{"id":49405,"date":"2022-09-15T17:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T17:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=49405"},"modified":"2022-12-21T13:27:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T02:27:14","slug":"how-i-lead-dr-jane-goodall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/au\/blog\/how-i-lead-dr-jane-goodall\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Lead: Dr. Jane Goodall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The images of Dr. Jane Goodall crouched in the Tanzanian jungle surrounded by chimpanzees are iconic. The impact they had at the time reverberates now as the imperative to live more sustainably becomes more urgent. As a Dreamforce headline speaker, Dr Goodall shares personal thoughts on her upbringing and experiences as a primatologist and anthropologist inspire her efforts in environmental leadership today.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t have a television growing up. I spent my time in the garden. The birds and squirrels and insects were my favourite \u201ctv show\u201d. The jungle and its creatures inhabited my imagination early on \u2014 once I\u2019d saved enough pocket money, I bought Tarzan of the Apes and read it cover to cover, up in my favourite tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My next big money-saving enterprise involved working in a hotel for the boat fare to Africa to visit a friend who\u2019d invited me in 1957. By 1960 I had met the great paleoanthropologist, Dr Louis Leakey, who gave me the opportunity to begin an adventure I\u2019d stay on for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 26 I travelled to the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. I didn\u2019t have a degree or field experience (except for my garden observations) but off I went into the forest to see the chimpanzees. We knew nothing about chimps in the wild at that stage. So, I just did what I did back in the garden back at home and waited quietly for them to trust me. What I saw were creatures like us \u2014 capable of love and compassion, of anger and brutality, of altruism and affection. They kissed and held hands. They competed for dominance in a way that reminds me of male politicians, and, amazingly, they made and used tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I did eventually go to Cambridge to get a PhD (Leakey has said I really should have one) I realised that I\u2019d had no idea of the reductionist attitude of science at the time. I was told I\u2019d done everything wrong. Chimps should be assigned numbers, they said, not names. And don\u2019t talk about their emotions \u2014 they are separate from us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I knew already this was wrong. I\u2019d known it since I was a child from one of my great childhood teachers \u2014 my dog Rusty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, I quietly kept doing what I thought was right. Even if I had gone to college earlier on, I can\u2019t imagine I would have been pushed into believing animals were different to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Me Jane.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A legacy from my mother: the courage of my convictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d been lucky to have a wonderful and supportive mother who\u2019d always taught me to have the courage of my convictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember she would say to me if there\u2019s something you really want to do, you\u2019re going to have to work really hard. Take advantage of every opportunity and if you don\u2019t give up, maybe you\u2019ll find a way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the advance of women into careers has increased hugely since I was a child. But I think that advice still applies. It\u2019s not always easy, but you can\u2019t just stand there and say give me the job because I\u2019m a woman. Prove you\u2019re better than your male counterparts. Work hard. Take opportunities. Don\u2019t give up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often go back to her advice. It has stood me in good stead over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spreading roots and nurturing shoots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By 1991 I was travelling 300-days a year, talking about my work and the problems we were facing. I kept meeting young people who were angry, apathetic, or deeply depressed about the state of the world and its future. Had we stolen their future? I hoped it wasn\u2019t too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the beginning of Roots and Shoots<\/a>. I started with a group of school students who were worried about different things \u2014 poaching in national parks, homeless children, the treatment of animals. Roots and Shoots shows us that each one of us makes an impact every day and we get to choose what that impact will be. It\u2019s about listening to children and empowering them to act and to reach into people\u2019s hearts and inspire them to do the same. The number of adults now involved in Roots and Shoots is testament to the power of those young voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jane Goodall and members of Roots & Shoots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Working locally to a more sustainable global future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To have a meaningful impact, we have to address three key things: our own unsustainable lifestyles including our dependence on factory farming, the alleviation of poverty, and our ever growing population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best ways to do this is to empower people to work in their communities. Perhaps that\u2019s about delivering microfinance opportunities for women to start sustainable businesses or supporting girls in education beyond puberty \u2014 which we know has a measurable impact on family sizes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve also seen how the power of technology can help to make these things happen. Volunteers from over one hundred villages in Tanzania now use smartphones to monitor the health of their rainforest. They know that by protecting their environment, they are protecting their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afterall, we are all part of the natural world \u2014 not separate from it. Remember, we share 98.6% of our DNA with chimps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As consumers, we have the power to choose what we do and don\u2019t buy. We must ask ourselves how a product was created and who or what was hurt in the process. That power can impact the big corporations and force them to make important changes. Collectively, we can put pressure on companies to hold themselves accountable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, I encourage everyone to think less about consuming, and more about what we already have and what we want our future to look like. To me, a successful life is one spent with family and pets, respecting our planet, and smelling the roses at every opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by Jane\u2019s story and know of a young person who is keen to make the world a better place for people, other animals, and the environment? Roots & Shoots Australia is open to young people of all ages to join<\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article was updated in September 2022. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n