By Tiziana Conti, Administration and Fundraising Coordinator, WACC-UK

The Board of Directors of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), meeting in Toronto, is undertaking leadership training designed to increase their governance skills and knowledge.

Conducted by Joette Thomas, trainer and consultant from the Craighead Institute, Glasgow, Scotland, the training combines opportunities for reflection, discussion and sharing of ideas. Specific topics covered include accountability, finance, strategy, management and governance, and how to develop regional leadership.

The general feeling about the benefits of such training is very positive, as expressed in the following interviews with some of the directors and the trainer.

Dr. Dennis Smith, WACC President

Dr. Dennis Smith, WACC President

“What we are hoping to achieve with the leadership training is first of all to increase a sense of co-responsibility for WACC as a global body, between the global board and the regions. On the one hand, we are trying to increase the clarity of the mandate and process of governance and sense of ownership of WACC as a global association, both at the global and regional levels.

What we have been able to do so far is respond to that challenge at the level of the global board. The next step is to make sure that the skills that we were able to strengthen here will be taken to the regions, within the particular cultural and historical context of each region, so that the regional leadership catches the same vision and energy. A follow up programme to reproduce a similar process in the appropriate regional cultural context will be rolled out at the end of the meeting.”

Margrit Saroufin, President, WACC Middle East

Margrit Saroufin, President, WACC Middle East

“The leadership training helps us organize our thinking by bringing clarity to our roles and responsibilities as board members. It emphasizes the importance of accountability, of being together and cooperating. I like the methodology of the training because, instead of being a lecture, we are constantly asked questions and this is improving our critical thinking. It is a challenging process, because it pushes people to seek answers. The good idea in this leadership training is to lead us to listen to other perspectives. There are countries I don’t know much about. Now, by receiving feedback from several countries with regard to the leadership, I discover that my concerns are the concerns of others as well.

Concepts that are usually taken for granted are actually interpreted in different ways depending on the regional and cultural background. The leadership training brings us clarity on these concepts. I now need to link with the members of my regions in the same way, by discussing themes, definitions and strategies. The roles at the regional level should be further reinforced by providing information and directions about WACC’s current issues through on-line discussions and regional letters.”

Jan Butter, Director from England and Wales

Jan Butter (Right) -  Director from England and Wales with Rev. Akuila  Yabaki, President WACC Pacific

“It is very important for the Directors to understand their responsibilities as board members, and the leadership training is doing just that. The training helps us to ask the questions that we think need to be asked, so that the final decisions are right and transparent. By bringing back the lessons learned in terms of leadership, Directors will help the regions become stronger, improve leadership and do more. The relationship between WACCGlobal and the regions should be all about open communication, information transfer and support. If the information is flowing between the two and there is an opportunity for dialogue, both will be strengthened and the whole organization too.”

Cándida González-López,  President WACC Caribbean

Cándida González-López (Right), President WACC Caribbean  with Dr. Stephen Brown, Vice President, WACC Europe

“The leadership training is providing us with tools to be more efficient, effective and professional in our work. The Caribbean Region is extremely fragile. Not in terms of leadership, because we do have professional and experienced leaders. But is a difficult region to work with in terms of language barriers, politics and financial constraints. Therefore it is not easy to develop a work plan.

In order to implement leadership according to the training, there are a number of issues to be solved. Financial resources would help us to be more effective. The challenge is that in order to develop a regional programme, a lot of discipline, time and energy are needed, and so far it has not been possible to develop a regional plan. I am a little concerned about how, at this precise moment, we can respond to the expectations.”

José Luís Aguirre, President, WACC Latin America

José Luís Aguirre, President, WACC Latin America

“I am very comfortable with the training because it helps us to assimilate certain aspects of WACC that we were not aware of by just being members. Now we have to be responsible for our regions and, therefore, we need to be clearly informed on several dimensions of WACC’s work, such as finance, norms and requirements. I will now take into consideration the ideas we are sharing during the training to better represent the region. I really like the participatory style of the training. Everyone has a chance to interact with each other. I hope that the global office will also allow us to grow on our own and in a local way, autonomously.

Taking into account diversity within the practice of communication will allow us to promote and recover local traditional practices of communication. In Latin America and the Caribbean, we have several styles of thinking communication, and we cannot dismiss that. That agenda may not fit with the global perception of communication, but to us this is the main task, because we have to understand each other in spite of our cultural differences. If we don’t share a common understanding, we won’t be able to communicate. That was the essence of the training.”

Joette Thomas, Trainer and Consultant

Joette Thomas, conducting the Leadership training

“I hope that when the directors go back to the regions, they will have a much stronger sense of their role as part of the global board, and particularly use the strategic plan that has been agreed to animate the regions and help them understand the resources that are available in the secretariat for them to use.

I hope there will be a stronger sense of connection between the regions and WACC global. By giving the directors very clear information about their role, they are more able to take up that role, questioning and debating things. I am very struck by how, in just a few days, I am hearing the voices of different people than I heard at the beginning. People are feeling more confident to engage. It is a board of very strong people with great skills, insight and commitment to WACC.”

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