My Morning Routine looks each week at how a successful member of the community starts their day. Extracts from our conversation this week with Glenn Miles, Australian Ambassador in Cairo. This is his second tour in our fair city.

My name is Glenn Miles and I’m the newly-appointed Australian ambassador in Cairo. I’m married to Katherine, and we’ve just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. We have three kids: two boys and a girl: 25, 22, and 18. And Oscar, the dog, as well.

I usually wake up at 5:45 am and the first thing I do is reach for my phone and check email. The time difference means that it’s 3 pm in Australia, so I spend about 10-15 minutes dealing with any urgent messages. My plan to exercise at 6:10 is usually thwarted by procrastination, but by 6:30, guilt overwhelms me and I go for a run or a workout with a history podcast or music in the background. Breakfast is cereal or some toast with Vegemite, a piece of fruit, and a couple cups of coffee while I’m reading Enterprise and the Australian newspapers to catch up on politics and sports.

Once I get in to work, I go through emails and cables from Canberra and speak to my Egyptian and Australian staff to work out the day’s priorities. My staff are a great source of information, helping explain the country and guide us through what we should and shouldn’t be doing. My days can be quite varied. There could be meetings with diplomatic counterparts, ministers or Egyptian authorities, NGOs, and the media.

Often my day will involve visits to projects we support around Cairo and Egypt through our Direct Aid Program (DAP) — a small, community-style grants program. Unlike other programs where we never see the people impacted by those programs, DAP lets us get out and see its impact. Our projects could be supporting a school renovate its classrooms, or providing medical equipment to a center focused on serving the poor. We also focus on women and children. Visiting these projects is a chance to see the people affected, which gives you a real sense of the country and our ability to improve our impact.

What’s the best thing I’ve watched or read lately? My wife watches Netflix, but I’m not the best Netflix watcher — I normally fall asleep halfway through. Right now, I’m reading “Cairo, The City Victorious” by Max Rodenbeck.

How did I get into the diplomatic circle? I had a different entry than most. I was interested in international relations but after graduating, I wound up working with Centerlink as a trainer, teaching our staff how to work with people with disabilities. Then one day I thought I wanted something different. An opportunity came up with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, so I applied and — to my surprise — I was successful. My first posting was to Cairo in 1995-96.

It’s good coming back after all these years. I don’t think Egyptians believe me, but it seems there’s less traffic this time, at least in Zamalek. I think the infrastructure has improved since then. It also seems to be less polluted. During my last posting, the cars were older and they were using leaded petrol, whereas now the cars are unleaded and a lot newer. And the vibe of the place is quite good. There’s a growing artistic scene. I see a lot more art when I walk around; it’s a bit more hipster. I’m very much enjoying being back. The kids aren’t with me this time, but they’re looking forward to coming to visit.

One of the more challenging aspects of my job is understanding the history and the connections of the country you’re in. It doesn’t matter which country you’re in; they’re all complicated. I’ve served in Egypt, which has a population of 100 mn, and Tuvalu, the third smallest country in the world. Every country has its own complicated political dynamics. Understanding what’s going on and making sure you get out and talk to people are key things for a diplomat. It’s easy to stay in and around the embassy, but you have to get out to get a real feel of the country. Too often we’re constrained in the capital city, but that’s not the whole country.

A big misconception of our work is that Australians often think the embassy can do more than we actually can. For example, one of the hardest things to handle is explaining to Australians who come into the embassy seeking help that we can’t exercise Australian law here or ignore Egypt’s sovereignty. Another tricky thing is that you’re working across a range of sectors. In the morning you could be addressing a trade issue, a fallout with consular, and a management issue, then a visit to an aid project, and then a cultural event, all the while trying to sound authoritative.

I rely on my staff a lot to stay organized. As an ambassador, you have to delegate and give people responsibility. We try to give staff the tools and support they need so that they’re fully empowered to make a decision.

There’s no single issue driving Canberra’s relationship with Egypt at the moment. A healthy bilateral relationship cuts across a range of sectors. We have a longstanding trade relationship with Egypt, which we’re looking to build up. And we have to cooperate on a range of security issues as well. The world is much smaller now. Countries no longer have security issues in isolation, which we saw with the unfortunate events in Christchurch.

We’re fortunate to have around 100k Australians of Egyptian descent because the strongest bilateral relationships have solid people-to-people links. We work on trade and cultural diplomacy, but the job is really about bringing people together. The embassy’s role is to raise awareness of what Australia has to offer in Egypt and what Egypt has to offer in Australia, and bringing people together is the best way to achieve this.

What do I do in my time off? I don’t get much at the moment. I’ve been taking visitors around in the last few weeks. I’m taking up kitesurfing and I have lessons lined up in Ain Sokhna during the Easter and Eid holidays. I also did the Pyramids half marathon, and on the weekends I try and do a run around Zamalek, occasionally venturing into Downtown if I’m early enough.

The best advice I’ve received was from my father when I was young. I was playing a football match and he said, “Don’t be a spectator, make sure you go in and get the ball.” The “don’t be a spectator” line is something I’ve tried to live by, making sure I become involved and enjoy the moment. I also encourage others to be involved in whatever they’re doing, whether it is work, the arts, or sport.