an enjoyable journey and are available if we could add value.
It is about the people — Friendship, Passion, and Trust
But those four weeks, were much more then contributing with our time and skills:
· Indulging into another country and culture from the polished areas all the way to the slum
· Establishing a enjoyable new daily routine living in the SoSa “camp” — being away from my daily-parent-work-routine — a big thank you to my family and support system around!
· And leaving the comfort zone on an ongoing basis. With a long history in consulting and a well-structured NGO we worked for, less then I have expected on the professional working side, but significantly while exploring Delhi and its surroundings.
Reflecting further what made it such a unique experience — 3 things come into my mind:
· FRIENDSHIP — Our amazing — INtern team — the SAP team of 12 Social Sabbatical participants in New Delhi from all over the world!
What a great job in selecting this diverse team of 12- congrats to Pyxera and our SAP CSR team!
I always enjoy working with SAP colleagues all over the world, wherever my consulting our international assignments brought me.
But this group was beyond my imagination — easy going, though focused on accomplishments, humor all day long, with a great care and bond while everyone got and took free space as required.
This was so special and allowed collecting lifetime memories.
I would say EMPATHY, RESPECT, HUMOR describe the main ingredients of this amazing group. An amazing blueprint for any team to build in future.
· PASSION — it was so impressive to see how the staff of Conserve works every day to improve the life of marginalized groups. In all the interactions we had with stakeholders in the ecosystem of Conserve, we saw outstanding dedication, drive, and great collaboration to tackle today’s challenges of waste pickers and bringing a circular economy to life.
The opportunity to work on such life-touching projects, gave us all some extra motivation and we could experience an amazing commitment in our groups, securing that we bring in the best of us in those four weeks.
Reading that increased community engagement is one of the impact areas of the SAP Social Sabbatical, I can fully agree. Including the social impact dimension in our corporate world should play an even greater role in the future. Let’s see what ideas will come up.
· TRUST — I gave my comfy security-focused brain some rest and did some things I would never think I would do. Riding a bike Richa in busy Delhi, crossing busy multiple-line roads, visiting people crowded areas.
I felt the adrenaline and joy afterwards, thanks to the trust I gave to the riders, the locals, or my fellow colleagues. It was worth it, and I should leave my security comfort-zone more often in future.
Four weeks so well spent, and I am closing it with a quote, that I want to remember in future “We can choose to be affected by the world or we can choose to affect the world” Heidi Wills. … Chalo!
#SAP, #SocialSabbatical, #India, #NewDelhi, #plastiskul, #SAP4Good
