Catalyst Conversations: Recent Episodes
We Are Unity
Catalyst Conversations is a regular dose of insight into the hearts and minds of the leaders driving change within Australian business. We Are Unity CEO Ben Bars sparks honest and authentic conversations to explore the purpose that motivates them, the future they see coming and the lessons they’ve learnt along the way.
In this episode of Catalyst Conversations, Ben Bars, CEO of We Are Unity, sits down with Dr. Juliet Bourke, a trailblazer in diversity, inclusion, and leadership, to unpack the real challenges leaders face today. Juliet shares her journey from law to leading global diversity initiatives, including a groundbreaking review of sexual harassment at the UN. Together, they explore how leaders can foster a culture of respect, why psychological safety is crucial for innovation, and the hidden impact of co-worker behavior on organisational success. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone serious about transforming leadership and driving meaningful change in the workplace.
Language is said to be humankind's greatest accomplishment. But when it comes to Corporate Australia, what is language actually good for?
Join Professor of Linguistics, Nick Enfield from the University of Sydney, and our CEO, Ben Bars, in our latest episode of Catalyst Conversations, as they explore how language and communication can shape company culture and boost success.
Tune in now to learn more about the power of language in business.
In this episode of Catalyst Conversations, our CEO, Ben Bars delves into the importance of psychological health and safety in the workplace with expert Arthur Papagiannis, Founder of AP Psychology. Discover how a thriving environment not only protects employees but also boosts productivity, and explore the transformative benefits of prioritising psychological health. Understand the pivotal role of Leaders and the power of authenticity in fostering a safe environment, and learn about the profound impact of workplace language on psychological health. Don't miss this enlightening journey into the heart of workplace wellness!
Hear Quantium CEO Adam Driussi talk AI, ethics and social responsibility in part 2 of the latest Catalyst Conversations podcast.
There are over 120 zettabytes of data in the world, but less than 1% is ever analysed. That’s an extraordinary volume of unrealised value and potential. In part 2 of the discussion, Adam explains the potential pitfalls around HOW we discuss (and use) data, as well as the ethics and common misconceptions around AI and predictive analysis.
In the first episode of this two part conversation, Adam talks about the history of Quantium as a pioneer in the data space. Adam has always understood the far reaching power of data in decision making - to enrich decisions rather than dictate them. He talks about the importance of a clear company Purpose and the journey his organisation went through to unlock the full power of that purpose. Finally he talks about the importance of alignment - between data and creativity, values and behaviours, Purpose and partnerships, and more.
Today's guest is the effervescent Kristi Woolrych, the kind of leader who leaves an imprint on everyone she meets. You'll find yourself saying "I want to work for her" as you hear how she graciously steers such a successful team. Ben and Kristi chat about her transition from CMO in finance, to quick service restaurants, how she keeps her team reaching for more and the inherent creativity in unleashing your free spirit.
As Chief Marketing Officer at KFC South Pacific, Kristi was previously responsible for driving sales growth through food innovation and retail communications whilst also driving long term brand equity and to lead the marketing team in their goals. After we finished recording she took on a new challenge, stepping up into the General Manager role she's now excelling in.
Catalyst Conversations is back with a fresh new season of insightful conversations. In this episode, Ben Bars is joined by Leigh Barnes, Chief Customer Officer at Intrepid Travel for a thought provoking chat about Purpose in business. Intrepid Travel is the worlds largest adventure travel company with a very big mission - to be the best travel company for the world. It's that nuance that matters to Leigh, and Intrepid's devoted customers; for the world, not in the world. One simple word for a powerful positive impact. This is a not to be missed conversation, from B Corp certification to First Nation Storytellers and growing seaweed to capture carbon emissions, Leigh's infectious passion will get you thinking about your own Purpose and how your brand shows up in, and for the world.
This week Ben Bars sits down with Isa Notermans for a refreshingly authentic and open conversation that leaves nothing unsaid. Isa is the Global Head of People and Culture at the fast growing scale-up Linktree, and has driven culture change across brands including Google and Spotify. With a scope that covers everything about the human experience at work, Isa’s ‘why’ is to help create pathways to enable her people to thrive and become the very best version of themselves.
The backdrop of Regional Australia is the perfect foundation for a strong organisational culture - from the deep sense of community investment to that quintessential roll up your sleeves, take no s*#$ attitude. But how do you maintain that intimate, community spirit while taking your organisation to a national stage?
MD at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Marnie Baker joins Ben Bars for this community-minded Catalyst Conversation. Marnie discusses what’s changed (and what hasn’t) in the organisation in her 32 years working there, extending community beyond your backyard and the crucial importance of taking risks.
Conversation highlights
- Bringing country experience to the corporate world
- Leading with authenticity and integrity
- The power of community connection in a regional organisation
- Playing diverse roles while staying true to yourself
- Embracing and exploring change within a consistent 32-year career
- Encouraging risk-appetite and unlocking innovation
- Activating Purpose to drive the right outcomes
- Extending ‘community’ beyond your backyard
- The gendered imbalance of ASX CEOs
- Post-COVID perspective on Diversity & Inclusion
- Marnie’s advice for her younger self
Learn more at weareunity.com
This Catalyst Conversation welcomes CEO of Clubs NSW and Executive Director of clubs Australia, Josh Landis as our guest with host Ben Bars. They discuss using Purpose as a beacon in difficult times and the healthy friction between change and tradition.
