Promoting a motivational workplace culture with non-traditional partners

How many times have we found ourselves working hard to prepare TOR, objectives, and key deliverables, along with the set of procedures to hire an outstanding consultant for a retreat, who ideally will help and motivate staff to do better? At UNICEF Albania, in one of the “Friday Learning Lessons” we were joined by an Albanian iconic actress, Margarita  Xhepa, who at age 90, and with a career of over 70 years, shared her wisdom, gained through personal experiences to UNICEF staff, pro- bono, on how to love what you do and live a fulfilling life.

Introduced by the Representative in Albania, Murat Sahin, the idea of “Friday Learning lessons” aims to care about the staff's wellbeing and bring a sense of growth, which is welcomed by all staff. Almost every Friday, we bring in traditional and non-traditional partners to be inspired, learn from each other, and expose UNICEF and children’s issues to new audiences.

With this in mind, we were honored to welcome the talented Margarita Xhepa. Known for her work and unparalleled performances in close to 40 movies and 150 theatre pieces, she has portrayed numerous characters across many genres and has been ranked among the highest-awarded actresses in Albania. A few days ago, the Albanian Minister of Culture and Innovation, Blendi Gonxhe, celebrated her birthday with an official ceremony. 

“I’m not accustomed to celebrating my birthdays. In my generation, girls’s birthdays were never celebrated. Only boys, husbands, but wives…… rarely,” confessed Margarita.

Despite her age, and her continuous engagement in public life still, she could not refuse UNICEF's invitation for a motivational speech and share her insights on achieving work-life balance with the staff. The event, conceived as a talk show, was expertly moderated by Emira Shkurti, Justice for Children Specialists - a woman of many talents, including a passion for music.

The UNICEF Albania meeting room was packed. Asked about the key to success, the artist emphasized how a sense of purpose gives life greater meaning and fulfillment. By sharing her unique experiences, she told us how to embrace difficulties in life and turn them into opportunities, as the true essentials in life are only two: virtue and wisdom. Living a disciplined life with a sense of purpose and living in alignment with your values and principles is what can make a team look great!

Among many issues raised, for the future of young people and how UNICEF can better respond to their needs, she expressed her concern about the young generation’s attitudes in society and called for a sense of modesty, gratitude, and respect. She pointed out the role of family and parents' responsibility to look after their children and communicate with them. She also called for more extracurricular opportunities for adolescents to help young talents emerge, and be nurtured, and to support an overall more conducive climate for arts, culture, and societal emancipation.

The motivational speech delivered to the staff to strive for excellence without sacrificing their well-being and to remain grounded in their values left a lasting impression on the staff.

Enkelejda Bregu, Social Policy Specialist, recently joined UNICEF, in her reflection note she said: “ I must admit, the meeting with the great actor, Margarita Xhepa was the best for me,  impressive, fun, emotional and filled with reflections for who we are and how we can create footprints to each other's lives and work experiences and how we can impact our children's lives and lives of children in Albania through meaningful work. Very often we get caught easily in the routine, jargon, and cliches. Sometimes, very easily we may find ourselves caught in egoism, lack of trust, and victims of our islands.”

Elvana Pernaska, Human Resources Associate, said: “The ingredients of her conversation were like a rich recipe for me, on how to live a purposeful and successful life. Margarita’s wisdom was so much around Simplicity and Love on how to be thankful in life, show gratitude, work hard and love what you do, be disciplined, be honest, show compassion, love your family, show care for people, show care for elders, educate young generations - teach them the country’s history and culture, expose yourself to art and culture as it makes you a better person…”

Murat Sahin, UNICEF Representative in Albania confesses: “Nowadays many organizations are doing business for children, the challenge is how do we differentiate ourselves among others, that’s why we need to inspire people, we need national heroes like Mrs. Xhepa to challenge us and the society for the greater good for children.  We will continue with “Friday Learnings” sessions and invite nontraditional experts and renowned people from different spheres of life for inspiration and further motivation.