You are what you believe. At the end of the day, it is the individual that shows up day after day to face challenges and to learn new skills who progresses at work and in live. You can have all the luck in the world but if you don’t believe you can achieve your goals, you won’t. What we believe about ourselves — our limitations and our opportunities, determines how far we go.
As part of my series about “authors who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ildiko Almasi Simsic.
Ildiko Almasi Simsic is a social development specialist, entrepreneur and writer with a mission to reform the sustainability industry. She has worked for the largest international financial institutions globally contributing to thousands of development projects on five continents. She is author of ‘What is a Social Impact?’ and inventor of myESRA, a chatbot (launching 24 April during the annual conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment in Dublin) that is connected to the industry’s largest knowledge base and is trained on E&S specific information.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Sure! I was born and raised in rural Hungary in a small town called Bekescsaba. Growing up in a small Eastern European town after the fall of the Berlin wall was definitely an eye-opening experience where sentiments of the past merged with opportunities of the west. I went to a bilingual high school specialized in economics and I thought I would end up working as a development economist, but life had other plans and I ended up studying sociology.
I remember watching the news in the mid-1990’s where they interviewed people affected by the M5 highway project, highlighting their complaints about lack of transparency and compensation for land acquisition. At this moment, I felt a strong sense to dedicate my life to development work. Less than 8 years later I was working at the bank that funded the project! It was meant to be.
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story about that?
There was not one book that inspired me but a combination of mandatory books and other novels for children and young adults. The heroes of these books always showed courage, perseverance, strength and kindness to overcome obstacles. These books inspired me to operate outside the limitations and restraints of what the world expected of me and to lead with kindness. Speaking up for vulnerable people, raising my voice to combat injustice and working towards my goals were amongst the few things these books inspired me to do. I felt reassured that going through challenging times is a universal experience and there is always a way to get through things.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake I made when I started out as a social development specialist was bringing my academic approach to real life research problems. I spent more time designing the perfect research methods than I did focusing on what I wanted to find out. An example of this relates to a hydro dam in Africa, where we went out with a perfectly designed survey methodology, only to find out that our maps were outdated and there were three more villages affected by the project. I was used to textbook problems, not facing real people and real impacts, and it took me some time to realise this. I learnt to be human, not just a professional delivering a deal. I learnt to listen to people and understand the importance of their perspectives and perceptions of the issues, not just reply on facts and numbers. I recognised that issues that might not seem a big deal for me mattered a great deal to the locals.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
My book ‘What is a Social Impact?’ responds to the increased public interest and awareness of social impacts. I felt that ‘social impact’ has become an overused and little understood term that had lost its meaning. Almost like fairy dust — everything is a social impact but sometimes we can’t measure or demonstrate it. I feel strongly that working in the field of social impact assessment — from the safeguarding and risk-based perspective where the scope and context is clearly defined — provides me with a unique perspective that can support the work of my colleagues who work in other sub-sectors of the sustainability industry. I wanted to provide the narrative and updated definitions so we can differentiate social impacts based on voluntary and non-voluntary standards, compliance vs. extra mile initiatives, asset level and portfolio level impacts, direct and attributable/indirect impacts. I wanted to open the conversation about how to do social impact better in terms of well-defined scope and context. Social impact means very different things for ESG, CSR, impact investing, social impact bonds or general sustainability initiatives. I also wanted to be a part of some greater conversations around policies and legislation, where I felt marginalised because of my niche expertise.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
Probably the fishermen in Uganda. I was performing due diligence for a hydropower project on the resettlement of the villages around the dam. I met the former fishermen who are now running the fish farm that was provided as a livelihood restoration measure by the power company. The men explained how they were trained to select and raise appropriate fish, and how grateful they are to have constant and reliable access to nutrition for their families. They were very proud of the well-maintained fish farm they ran and were happy to show us around. I asked one of them if there was anything we had missed during the planning of the livelihood restoration. He smiled and said that although he counted his blessings, he missed the early mornings out in the boats fishing with his friends as they watched the sunrise. To them fishing together was a way of bonding and maintaining a sense of community. How to quantify that and how to compensate for it? These are the big questions I frequently face at work.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
I had a few very challenging clients who understood the more PR friendly aspects of social impacts such as donating computers to schools and building homeless shelters, but they resisted to invest a 10th of the cost in addressing direct operations related to social risks. I had to argue about technical issues with people who were coming from different parts of the sustainability industry and had a very different idea of what a social impact is. It was eye opening when I realised that we were using the same words and phrases, but we meant very different things. There was a need to update the narrative and shift it from the increased focus on proactive positive impact creation to addressing operational social risks. This is much less marketable and probably that’s the reason why social performance professionals like myself, were often overlooked in broader policy conversations. I felt it was the right time to highlight our immense added value to any company’s social agenda as the pressure on supply chain management, human rights assessments and reporting increased.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
The first person that comes to mind is my manager at my first IFI job. I was an intern in a different department but had my desk near her office. She was a force to be reckoned with and did her work with real passion. Everyone either feared or loved her.
