Australian Indigenous leadership stories project

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Hello B Corps,

I wanted to write to the B Community to ask for a steer and assistance.

My company Yellow Edge - a leadership development and human potential company based in Canberra have recently established a research function with the purpose of conducting practical research on leadership as practiced by underrepresented groups. This may include culturally and linguistically diverse groups of people and Indigenous people for example.

The aim is to learn from and contribute to the development of leadership within underrepresented groups and within the broader community. There is no commercial imperative with this. Its more about trying to contribute to thinking in the field of leadership development.

As a first project, we are focused on how individual Indigenous Australians think of their own leadership and what can we learn from them in relation to how to successfully navigate and thrive in ambiguous, uncertain, and complex organisations, landscapes, and in the face of planetary challenges like climate change.

If you, or people you know might be interested in learning more about the project my colleagues and I would be happy to hear from you and to canvas individual perspectives if they consent. We are not seeking any one to represent any particular group or organisation, merely to explore personal stories of leadership to the extent that people are comfortable doing so.

I also appreciate the high levels of anxiety which are present across both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in the lead up to the Referendum. This is a 5-6 month project and we do not have strict timeframes for having individual conversations.

Thank you everyone for being interested, generous and committed to the B Corp values and community.

Warm regards,

Brooke Anderson (she/her)
Head of Research, Sustainability and Social Impact

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Hello @Brooke_Anderson

I believe that Leann Meirs at UNSW who has worked closely with Megan Davis and Dr Michelle Roberts at AGSM Business School would be interested in your important work.

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Hi Lee

Lovely to hear from you and thanks for taking the time to consider the request.

I am not sure what might happen to our Indigenous leadership stories project, as we must let our Indigenous stakeholders guide us here and it may take some time for things to get moving. I have received mixed responses -some requesting further time off following the week of quiet and some still keen to push on with telling their story. I can certainly understand should they wish not to continue.

It is worth paying attention to how Indigenous leaders are conducting themselves following the outcome of the Referendum. To me, this is a real live opportunity to appreciate some of the qualities of Indigenous leadership and leadership in general, and these offer us all something to learn from and perhaps even emulate should we so choose.

I guess this is both a sad but instructive case study where the best and the worst of Australia have been on display.

Look forward to seeing you at an B Consultant event soon.

Brooke