Leadership Series 01 - Srilatha Batliwala

Good Will Hunters

I’d like to acknowledge the the traditional custodians of the land on which I create Good Will Hunters, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. I honour their leadership, stewardship and custodianships, and I pay my respects to their elders, past present and emerging. I’m really excited to be sharing new episodes with you, after a long break for Good Will Hunters. After four years of podcasting and over 140 episodes, I thought it was time to take stock. When I started GWH it was the first podcast airly weekly content dedicated to international development in Australia. And since then, many other incredible podcasts have come online, exploring all facets of the development sector. I’ve linked to some of y favourites in the show notes. When I considered what’s missing, though, I think it’s deep conversations on what leadership and governance means for international development, right now. As I continue in my own executive journey, I’m increasingly asking myself what does it mean for me to be a leader? In this series I’ll be asking a range of leaders the same question - what does their leadership mean. What formative experiences shaped their leadership style. And what advice do they have for you and I. Today’s guest is the formidable Srilatha Batliwala. Srilatha is a feminist activist, researcher and scholar. For a fun fact, we studied at the same college in India, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Srilatha has spent the past 45 years working on grassroots movement building in India. She has vast board and leadership experience which you’ll hear about during our conversation. Srilatha and I talk about how she became a vocal advocate for feminist leadership principles, and she shares her very special and personal leadership mantra. We discuss personal transformation and spiritual shifts, and how by looking inward, we become better leaders. And we discuss decolonisation and how international organisations can turn the mirror on themselves and view themselves as sites of change. With our further ado, here is Srilatha Batliwala.