Name: From leader to ally: Supporting the women of Afghanistan
Uploaded: 2023-10-30T15:56:50.384Z
Duration: 557.56

Laura Deitz v3.mp4

Laura Deitz v3.vtt

English

{{00:00:00}}
So I think the thing that I would
say to leaders is all of us have some

{{00:00:04}}
form of combination of privilege,
whether that's our networks, whether

{{00:00:07}}
that's our skills, whether that's
our financial or other resources.

{{00:00:11}}
And I think we can pull those
together and actually make quite an

{{00:00:15}}
outsized and substantial impact in
a number of important global causes.

{{00:00:31}}
My name is Laura Dietz and I'm
co founder and chief executive

{{00:00:34}}
officer of Task Force Nyx.

{{00:00:35}}
Task Force Nyx provides urgent protection
support to at risk Afghan women and

{{00:00:40}}
girls, and we do that in two ways.

{{00:00:42}}
One, through our Emergency Protection
Grants Program, where we provide financial

{{00:00:46}}
assistance to women in time of crisis.

{{00:00:48}}
And secondly, through our Relocation and
Resettlement Program where we provide

{{00:00:52}}
third country referrals to women at most
risk since we were founded in august 2021.

{{00:00:58}}
We've helped over 300 at risk
afghans and their families secure

{{00:01:01}}
a settlement in eight countries and
provided support to over 700 people.

{{00:01:06}}
Can you tell me a little bit about
the key leadership challenges that

{{00:01:09}}
you have faced at the company?

{{00:01:12}}
Given your involvement in a
very high pressured, very highly

{{00:01:15}}
political crisis situation.

{{00:01:17}}
So I think one of the things that's been
really important is,  having a clear

{{00:01:21}}
line of sight and vision on where we want
to go as an organization in the future.

{{00:01:25}}
And just be, being able to be consistently
reassuring not only to our team, but

{{00:01:29}}
also to these women who are enduring
quite profound trauma and stress and

{{00:01:33}}
hardship in a way that's reassuring.

{{00:01:36}}
We obviously, with the work that we do, it
is incredibly high pressure and high risk.

{{00:01:40}}
And you're not able to
solve for all of that.

{{00:01:43}}
But what we can do is provide clear
and consistent and calm information

{{00:01:47}}
and trust people to have the agency to
make the best choices for themselves.

{{00:01:51}}
Have you had to approach this
differently than typical business

{{00:01:53}}
challenges,  especially as a leader?

{{00:01:56}}
Like, has that leadership
skill had to sort of shift?

{{00:02:00}}
Yeah, I think it has because in any
sort of,  personal or professional

{{00:02:04}}
relationship, I often think we moderate
the way in which we communicate

{{00:02:07}}
and interact with people based on
the needs and requirements of the

{{00:02:10}}
listener and the other person.

{{00:02:11}}
And I think this is just that
accelerated to an exponential level.

{{00:02:15}}
Trauma, PTSD can really impact, you
know, a person's functioning and

{{00:02:19}}
the way in which they communicate.

{{00:02:21}}
And so, really being able to
be both compassionate,  and

{{00:02:25}}
unique and personalized in our
approach has made a big impact.

{{00:02:28}}
And how about your leadership style?

{{00:02:29}}
Have you had to adapt at all?

{{00:02:31}}
So, I come from a finance,  background,
so I'm pretty,  direct,  and I

{{00:02:36}}
also am pretty relentless in sort
of the pace at which I operate.

{{00:02:40}}
One of the things that I've learned is
really the value in slowing down and like

{{00:02:44}}
talking to people and getting to know
people and just letting them know that

{{00:02:48}}
not only here is the support that I can
offer you and this is the difference it'll

{{00:02:51}}
make to your life, but actually your story
and what you've been through is really

{{00:02:54}}
important to me on a personal level.

{{00:02:56}}
You know, what's really unique about
Task Force NYX is that many of the

{{00:02:59}}
impacted women are actually helping lead
the strategy and ultimately guiding.

{{00:03:04}}
The organization's priorities.

{{00:03:06}}
I think that's really different.

{{00:03:07}}
So how does the leadership
structure like this work?