I found out that she was a social development specialist and one of the best in the world, so one day I printed my CV and knocked on her door. I told her I wanted to work with her and that I had a million questions about social performance management. She hired me on the spot, and this is how I became a social development specialist.
We worked together for 3 years. I learnt a lot from her, and she was incredible at letting me try my wings with really challenging projects to see how far I got without help. She mentored me through some pretty tough projects and silly mistakes to empower me as a professional. I remember my dilemma as to whether I should visit a waste dump in Central Asia or go to the Royal Ascot. She told me she couldn’t make decisions for me and that I should follow my heart. So instead of fascinators, I was interviewing people, knee deep in waste.
Her journey inspired me, and I admired her determination to help people. When it was time to part, she told me to get my hands dirty by doing the heavy lifting of consulting. We kept in touch and ended up working together again in Beijing.
She taught me to lead with compassion, be resourceful and unstoppable. Sadly, she passed away last year so I’m only left with the memories now. I am so grateful that I got to work with her and to learn from her!
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Yes, and they are already doing a lot!
The first thing is to raise awareness of social issues and their broad presence in our everyday life. We are doing well in this respect as a community of consumers. Just think of voluntary certifications for ethical productions, fair trade etc. impacting the clothes we wear, the coffee we drink and the chocolate we eat! Studies show that customers care about a brand’s ethical credentials and social impact — however we define that.
Pushing companies towards sustainability from the consumer side is a big step, but this needs to be supported by legal frameworks and implementation guidance. Legislation around modern slavery exists in several countries, corporate responsibility for human rights risks and supply chain management are also requirements now. Where I see the weakness, is providing tailored advice to adopt a rather generic legal requirement to fit the business context across countries, sectors and industries.
The last point is for the companies who are committed to doing good: make sure that the right people are sitting in the right seats when it comes to sustainability. I must admit I am shocked every time I audit reputable, ‘sustainable’ and ‘high social impact’ companies and find out that their ESG team is actually a group of bankers or engineers. The world is full of human rights, social development, labour and gender experts who would be valuable additions to corporate teams.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership, to me, is a skill that can be learnt. A leader is someone who has the ability to guide, inspire and influence others towards a common goal or vision. It is complex combination of traits, behaviours and skills that empower individuals to effectively lead and manage teams and organisations. Perhaps, the most important of these traits to me, is having a clear vision of where I want to take my team, having integrity (honesty, transparency and ethics), empathy and adaptability. I like to build on these traits and skills to develop systems, habits and routines to ensure progress towards the goals. The way I try to embody leadership in my life is taking responsibility, sticking to the plans even on the bad days and focusing on the process not the outcome. I preserve my integrity by aligning my actions with my values and principles, even if that leads to conflicts or missed opportunities.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
- International development, social impacts, sustainability and ESG are vastly different things. I started working when ESG was emerging, and I thought they were the same things — how wrong was I?!
- Do the hard work in your 20s! Travelling to far away countries and being uncomfortable are much easier when you are younger. You can sit in the office later.
- Emotional intelligence will get you very far — in the office and in life too.
- You can be professional and stay human! I often meet people in challenging situations, and it is hard not to feel sympathy. It is okay to use those difficult feelings to fuel your drive to make a difference.
- You are what you believe. At the end of the day, it is the individual that shows up day after day to face challenges and to learn new skills who progresses at work and in live. You can have all the luck in the world but if you don’t believe you can achieve your goals, you won’t. What we believe about ourselves — our limitations and our opportunities, determines how far we go.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
‘Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood’ by Marie Curie. It speaks to me about having the courage to apply curiosity and to not fear challenges. Fear can be paralyzing, and I like to choose to take action. The prospect of changing jobs, moving countries, following your dreams can be scary, but I choose to focus on my desired outcomes and understand feelings and processes while moving forward.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Wow — hard to pick just one.
I would love to meet Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen and author of ‘The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World.’ I remember reading her book during my research on impact investing. I could relate to her story of wanting to make a difference and hitting walls. I have experienced this many times in my career. I would love to ask her about new directions in impact investing, how the impact measurement methodology is evolving and to see if we could collaborate!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I have a linktree: www.linktr.ee/ialmasisimsic with links to my consulting, book and technology startup websites and all my social accounts.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Author Ildiko Almasi Simsic Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.