Unlocking Opportunities

The Power of Multilingualism in Leadership

When I joined the SAYoF, I reached out to a former parliamentarian in order to understand the challenges they have faced during the time of delegation and know what the recommendations for the two new representatives, one of the things he told me was:

We are pushing in order to have Portuguese as one of the official languages of SAYoF to enable more young leaders to attend the events and communicate with other honorable*.

At first, moment seemed to be fair enough to have Portuguese speakers attending conferences these kinds of events, however, I have realized that even if Portuguese is included as one of the official languages, meaning that they will have translators and other resources some opportunities can be missed by young Mozambican leaders.

Maybe, you may be wondering why I am saying this, and I will explain.

Speak more than one language is not just a skill for your professional life, is also a key to opening the doors for more opportunities in the world.

You will not have a translator in one-on-one conversations, I mean, you could, as nowadays there are more apps to support the communication process, however, as someone in the Human Resources field, I can guarantee that speaking more than one language is a really powerful skill.

I can also add, that, in the process of communication, if you are able to communicate in the native language of your recipient you will be able to share your thoughts and ideas in a most emotional way, as the way we really establish a connection is based on something we have in common with the other person.

A lot of opportunities have crossed my journey, as the simple fact of communicating in English, and I am so glad that I have been so intentional in deciding to learn English.

Let me share a little bit about that, by the way, this picture was taken by me “getting some photography skills” lol :-)

In January 2021 I started a program called CHANGE, powered by Gilr MOVE Academy. While I was developing skills in leadership, I also decided to invest in myself and learn as much as I could, and for that English should be one of the steps.

In January* 2021, I could listen to some music understand a couple of words, and watch movies but I need the legends in Portuguese, as I would be uncomfortable if the legends were in English and would understand nothing if didn’t see the images that may be would be helpful to at least understand what the actors are doing or expressing. On that month*, I have decided, that by the end of December, I will be speaking English no matter what!

I started to listen to music while I was reading the lyrics, and google all the new words in order to understand all the words in the music. I started to watch movies with English legends as this habit would force me to investigate the meaning of all new words, and I have challenged myself to attend events in English, which would put me in a forced situation to communicate with others and be very concise on my sharing ideas in a clear way.

It was a big challenge; I was afraid most of the time and insecure, however, as soon as I learned that you shouldn’t think in Portuguese and translate, made things “easier” as I wasn’t allowed to process information as a translator application 😂😅

In December of 2021, I applied for a conference in the US - HARVARD COLLEGE PROJECT FOR ASIAN & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - HPAIR, and guess what? After the documentation application, I would have to be interviewed.

Lol, who panicked? Me, obviously, as was nervous about the idea of not properly expressing myself and my ideals.

I have trained, and tried to talk as much as I could, and on the interview date: I was nervous, BUT I tried to understand what I was questioned and answer it without the fear of not making myself comprehensively. Was so funny that I apologized to myself a couple of times, if I was messing up, and was so nice to hear the interviewer saying that: I can totally comprehend what you are saying and just keep explaining your thoughts, and if I want to clarify anything I will let you know!

The interviews were done, and guess what, I was selected and went to Harvard University to represent my country and young leaders. It was such a great experience, that just opened more doors in my professional journey. I am writing this text, on the plane to Italy to attend Iccar Youth Boot Camp for Inclusive and Sustainable Cities.

Of course, it’s important to have Portuguese as one of the official languages at SAYoF events, however, I encourage you, young person, and leader, to please, learn more languages, as this will help you to open new doors and create meaningful relationships with the World.

By the way, this text was not translated, it may have some mistakes, however, my goal here is to demonstrate how someone who didn’t have solid English knowledge, especially in writing has developed since January 2021. I know that have a long way however, the development process needs to be a step-by-step process and sure, I am being kind to myself in order to enjoy this process and make it meaningful.