{{00:03:12}}
So it's important to note that, you
know, prior to co founding Task Force

{{00:03:15}}
Nyx, I didn't have any expertise
or work experience in Afghanistan.

{{00:03:19}}
So I think it's also recognizing where
you might have shortcomings in your

{{00:03:23}}
understanding or contextual awareness,
and making sure that you surround yourself

{{00:03:27}}
by diverse voices who can really help.

{{00:03:30}}
Guide and shape the organization.

{{00:03:31}}
So most of our work is, is led by
the women themselves, both in terms

{{00:03:35}}
of the programming priorities or
the women they believe are most in

{{00:03:38}}
need of our assistance and support.

{{00:03:40}}
And we specifically have made it
our intention to bring invoices from

{{00:03:44}}
the most marginalized communities.

{{00:03:45}}
So that will be women from
kind of rural provinces and

{{00:03:48}}
also women head of households.

{{00:03:50}}
How that translates into business is know
what you don't know and bring together

{{00:03:54}}
an incredibly diverse team who can really
help you overcome those shortcomings.

{{00:03:58}}
So I guess a lot of these women
are actually kind of working

{{00:04:00}}
from within Afghanistan.

{{00:04:02}}
How dangerous could this be in sort
of leading this kind of coalition

{{00:04:06}}
from the front lines to their safety?

{{00:04:08}}
And how do you deal with that
as a leader in the business?

{{00:04:11}}
So it's exceptionally dangerous.

{{00:04:13}}
Unfortunately what we've seen over
the last two years since the Taliban

{{00:04:17}}
took control of Afghanistan is that
even women peacefully protesting or

{{00:04:20}}
demonstrating for their rights are subject
to beating, arrest, and extreme torture.

{{00:04:25}}
What I will say is that is incredibly
stressful,  because in many moments we

{{00:04:29}}
get messages that  women are at imminent
risk of arrest or in danger,  but over

{{00:04:35}}
time, you kind of develop a bit of
a calm resilience to it and a future

{{00:04:39}}
orienting, and that really comes back to
this idea that,  you know, people have

{{00:04:44}}
agency, even within an incredibly complex
crisis, and sometimes the, our role as

{{00:04:50}}
leaders is to provide that actionable,
clear information and clearly articulate

{{00:04:55}}
the support mechanisms available.

{{00:04:56}}
When it comes to those
high stake decisions.

{{00:05:00}}
How do you balance the need for,
you know, really quick decision

{{00:05:03}}
making while still being considered
of potential consequences?

{{00:05:07}}
So we have a really great local team,
on the ground in Afghanistan who has

{{00:05:11}}
far more expertise in evaluating the
imminence of risk or a security situation

{{00:05:16}}
than, you know, me in London ever could.

{{00:05:18}}
So again, it's this idea that
surrounding yourself with experts

{{00:05:21}}
who can guide you, who have a better
understanding of things than you.

{{00:05:24}}
But I would also say it's my
experience that a crisis is never

{{00:05:27}}
as bad as you predict it to be.

{{00:05:29}}
So there's this concept in,  neuro,
research that we often mispredict

{{00:05:34}}
future outcomes based on fear.

{{00:05:36}}
And so one of the, one of our models
and mantras is always go slow.

{{00:05:40}}
Like taking action does not actually
mean you're moving yourself closer

{{00:05:43}}
to your goal because the wrong action
can actually have a harmful impact.

{{00:05:47}}
Do you have any examples of maybe a
specific crisis situation that your

{{00:05:51}}
organization has successfully navigated?

{{00:05:53}}
And what strategies or approaches did you
use to employ or mitigate those risks?

{{00:05:59}}
So, again, I would actually say that we're
almost always, not as an organization,

{{00:06:03}}
but the women that we support are almost
always in a constant state of crisis.

{{00:06:06}}
And I think the way in which we
navigate very complex situations

{{00:06:12}}
is taking a comprehensive
evaluation of the situation itself.

{{00:06:17}}
We abide by a very strict do no harm
policy, so in this context, you cannot

{{00:06:22}}
remove all risk from any situation,
but there are necessary risks and

{{00:06:27}}
there are unnecessary risks, and
it's really important to be able to

{{00:06:30}}
identify and disaggregate between the
two, and then put in place mitigating

{{00:06:33}}
strategies for the risk that remain.

