A Dog Called Diversity

Brooke Black is the Director People Culture and Talent, Department of Premier and Cabinet NSW, Australia. She not only lives and breathes flexible work (she job shares in a senior role), she was instrumental in building a flexible work culture over the past 6 years. 

Flexible work has so many benefits including attracting and retaining talent, improving productivity, engagement and driving and improving diversity and inclusion. 

How did she do it? And what are her lessons? Brooke starts by talking about her own need for flexible work and then the things that made a difference in being able to develop this culture. 

This episode is from a recorded a webinar with Brooke which included a live audience asking some great questions. 

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

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I have known Amber Williams for quite some time.  We had our first kids around the same time. Her daughter Addison is now 13 and my son Aiden is 12. Since we both finished working at Coca-Cola Amatil we haven’t really connected but have been watching each others lives and careers through social media and our first babies grow quite big!

I knew that Addison had Autism and she knew that Aiden has Albinisim and is vision impaired. What I didn’t know was how Addison also has:

•  global development delay, 
• a profound intellectual disability, 
• dyspraxia a developmental co-ordination disorder, and
• suffers from seizures in her sleep . 

That's a lot to deal with, but as you will find , Amber wouldn't change Addison, but she would change the world to support and accommodate her.  I hope you enjoy this story of perseverance, heartache and love.

Another great podcast on a family supporting intellectual disabilities is The Story of Michel and Simon on No Filter

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

One of the things I have always been interested in is how people navigate their career, and how they come to work in and with their purpose. My guest this week is Amanda Campbell and she is fully working in her purpose.

Her business is Bend Like Bamboo where she works as a sports kinesiologist and resilience trainer. I don't think this career was ever in her plan. 

And then at 24 she was diagnosed with Multiple Scerlosis (MS) and at 29 was paralysed. A kinesiologist featured strongly in Amanda’s recovery inspiring her to study kinesiology herself to help others with MS . 

Amanda takes a wholistic approach to her life and health and teaches this through her work with individuals and corporates. She works with individuals and businesses to boost resilience with flexibility. She believes that with a flexible mindset we can master change and reimagine what can be possible in our mind, body, and life. 

Overcoming a paralysis at age 29 from MS, she discovered that a flexible mindset impacts everything that matters: our body’s ability to repair, how happy and resilient we are and how connected we feel.

I really enjoyed my conversation with Amanda and I hope you will too. If you would like to get in touch with Amanda here are her contact details:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• [email protected]

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

Christine Khor is a bit of a dynamo. She owns and runs two businesses, Chorus Executive which offers Recruitment, Consulting, Coaching & Branding services and PeeplCoach an on-demand, coaching-led career and leadership development platform all driven around her strong purpose and drive to ensure everyone can have equal access to an experienced coach. She’s also on the Victorian Development Board of The Hunger Project. Whew!

I enjoyed our conversation so much. We talked about the importance of investing in your growth and future, the impact of growing up Chinese Australian, how imposter syndrome doesn’t just affect women, the one thing that women tell themselves that holds us back (its a good one), how there is a place for mentoring and coaching, and how we just need to think bigger.

I was so energised by that conversation and I hope you were too. If you would like to get in contact with Christine and experience her energy and magic, and invest in your development and future, here are the details:

Email: [email protected]
Website: https://get.peeplcoach.com

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

I had a great yarn with Toby Adams and Sharon Grose on this week’s episode. They are the Directors of Leading with Strength, a proud Indigenous organisation that delivers professional learning programs across Australia. They work with in education, government departments, corporate entities and community & not-for-profit organisations.

 I think they stand out because the work they do is not about understanding deficits across different cultures but building and connecting on strengths and the unique offering of Aboriginal and Torres Strait island peoples, to build understanding and inclusion.

We talked about how they choose the work they do, how they educate and build awareness of indigenous peoples, how we can learn from their strengths, the importance of family and understanding our heritage. We ended talking about the anniversary of the Mabo decision and the impact this continues to have in Australia as well as Rio Tinto recently appointing Ben Wyatt, the first Indigenous Australian leader to be appointed to the board of a top ASX listed company. This was  in the wake of destroying Juukan Gorge, a sacred aboriginal heritage site in May 2020. 

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

Sean Grima gets to do exactly what he is good at. He’s a Learning and Development specialist for Gen U an Australian organisation that builds inclusive communities to support and empower people with disabilities, the ageing and those disadvantaged to reach their full potential

Sean was born with Cerebral palsy (CP), a term that refers to a group of disorders affecting a person’s ability to move. It is due to damage to the developing brain either during pregnancy or shortly after birth. Sean was born very premature, weighing only 2 pounds and 3 ounces (just under 1 kg) and spent the first 18 months of his life in a humidicrib.

Sean shared his experience growing up with CP, as well as his experiences as an adult including how many of his life lessons were learnt through sport.  The message that came through clearly to me was about how often simple accommodations and modifications can make a massive difference to someone being about to contribute in their community and at work.

Sean has some great stories that I’m sure will stick with you.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

I recorded and released this episode during Pride Month (June) 2021. Pride month is about LGBTIQ+ communities coming together and celebrating the freedom to be themselves. It seemed fitting that I am able to share the story of Jen, with her work colleague Simon Hauge. 

