“I think, looking back, the main lessons are that transformational changes take time. ... It cannot be done in one year, two years, or three years, because transformational changes require behavioral change.” – Susan Shen
In her interview, Shen describes the path that led her to the Bank Group and the insights and lessons learned she gained from her experiences. In the early 90s, though discouraged by peers, Susan relocated to the World Bank’s China office. This led to many experiences and navigating intercultural nuances. During this conversation, Susan describes her debates with the clients about environmental development, specifically a deforestation project in the 1990s.
"Get people to be on the same page and really work in a team - value added of people from DC – that bring knowledge from outside China, they appreciate that." – Susan Shen
Susan reflects on the difference between projects and programs. In her experience, programs can bring so much more for the client than projects since the client can implement their own policies and procedures into a program. Despite that, she acknowledges changing from a project to a program mindset may take time. All of this knowledge, innovative ideas, and first-hand experience is thanks to her years of work and travels. The accumulated experience informs her advice to listeners – to grow and become better, you have to be open to new experiences and keep learning.
"Advice to travelling Bank Staff: ‘Go down, get out of this hotel... go down the street and have a soup with people, and …ask them how their daily life is.” – Susan Shen
Want to learn more? Listen to the podcast or read the transcript!
Interested in sharing your experiences?
Retiring and Former Bank staff can participate in the Development Reflections series in a variety of ways. Please contact us at wbglibrary@worldbank.org.