{{00:06:37}}
What essential skills or qualities
would you say are required for effective

{{00:06:40}}
leadership during times of crisis?

{{00:06:43}}
Calmness.

{{00:06:46}}
Because I think, you know, again, when
your team or those who are depending

{{00:06:51}}
on you for support sense that you, you
are feeling stressed or that you have

{{00:06:55}}
lost control of the situation that can
also lead them to have increased fear.

{{00:06:59}}
And what we see time and time
again, actually, some of the most

{{00:07:01}}
risky situations we've been in.

{{00:07:03}}
It's because people have become
afraid and their actions have

{{00:07:07}}
actually put themselves at a higher
risk than they were previously.

{{00:07:09}}
Like, you know, they think they're
operating from this place of agency.

{{00:07:12}}
They think that they are making
the best possible decision.

{{00:07:16}}
So being calm and being
reassuring is also critical.

{{00:07:19}}
And,  I think having that clarity.

{{00:07:23}}
Of like, this is what needs to happen,
here is how we're going to navigate

{{00:07:26}}
this water together, and I am here with
you, has also been critically important.

{{00:07:30}}
Leading on from the need to be sort
of calm, how can you foster within

{{00:07:35}}
your team that preparedness and
resilience within, I guess, the wider

{{00:07:41}}
team, but also your leadership team?

{{00:07:43}}
I think it is important to recognize
like the work that is happening is

{{00:07:47}}
inherently stressful, and it's not
actually the feelings of stress

{{00:07:51}}
or anxiety that are harmful.

{{00:07:53}}
It's actually then what you do
in response to these feelings.

{{00:07:57}}
So I think we as a team,
we're a very small team.

{{00:08:00}}
We acknowledge what's happening
and that it is quite complicated.

{{00:08:03}}
But each of us have different expertise
that we're able to bring to the table

{{00:08:07}}
that historically has enabled us to
navigate quite difficult situations.

{{00:08:12}}
Which brings me to, in any crisis
situation that you encounter, Jordan,

{{00:08:17}}
You always have relevant past experience,
so whether it's trying to relocate

{{00:08:22}}
people out of Afghanistan and imminent
risk of arrest or whether it's other

{{00:08:25}}
things that you've encountered in your
daily life, there are resources and

{{00:08:29}}
resilience that you've built in other
contexts that can serve you well today.

{{00:08:33}}
What's the one thing that you really
have pulled from what you guys do that

{{00:08:37}}
you think everyone could benefit to
kind of do within the organizations?

{{00:08:42}}
There's always a path forward,
even if you don't see it.

{{00:08:44}}
So I think we've gone through.

{{00:08:47}}
Extremely complex and difficult
relocations where at that time we

{{00:08:52}}
weren't sure what the next best step
would be, but there always is one.

{{00:08:57}}
So I think just having that underlying
confidence and reassurance that no

{{00:09:01}}
matter what challenges you encounter,
you can find a way through them.

{{00:09:05}}
And often it is just a series of
taking the next possible best decision.

So I think the thing that I would
say to leaders is all of us have some

form of combination of privilege,
whether that's our networks, whether

that's our skills, whether that's
our financial or other resources.

And I think we can pull those
together and actually make quite an

outsized and substantial impact in
a number of important global causes.

My name is Laura Dietz and I'm
co founder and chief executive

Task Force Nyx provides urgent protection
support to at risk Afghan women and

One, through our Emergency Protection
Grants Program, where we provide financial

And secondly, through our Relocation and
Resettlement Program where we provide

third country referrals to women at most
risk since we were founded in august 2021.

We've helped over 300 at risk
afghans and their families secure

a settlement in eight countries and
provided support to over 700 people.

Can you tell me a little bit about
the key leadership challenges that

Given your involvement in a
very high pressured, very highly

So I think one of the things that's been
really important is,  having a clear

line of sight and vision on where we want
to go as an organization in the future.

And just be, being able to be consistently
reassuring not only to our team, but

also to these women who are enduring
quite profound trauma and stress and

We obviously, with the work that we do, it
is incredibly high pressure and high risk.

And you're not able to
solve for all of that.

But what we can do is provide clear
and consistent and calm information

and trust people to have the agency to
make the best choices for themselves.

