Category: New In Leadership

Who says nice guys always finish last? As the reach of ethical investing grows, figures from the 2015 Responsible Investment Australia Benchmark Report reveal that core responsible investment funds surged 24 per cent in 2014 to $31.6 billion. A broader definition in the report, factoring in managers who integrate ESG principles (environmental, social, governance) into their […]

The fallout from corporate ethical breaches can be distressing. Just ask Ian Shepherd, chief executive of international engineering/architecture/construction company GHD. In 2013, despite an otherwise exemplary 90-year history, the private company received a 12-month ban from tendering for World Bank aid projects after a senior staff member in GHD’s Indonesian office defrauded a fund that […]

If the study of ethics is as old as Socrates, business ethics is still in its infancy. Ethics in business was only generally considered during the Cold War era, although some robber barons saw this development as the antithesis of an entrepreneurial mindset. Ethics was added to business degree syllabi in the 1970s and 1980s. And […]

Whistleblowing has always been a dangerous business for those brave and principled enough to expose illegal or unethical activities within an organisation. The process can lead to isolation, harassment, lost work opportunities and forced job transfers. In more serious cases, a worker may be derailed by dismissal, legal action, and even physical assault. But sidestepping some of […]

Whistleblowing is a precarious business. Exposing wrongdoing within an organisation can throw a whistleblower’s career into disarray, however some go onto bigger and better things. Here are four cases of famous whistleblowers in Australia.

Here are four compelling reasons why employers should make workplaces more family-friendly. 1. Female workforce participation is good for the economy Experience shows people perform better at work when they’re not worrying about home. 2. Flexible workplaces reduce staff turnover Major corporations are increasingly offering flexible working conditions as a way to reduce staff turnover. In […]

Leadership ethics It is a fairly simple rule. Yet so many of our leaders – in politics, business, media, the church, sport, schools and just about any other sector you care to name – fail to observe it. And it is no use claiming, as some have tried to, that community standards have changed and […]

Richard Watson is a futurist who works with the Foresight Practice at Imperial College London and publisher of What’s Next, an online report of new ideas and trends. In 2006 his book Future Files became an international bestseller. In his new book Digital vs Human ($29.95, Scribe), Watson asks what our lives will look like […]

Leaders are more and more being defined not only by what they do, but the way they do it. How a leader guides, influences, manages and moulds their organisation or team towards achieving a goal is now just as important – if not more important – than the goal itself. The days of “profit at […]