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Andrew Povey LGSC Alumni Blog
If you had have told me that I would address over fifty community minded attendees of an Ovarian Cancer fundraising luncheon two years ago I would have fallen over backwards.
Well on Tuesday 18th February 2020 in Coleraine I was honored to be asked just that, yes to talk at the annual luncheon which Coleraine Lions Club organize in memory of my mother, Jenny Povey who lost her battle with ovarian cancer in 2015.
I was approached in early January by a member of the Lions Club to see if I would be guest speaker at the luncheon and for some reason I said yes before asking what they wanted me to talk about. Fortunately, they did not ask me to talk about my mother’s journey nor cancer as I would have really struggled, they simple said: “You choose the topic”.
The start of my address was around community spirit and volunteerism, this then lead into domestic violence, focusing mainly on family violence as well as violence against women. My closing subject was social connection. The talk went for about 10 minutes and I feel it went well by the tears that I see in my family’s eyes. When I was leaving, I was asked by Coleraine RSL Sub Branch to be their guest speaker at the Dawn Service in April, so either they are desperate for a speaker, or maybe Leadership Great South Coast has made me a better person.
Without the skills, knowledge, confidence and empowerment that Leadership Great South Coast gave me in 2019, I don’t think that I would have been capable of engaging this audience.
I sincerely thank you all – Andrew Povey
Diversity and Inclusion
Demographers tell us change is coming. Our population in Australia to set to increase to 38 million by 2050 and our communities are going to become more diverse. Knowing this, how do we create organisations where all staff feel safe, engaged and belong?
Diversity and inclusion are accepted standards within our society and statistics presented on the program day conclude that the organisations that have a strong focus on diversity and inclusion achieve higher results than those lacking in diversity. Diversity comes a range of forms including gender and cultural diversity, and it is important for organisations to reflect on what type of diversity would improve outcomes within their workplaces. Whilst it is important to have a diverse culture within organisations, this focus must not be placed above selecting the right applicant for the right position instead of filling a quota to appear to be diverse. In order to ensure diverse applicants apply for positions an organisation should visibly communicate and demonstrate their inclusive practices to potential employees.
Unconscious bias plays a major role in our decision making processes. Most of us would admit that at some stage in our life we have experienced conformity bias where we go along with the group thinking, or similarity bias where we surround ourselves with people who are like us in both the way we think and look. But what’s the overall impact to the diversity of our workplaces when this happens in a job interview situation? Acknowledging and checking our biases is essential to creating inclusive and diverse workplaces.
“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation” – Mahatma Ghandi
Meet our 2020 Program Partcipants
Join us in welcoming our 2020 Particpants to their LGSC journey
- Billy Edis, Director, Southcoast Project Management
- Catherine Darkin, Advisor, Population Health and Community Wellbeing. Department of Health and Human Services
- Jason Van Der Heyden, Maintenance Electrician, Wannon Water
- Catherine Fitzgerald, Bookkeeper, Elite Cars and Trucks
Sponsor: South West Community Foundation - Craig Kelson, Financial Accountant, South West TAFE
- Dominic Conheady, Dairy Farmer, Self Employed
Sponsor: Gardiner Foundation - Joe Sinnott, Human Resources Advisor, Warrnambool City Council
- Joy Coulson, Farm Services Advisor, Saputo Dairy Australia
Sponsor: Gardiner Foundation - Kara Winderlich, Risk Management Coordinator, Southern Grampians Shire Council
- Emily Falla, Aboriginal Health Promotion Officer, South West Healthcare
Sponsor: Wannon Water - Jerram Wurlod- Operations Manager – Keayang Maar Vineyard, Dixie
Sponsor: Corangamite Shire - Liam Arnott, Works Supervisor – Construction, Moyne Shire Council
- Mandy Cohen, Complex Needs Coordinator, Department of Health and Human Services
- Troy Lovett- Wurreker Broker, Victorian Aboriginal Education Association
Sponsor: Leadership Great South Coast – Speakers Scolarship - Michelle Badenhorst, Owner Suffoir Winery and Brewery, Macarthur
Sponsor: Women In Agriculture - Tim McPherson, Management Accountant, Wannon Water
Ethical Leadership in a Challenging World
Leading with courage and being fearless in what you do…..what does that actually mean when you are faced with an ethical dilemma? What are the potential consequences for your career, your personal life and our overall sense of well-being.
We aspire to be great leaders, to support others, lead by example and do what’s right for our organisations, our community, our family in line with our values and our sense of what’s right and wrong.
What happens when the lines are blurred or you discover something in your organisation that is, in conflict with your values or is unethical?
Through the lived experience of a Victorai Police force whistle-blower we can see that sometimes making the right decision and upholding your ethical values takes great courage and unfortunately there is at times a signifcant price to pay for that bravery. In some organisations the level of Ethical behaviour is questionable, sometimes corruption is clear and obvious and at other times after years of ethical fading a culture is created where bending or breaking the rules slowly and subtly becomes the norm and conforming is an expectation. It’s at these times you need to make a clear and definitive decision….. are you getting on the bus (conforming), riding alongside the bus (ignoring) or standing in front of the bus – taking a stand to do what’s right?
Upholding ethical values takes courage, we need to be brave and stand up for what is right. It requires us to make the right decision…. which is not always the easiest decision.
“Good People Own Courage”
Simon Illingsworth