Have you had to approach this
differently than typical business

Like, has that leadership
skill had to sort of shift?

Yeah, I think it has because in any
sort of,  personal or professional

relationship, I often think we moderate
the way in which we communicate

and interact with people based on
the needs and requirements of the

And I think this is just that
accelerated to an exponential level.

Trauma, PTSD can really impact, you
know, a person's functioning and

And so, really being able to
be both compassionate,  and

unique and personalized in our
approach has made a big impact.

So, I come from a finance,  background,
so I'm pretty,  direct,  and I

also am pretty relentless in sort
of the pace at which I operate.

One of the things that I've learned is
really the value in slowing down and like

talking to people and getting to know
people and just letting them know that

not only here is the support that I can
offer you and this is the difference it'll

make to your life, but actually your story
and what you've been through is really

You know, what's really unique about
Task Force NYX is that many of the

impacted women are actually helping lead
the strategy and ultimately guiding.

So how does the leadership
structure like this work?

So it's important to note that, you
know, prior to co founding Task Force

Nyx, I didn't have any expertise
or work experience in Afghanistan.

So I think it's also recognizing where
you might have shortcomings in your

understanding or contextual awareness,
and making sure that you surround yourself

So most of our work is, is led by
the women themselves, both in terms

of the programming priorities or
the women they believe are most in

And we specifically have made it
our intention to bring invoices from

So that will be women from
kind of rural provinces and

How that translates into business is know
what you don't know and bring together

an incredibly diverse team who can really
help you overcome those shortcomings.

So I guess a lot of these women
are actually kind of working

How dangerous could this be in sort
of leading this kind of coalition

And how do you deal with that
as a leader in the business?

Unfortunately what we've seen over
the last two years since the Taliban

took control of Afghanistan is that
even women peacefully protesting or

demonstrating for their rights are subject
to beating, arrest, and extreme torture.

What I will say is that is incredibly
stressful,  because in many moments we

get messages that  women are at imminent
risk of arrest or in danger,  but over

time, you kind of develop a bit of
a calm resilience to it and a future

orienting, and that really comes back to
this idea that,  you know, people have

agency, even within an incredibly complex
crisis, and sometimes the, our role as

leaders is to provide that actionable,
clear information and clearly articulate

When it comes to those
high stake decisions.

How do you balance the need for,
you know, really quick decision

making while still being considered
of potential consequences?

So we have a really great local team,
on the ground in Afghanistan who has

far more expertise in evaluating the
imminence of risk or a security situation

So again, it's this idea that
surrounding yourself with experts

who can guide you, who have a better
understanding of things than you.

But I would also say it's my
experience that a crisis is never

So there's this concept in,  neuro,
research that we often mispredict

And so one of the, one of our models
and mantras is always go slow.

Like taking action does not actually
mean you're moving yourself closer

to your goal because the wrong action
can actually have a harmful impact.

Expert Insight

In time of humanitarian crisis, strong leadership is vital. Laura Deitz knows this firsthand. As Co-Founder of Task Force Nyx, she provided crucial support to endangered Afghan women after the Taliban's takeover.
In this compelling interview, Laura reveals the leadership principles that guided her as she orchestrated the relocation of women in danger, while also taking care of her team - an inspiring case study for any leader facing adversity.

Leadership

Leadership & Teams

Female Leaders

Crisis management

small_1550574015036.jpeg

thumbnail_1550574015036.jpeg

xsmall_1550574015036.jpeg

1550574015036.jpeg

 Laura Deitz

Co-Founder and Chief of Strategy

Deitz highlights the significance of a clear vision in high-risk work when explaining how to navigate high-pressure situations. 

Overcoming leadership challenges in a crisis 

Deitz acknowledges the difference between personal and professional interactions, and how they adapt their communication to suit the listener's needs. 

 Innovative leadership strategies for unique business challenges

Deitz shares the unique way her organisational structure is set up to empower the very people she is helping. 

Empowering impacted women

Deitz highlights the cautious decision-making that is required from a leader in high-stakes situations and offers some strategies to mitigate the risks it brings. 


Quick decision-making 

Deitz shares the attributes she believes leaders should embody to be most effective during high-stress situations, while offering key learnings that any leader can apply within their company.