An Old Friend Returns to A4A, Part 2: Myths about “The Field”

Nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit

("No mortal is wise at all times." - Pliny)  

The Field: it is a place of wonder and worry alike for many people, excitement and anxiety for everyone, and quite frankly can also be something that is completely silly and made-up. 

One of the misconceptions that I (and many other peers, mind you) had about The Field when I wanted to go into development, nonprofit, and NGO work was that I would be jumping into that fantastic Neverland known as The Field and that my life, my conduct, and sense of self would change once I was in The Field. 

Let's give some definitions on what The Field is (and what it isn't): it refers to being part of an industry/niche, a geophysical space outside of the office, and our main focus, the Daydream About Made-up Nonsense.

1) Industry/Niche

This is a very simple and basic definition, one that is widely understood outside of nonprofit and development work, which usually comes up amongst people in social events when they try to figure out what your career and specialization are focused on. 

"What field are you in? Are you in the field?" is a question asked when someone observes based on the impression you give if you also work in a particular industry, which in this case, is nonprofits or NGOs, but not exclusive to them. 

"What's your field?" usually comes from people wanting to know if you are involved in particular niches such as communications, grant writing, accounting, program design, monitoring and evaluation, sustainability, and so on. 

2) Geophysical Space Outside the Office

This definition refers to physically traveling to a location, often used in development work where people will go to communities or projects for their monitoring, evaluation, community engagement, and doesn't limit itself to specialists as it can include volunteers. Think of Habitat for Humanity where volunteers go to build homes, or someone with a specific advisory role will travel to a project to oversee both the constituents and fellow colleagues. 

"Peter's out in the field, he'll be back this afternoon" is what you might hear from people involved in long-term projects going into The Field regularly to check up and address any issues that come up. 

"Mike's out for a couple weeks in the field" is what you'd hear when someone has to go somewhere that may be hard to access, especially those doing development work, which means not just a flight to some country, but a long car ride and possibly boat trip to a remote community. Think of places hit by natural disasters, underdeveloped villages, and conflict areas: it could be the Maldives after the tsunami of 2004, villages without electricity or clean water in East Timor, and even Louisiana after Hurricane Ida. 

3) Daydream About Made-up Nonsense

This definition is our focus for today, and refers to people who fantasize about what life is like working in an NGO or going out into a remote area to do some life-changing work that will forever change their Facebook profile picture and be the source of endless stories to friends "back home" to impress them and validate their own existence on earth. 

The nebulous fantasies about the field create a serious problem of managing expectations and can lead to a far greater problem of treating constituents as "Others". To be an Other is essentially to be seen as helpless and broken and in need of a savior--which, whether it is from different cultural groups or people in the same city from at-risk communities, is not only condescending and insulting, but has elements of colonialism. 

Let's disabuse everyone of that notion: this definition of The Field doesn't exist. Your life will not magically change or improve when you are working in The Field, nor will traveling to The Field be like a safari or journey of self-discovery. What will happen is that you will conduct yourself as a professional, but will have to manage your conduct appropriately based on norms and values that differ.

A highly recommended book going into this is Hofstede and Hofstede's Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind which discusses different organizational and professional environments across cultures of all continents. One such example is time, where coming on time is expected in some cultures, while another culture where being on time is considered "late" and you are to come a half hour early. There are also elements of professional perceptions of a manager, where for example, in Germany, a manager is on the same level as an employee, but merely wears a different hat, but in some Asian cultures like in China, someone who is manager would typically be seen as an authority and everyone else is a subordinate. 

By following the fantasy of this definition of The Field, you set yourself up to not treat your colleagues or constituents as professionals. Instead, you either treat them as accessories to your fantasy, and can compromise your ability to learn, adapt, and grow together; or, you treat them as aliens and don't give them the respect they are due for being your anchor and your lighthouse when finding your way around the different environment. 

Waking Up Sensibilities and Simplicity

Perhaps the biggest revelation here is that instead of imagining The Field as some far-off place that is equal parts frightening and fun because it's different, remember that every day you are in this Field. 

Instead of thinking you'll be your best self when you "get into the field" (niche or industry), be your best self now. 

Instead of imagining how you must act in a new environment, remember that your present environment changes all the time due to the fact that we are recognizing more complexities in individuals, from their religion to their sexual orientation and gender identity, to even their mental wellness: you will need to meet them where they are at because even in a monocultural environment, you will find surprising amounts of diversity from an individual, since we are all living our own story in our heads and can't expect anyone else to have understand its meaning, let alone have read it, without meeting and engaging. 

By making that imaginary Field of Somewhere Else where you fantasize about who you will be and how you will act when you get there, start all of that wonderful transformation in the Here and Now. 

Get out of your head and into the world before you, and find out there's more wonder just getting to understand someone who could be sitting right across from you in your office. 

We'll go into detail about how to deal with people around you in the next installment.