Starting a new job is often a whirlwind of emotions – exciting yet challenging – no matter how many times you’ve experienced it. As I reflect on my first six months as Country Director at WaterAid Nepal, I feel a deep sense of gratitude. I am struck by how much I have learned about WaterAid’s strategic vision, innovative approaches and transformative work, particularly in managing a diverse team of experts and partners across Nepal. As someone who values learning, I kept a monthly journal to track my key engagements and use the learning to navigate uncertainty. Here are the key leadership lessons I’ve gathered during this time.
As the Country Director at WaterAid, I am not only focused on empowering WaterAiders, but also looking at various ways to expand our work with local partners, strategic members and beneficiaries. There are a lot of change management aspects to look into that takes time to get used to the new environment and learn how everyone works and connects together. I am particularly convinced that we cannot get it all done without valuing genuine passion, empathy, inclusivity and most importantly embracing our own emotional agility.
Embracing Vulnerability Accelerates Learning
Joining a new organisation as a leader can be daunting. The first weeks or months are filled with the pressure of managing expectations from teams, partners, government officials and central offices. It can be overwhelming if you focus too much on making a perfect first impression. I decided early on to remain curious, open to learning about WaterAid’s culture, and to listen carefully to the team and partners to fully understand our mission, vision and best practices. This approach helped me gracefully learn about people, processes and the overall environment.
As the Country Director, my role goes beyond empowering the team. I’m also focused on expanding our work with local partners and beneficiaries while navigating various aspects of change management. I have realised that genuine passion, empathy, inclusivity and emotional agility are crucial for success in this journey.
Approachability Leads to Better Solutions
I joined WaterAid at an opportune moment – just as the team was preparing for a wellness retreat in Pokhara. This gave me the chance to meet many colleagues in a relaxed and open environment. It allowed me to express myself in creative and approachable ways, which helped me adapt to WaterAid’s culture quickly.
In several challenging situations – whether addressing internal issues, navigating complex safeguarding compliance, or meeting tight proposal or reporting deadlines – our team consistently found better solutions together. These solutions often emerged from collaborative discussions where approachability and openness played key roles.
Collaboration is Essential for Effective WASH System Strengthening
WaterAid’s core mission includes strengthening Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) systems at various levels. Over the past months, I’ve come to understand that while many organisations aim to strengthen WASH systems, interpretations of this goal can vary widely. In practice, system strengthening evolves over time and depends on context. WaterAid has successfully navigated this journey, especially after launching our new global and country strategy in 2023.
One critical lesson is the importance of building purposeful partnerships with various stakeholders, including the private sector, academia and media. This collaboration is essential for supporting government efforts at all levels. As a leader, I’m convinced that multisectoral collaboration is key to amplifying our impact. In a country like Nepal, which still lags in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to WASH, WaterAid must continue generating strong evidence and sharing it with sector actors. Together with our partners, we can lead the system-strengthening agenda and achieve long-lasting impact.
Adapting to Localisation Challenges: A New Leadership Priority
In today’s rapidly changing funding landscape, the movement towards localised funding means that international organisations like WaterAid must prepare for significant shifts. During the Country Directors’ retreat in Kenya, hosted by our International Programmes Department in June, we focused on promoting localisation and decolonising aid. These discussions energised me and opened deeper conversations with other leaders.
While WaterAid has made progress – such as empowering country programmes to make key decisions – we must strategically shift to fully embrace localisation. By doing so, we can empower local communities and actors to uphold their rights to safe water and sanitation in Nepal. Intentional discussions about localisation will enable us to navigate future challenges and realign our values, practices and goals.
Building Climate-Resilient Systems is Critical
As the world faces increasing climate-induced disasters, organisations must rethink their strategies to deliver climate-resilient, inclusive and sustainable access to clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene. Nepal’s geography makes it particularly vulnerable to disasters and the recent flash floods that claimed over 200 lives highlight the need for resilient solutions.
We need to ensure that communities can maintain access to essential WASH services even during crises. Too often, we make commitments without fully considering the necessary strategies for inclusive and resilient systems. As nonprofit leaders, we must take deliberate and serious action to address this gap.
Courage to Push Boundaries
Meeting passionate WaterAid staff and implementing partners has been one of the highlights of my time here. Their commitment to delivering inclusive WASH services to hard-to-reach communities is inspiring. However, I have also recognised the need for collective courage to push boundaries and explore innovative solutions beyond what we are currently doing. This will position the WASH sector to achieve greater success and elevate WASH as a critical political agenda.
Looking Ahead
As I reflect on my first six months at WaterAid Nepal, I’m excited for the journey ahead. I look forward to continuing to learn, grow and challenge the status quo. Together, we can navigate the ever-evolving development landscape and address the challenges of delivering inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene services for all.
I’ll end with one of my favourite quotes on water by Lao Tzu: “Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.” I hope you can draw inspiration from these lessons and apply them to your own experiences and reflections in whatever role you undertake.
(Neupane is Country Director, WaterAid Nepal. He can be reached at sudarshanneupane@wateraid.org)