Jen identifies as being Transgender and Simon as Gay. Both live and work in Singapore where being transgender or gay is something that can be confronting and challenging. 

Singapore is a relatively conservative society where same-sex sexual activity between males is illegal, even if it is consensual and takes place in private. While the law is generally not well enforced there are many challenges in Singapore society for LGBTIQ+ people as you will hear from Jen’s experience.

For much of her life she has lived as her birth gender (male). Only more recently, with the help and support of Simon has she been able to “come out” in the workplace as a woman. This was after years and years of struggling with who she really wanted to be. 

Each person’s transition path is unique and this is just one story that I hope will help others. This is one of my longest podcasts episodes which illustrates the physical and mental health struggles that transgender people go through.

I think it’s fair to say that Jen is not fully free to be herself yet but has started the process through the support of her workplace…..

Towards the end of the episode we talk about the difference between gender, sex and sexuality....which can be confusing concepts. I found this fantastic resource to explain the difference using The Gender Unicorn.

The Culture Ministry exists to create inclusive, accessible environments so that people and businesses can thrive.

Combining a big picture, balanced approach with real-world experience, we help organisations understand their diversity and inclusion shortcomings – and identify practical, measurable actions to move them forward.

Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured on Feedspot's 20 Best Diversity And Inclusion Podcasts

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I met Agi a few years ago in Singapore and feel very lucky to know her. She is an Executive Coach at Westbourne Associates, and is now an author having written a book called Generation Panic. I think people who write books are the cleverest people.

Her book has all the tools and techniques to combat panic attacks and anxiety. She decided to write it after having her own panic attacks in 2014. I don’t think her timing in launching her book, could be  better (we recorded this episode during the first week of what I’m calling lockdown 2.0 in Singapore and the world certainly hasn’t beaten this pandemic yet).  

And what do panic attacks and anxiety have to do with diversity and inclusion you might ask? Well the well-being of people in our organisations and communities has a strong cross over with people feeling included and like they belong,  and that they feel psychologically safe (which is in some ways an absence of anxiety). 

In the first week since launch her book as completely sold out! Pretty cool hey? Once you listen to Agi and I’m sure you will understand why.  You can buy on Amazon or Book Depository and find out more here.

During the conversation Agi talks about Yale professor Dr Laurie Santos’ work and you can listen to her podcast here. I also talk about Dr Adam Fraser’s research and book called Strive. Both fantastic resources. I hope you enjoy this conversation.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

I love learning people’s career stories, particularly those that work in diversity and inclusion. I think because this area is somewhat emerging and there is no clear career path. Although I’m not sure there are too many clear career paths anymore anyway....

From dreaming of being an astronaut to wanting to work in diplomacy, Bianca Stringuini somewhat fell into or maybe was coaxed into working in D&I. She has built her career across some pretty amazing organisations, like American Express, AIG, Visa and now KPMG where she is the Head of People Experience & Engagement in Singapore. 

This is a great listen for people wanting to move into working in D&I. We talk about the challenges of working in this space, what Bianca has seen improve and progress over the years and how well-being (both physical and mental) has been elevated as something that organisations need to take on, in light of the challenges Covid-19 has created. 

I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...

Dorine Kuo advocates for people with invisible disabilities.

So much so she recently organised Future Cities: Ensuring Inclusion for Invisible Disabilities, for the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore.  I was honoured to  facilitate the event and learn from the amazing panel, on how cities can future-proof their ecosystems to ensure the inclusion of invisible disabilities on their planning agenda.

Dorine has a personal reason for her advocacy. Her son Noa has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),  a mental health condition that can cause above-normal levels of hyperactive and impulsive behaviours and trouble with focusing attention on a single task or sitting still for long periods of time. 

We talk about how Noa was diagnosed, the rollercoaster Dorine went on during his diagnosis, the support he needs and the knock on affects and challenges for educating a child with ADHD and just being in the world.

Dorine is so interesting to listen to and I know you will learn so much.

Here are the two books we discussed:

Mrs. Gorski I Think I Have the Wiggle Fidgets

I Can’t Sit Still

Support the show

 The Culture Ministry we specialise in building sustainable businesses through productive and effective work cultures.

We do this through:

🟡 Culture Audits, Surveys, Benchmarking and Data Work

🟡 Crafting Culture Strategy that connects with Organisational Purpose

🟡 Long term leadership programs to advance leadership teams in building sustainable and inclusive cultures. What that leaders say, do, and measure, has a massive impact on your culture and the sustainability of your business.

 🟡 Providing structure and tools for Employee Resource Groups to be successful, and drive better business outcomes.

We love working with organisations who know change is needed.

 Go to https://www.thecultureministry.com/ to learn more

Sign up to our newsletter.

If you enjoyed this episode and maybe learnt something please share with your friends on social media, give a 5 star rating on Apple podcasts and leave a comment. This makes it easier for others to find A Dog Called Diversity.

A Dog Called Diversity is proud to be featured in Feedspo...