As a young boy growing up in a small country town called Echuca in Victoria during the 1970’s had some incredibly positive aspects. We enjoyed a “real” sense of freedom and opportunity. I was one of three children, two boys and one girl. Us boys were “expected” to work hard and go to university. My sister was “supported” to leave school as early as possible and get a job at a local café. Over the years, she and I have had numerous conversations about how significant role “expectations” play in determining our journey through life and our ability to fully express ourselves and reach our full potential.
I spent the first decade of my professional career providing counselling and therapy services to a wide range of people. I ran family therapy projects in London for several years. I witnessed firsthand the terrible impacts of systemic gender inequity and discrimination of many types.
Since returning to Australia in 2001, I have dedicated my life to providing coaching support to leaders of teams and organisations to create positive organisational culture. At the heart of this work is an unwavering commitment to create workplaces that are psychologically safe, which when present, provides the foundation for gender equity.
Whilst my eyes have been opened to systemic inequity as a result of my life experiences, including being the father of 2 daughters and 2 sons, I am fully cognisant of the enormous task ahead and its importance. This is why I’ve joined CGE and why I co-founded datadrivesinsight.com
Datadrivesinsight’s core purpose is to provide empirical measurement tools that generate insights needed to create psychologically safe, inclusive workplaces. I’m passionate about transforming diversity into lived inclusivity.
Over the past few years, I’ve attended various conferences, professional networking events and summits and heard numerous leaders sprouting good news stories about how their organisations have achieved “double the industry average of attracting women into their workforces”. Unfortunately, when asked how they measure the level of psychological safety and inclusivity within the workforce, they look at me blank. A little further digging usually reveals indications of low psych safety.
Extensive research by the likes of Dr Amy Edmondson, and many others including Datadrivesinsight.com, has proven that organisations that create a psychologically safe workplace are highly regarded; they attract better and diverse talent, they narrow the gender pay gap, and their customers feel a vicarious sense of satisfaction that they’re “doing business” with an organisation that cares about their people. Such organisations have superior performance across the board.
Our mission is to build a world of thriving organisations for us all.