For Richard Simpson, leadership starts with listening

From taking cover in bomb shelters in Ukraine, to herding donkeys in Afghanistan, to drinking kava in Fiji, Richard Simpson has many rich insights from 25 years as a humanitarian leader, innovator and educator. 

After a serendipitous meeting with a United Nations official in Turkey in the 90s, followed by a degree in anthropology and Latin American studies, Richard found a path into the humanitarian sector via a role in Timor Leste. 

Since then, Richard has accrued more than two decades of humanitarian experience working in 25 countries around the world. Richard’s experience spans international NGOs and United Nations agencies. In 2022, he was in Ukraine as the country director for CARE and he recently returned from Palestine where he supported Oxfam with their response to the crisis in Gaza. 

In this episode, Richard talks with Sally about the importance of listening—to communities, colleagues and oneself. He explains the benefit of making measured—but swift—decisions at the onset of a disaster. And he ruminates on the challenges of working in an active conflict zone, and how important supportive families are for humanitarian workers. 

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You can read the transcript here.

Host: Sally Cunningham      

Guest: Richard Simpson 

Producer, engineer and composer: Jill Farrar