To this Philly nonprofit leader, success means ‘no longer being needed’

For nonprofit execs, it can be hard enough to reach the community you’re trying to serve when it’s geographically near. Now, imagine how hard it would be if that community were almost 8,000 miles away.

Temwa Wright is the executive director of Pamoza International, a locally incorporated nonprofit that brings health and social services to Malawi, where Wright was born; Pamoza means “together” in Tumbuka, an African language.

Wright calls herself a “Jane of All Trades”: The mother of three is in charge of all of Pamoza’s U.S.-based work, which includes fundraising and engaging local partners to support the Malawi-based staff. Here are her Work Hacks.

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What’s the first thing you do every day before doing any job-related work?

I start every day with prayer and Bible study. As a Christian, having a good relationship with God is very important to me. I am a workaholic and a morning person so I wake up with a lot of energy and always want to get straight to work, but I have found that focusing on God first keeps me grounded, helps me channel my energy and also keeps my priorities straight. My top 3 priorities in life are God, family, and work — in that order — so that’s how I order my day.

Where do you work? Coffee shops, home office, company office? What’s it like?

Anywhere I want. That’s the best part about my job. Pamoza doesn’t have an office in the states since our programming is in Malawi, Africa, and most of our staff is there. Sometimes I work at home, sometimes in cafés and sometimes outside. My favorite place to work is at a park (assuming I have a full battery on my laptop) because I love sitting in the sun. I also enjoy working at local libraries, being surrounded by books.

What’s your KPI for every day? How do you know it’s been a productive day?

My main KPI is to connect with at least one other person around my work. Pamoza means “together” and our approach as an organization is to work collaboratively with the people we serve to help them improve their quality of life. I apply the Pamoza approach to everything I do. There is an African proverb we often use in my organization. It goes,”If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I prefer to go fast because it’s easier for me, but I need to go far because it’s more sustainable. Together, we can accomplish so much more. So each day, I force myself to ask, “Who have I collaborated with today?”

What motivates you about your work?

I absolutely love what I do. I wake up every day excited about my work because it is my life calling. I don’t do it for money or accolades, I do it because it is my God-given purpose. The work I do is transformative; it’s meaningful; it’s challenging. And each time I travel to Malawi, which is approximately once a year, I get to see the impact of our programs. I hear powerful stories from those we serve and it rejuvenates me to continue doing the work. Thousands of people have access to health care, education, safe water, food, sources of income, and a connection to God and to each other because of the work we have done together with them. It’s simply amazing.

Temwa Wright at Panera, where Pamoza sometimes hosts events. (Courtesy photo)

When life gets busy, how do you make sure you make time for your personal priorities?

As a mom of three children (ages 16, 10 and 8), there are always other demands on my time. However, I really challenge myself to keep my priorities straight. God first, then family, then work. The best way to do that is to learn to say “no” and often the hardest person to say no to is oneself. I’ve learned to let certain opportunities pass. I don’t need to do it all, but I do need to do my best with what I do say yes to.

What tool or practice do you wish existed to help you get it all done?

I do wish, in the United States, we weren’t prisoners of time. Sometimes things are so fast-paced here and we are so connected through technology and social media that you are often rushed to respond instead of giving yourself time to think. We have a very rushed and reactionary culture. When I am in Malawi, things are much, much slower and there is a lot more time spent in community. So if I had a practice I could implement, it would be technology-free days so people would be forced to interact and communicate with each other using traditional means.

What’s your preferred workday soundtrack?

I seriously listen to everything — country music, gospel, rock, indie, Celtic, you name it. I love music. Any song can be part of my workday soundtrack as long as it has a positive message.

What does success look like to you?

I had a former supervisor who used to say that success was no longer being needed. That is such a true statement especially in my current line of work. If you are always needed, it means you haven’t really transformed things because people are dependent on you to sustain whatever change has been implemented. But when you are no longer needed, it means either 1.) the problem has been resolved or eradicated or 2.) the people have the capacity to meet their own needs. That’s the kind of success I look for as executive director.