No matter what anyone tells you there is only one sure fire way to build trust in any regional community and that’s to keep showing up. Every regional community has seen its fair share of Johnny-come-lately’s who appear from out of nowhere, point out the obvious accompanied with big ideas and then disappear just as […]
I’ve had too many conversations with women who tell me they felt they became invisible at 50. Certainly, there is a lot of truth to this idea, it does happen. But I also believe there is an incredibly powerful flip side, a flip side that honours the experience and wisdom of these women and also
What’s age got to do with social impact? Read More
After focusing my attention on regional and economic development for the past 7 years my return to the social impact world in the context of regional Australia has been somewhat disappointing – why? It’s simple. Nothing has changed. Of course there are flurries of activity surrounding champion regional enterprises and even some communities – but
Ecosystems of change: Why things don’t change in the regions Read More
Did you live in a share house in your earlier days? Some of my best young adult memories and lifelong friendships were built in share houses. Yes of course there were the messy flatmates, the ones that didn’t pay bills on time, the party animals and the downright disruptive. But what better way to meet
Why we won’t share our homes (really) Read More
Recently I spoke with Jimmy Burroughes about going through a break up and becoming a single mum while in a senior leadership position and what I learned from my experience that inspired the development of a truly family friendly workplace. (click on the image to hear the podcast episode) Kudos to the board I worked
How to support your staff through a break up Read More
Fun fact. The notion of ‘work life balance’ was first proposed by a renegade called Robert Owen. Can you guess when? 1817. Owen’s famous phrase was “8 hours labour, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest” neatly dividing the day into work time, play time and rest time. While the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) says
Managing work-life creep Read More
Every morning my daughter and I fight a silent battle. She visits my bathroom and turns the toilet paper role upside down. I follow along turning it the right side up. In recent times our silent battle has caused me to do a little more research. My girl seems to be very passionate about this
The right way to hang toilet paper and its role in critical dissent Read More
Foreword: My own relationship with the word resilience has changed over the years. While I was quick to embrace in my work practice many years ago I always found it somewhat patronising as it was usually applied in a context of assisting our most vulnerable communities almost implying (well, we invested you to be tough, now
Crisis in a community is a tricky beast. While we may be told each crisis can be managed with the same set of instructions, they can’t. Unless that template is written to accommodate all place-based variables. What? Let’s take one experience I had during the 2019 bushfires. I was volunteering in a community I know
Why local knowledge is critical Read More
How are your new year’s resolutions going? Out the window yet? A few years ago I started thinking about different ways to join the ‘better me in January’ brigade and eventually I settled on the following list. It worked so well last year (and lasted well beyond January) that I thought I’d do it all
Ten ideas for a happier new year Read More