Conversation highlights
- The evolving Purpose of Australian clubs
- How clubs have kept themselves purpose-driven throughout lockdown
- Diversifying what clubs mean and how they can service their communities
- Raising money for the community, while keeping the community and it’s members safe
- Keeping community investment Purpose-driven
- The future of clubs in Australia (from club to hub)
- Building a career that’s guided by passion
- Advice for Josh’s younger self
‘Looking forward’ is the name of the game in this episode of Catalyst Conversations. Our guest is Futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson who joins Ben Bars to discuss the changes ahead. From breaking down the most pressing global burning platforms and charting the great COVID accelerator to predicting the next global renaissance, there’s something for everyone to ponder.
SHOW NOTES
- The role of a Futurist in a future-focussed world
- The unassailable power of planning and proactivity
- Designing tangible solutions for a hypothetical future
- Key learnings from the futurism frontier
- Culture as the the foundation of change and transformation
- Innovating towards a brighter future
- The ‘3 waves of change’
- The burning platform for change: Climate
- The catalyst for global renaissance: AI
- Using automation and tech to unlock jobs vs making them redundant
- Entrepreneurial bias and the case for universal basic income
- How much has COVID accelerated the digital future?
- At the core of future thinking: Sustainability
- The organisations leading the charge into the future
- Why the next generation is better equipped to drive a better future
- Drawing a line from Diversity to innovation
In an increasingly digital and distanced world, connecting with your customers (and your people) presents an ongoing and evolving set of challenges. One organisation ahead of the curve is digital gift card service Prezzee, who’ve taken what was once considered a last minute gift alternative and reinvented it as a thoughtful and personalised gesture.
In this week’s Catalyst Conversations, Prezzee CEO Tony Karp joins Ben Bars to discuss finding power in Purpose and guidance from values, protecting ‘connections’ in the digital space and the difference between customer service and customer obsession.
Conversation highlights
- What are we gifting each other all around the (COVID) world?
- The driving force of choice and empowerment
- What the hospitality industry can teach you about good retail
- Creating advocacy through customer experience
- Creating two customer experiences with one product
- Building a customer-centric culture
- Building chemistry through a camera lens
- The experience of launching in two markets during lockdown
- Managing your people’s (and your own) wellbeing
- Shifting from startup to scaleup
- The extraordinary power of well-defined values
- Creating a clear vision of what comes next
- Connecting people with a personal touch
- What happens to unused gift cards?
- Advice for Tony’s younger self
Keen for more?
Hear Tony wax lyrical about the power of defining the right fundamental values for your organisation – then see for yourself. Our Prezzee Uncovered case study covers our co-developed process to design the right data-driven values to support the organisation’s culture and strategy, and unlock advocacy from its people.
Listen to the full discussion, rate, review and subscribe to our podcast and catch more insightful Catalyst Conversations here
How does a 212 year old institution become so comfortable with change while staying true to who they are? One key is designing the right culture to enable growth, innovation and reinvention. The other is having the right people – those who build up your organisation’s culture and make good on its Purpose.
Nicole Sheffield, Executive General Manager Community & Consumer at Australia Post is our guest on this week’s Catalyst Conversations talking sustainable change, equity and inclusion and a whole host of thoughtful insights.
Conversation highlights
- Bringing Auspost into the digital age
- The consumer trends of a country facing COVID-19
- E-commerce acceleration in a locked-down world
- Guiding principle: Always make the customers’ lives better
- Guiding principle: Be comfortable with change
- Guiding principle: ‘Always have one nostril above water’
- Aligning your people to your principles
- ‘Pushing the envelope’ in a 212 year old institution,
- The difference between ‘customer responsive’ and ‘customer obsessed’
- Effective transformation, enabled through culture
- Designing culture to solve problems and unlock opportunities
- Growing up as a first generation Australian
- Making more space for women in leadership roles
- The tangible value of diversity
- Advice for Nicole’s younger self
www.weareunity.com/blog/catalyst-conversations-nicole-sheffield
Adapting a Global brand to suit a diverse collection of markets is a fascinating challenge. For a powerhouse business like KFC, the key to success has always been to build a brand that feels universal – in its offerings, in its consistency but most of all in its purpose.
This week, Richard Wallis details his 25 year journey from delivery driver to KFC South Pacific’s managing director and shares some of the lessons he learnt along the way about people, purpose and the pursuit of great customer experiences.
Conversation highlights
- Richard’s 25 year journey from delivery driver to general manager
- Experiencing a consistent global organisation from across the globe
- Richards ‘best’ mistakes (and learning from failure)
- Balancing your gut with the expertise of your team
- Controlling a franchisee brand that sits in the hands of many
- Building trusted relationships
- Unifying your people (and franchisees) around a common purpose
- Turning a Kentucky born business into a universal brand (that resonates with everyday Aussies)
- Establishing KFC within Aussie culture and cricket
- The risks and opportunities of empowering your people to become social media brand advocates
- What KFC employment is unlocking for the next generation
- Inspiring contribution and people-driven innovation
- Advice for Richards younger self
When radical change lies ahead, how do you draw upon Purpose to help you answer the question; ‘What’s next?’ When Olympic gold medalist Michael Klim hung up his speedos in 2007 and retired from professional swimming, he did exactly that, channelling his passions into a purpose-led entrepreneurial career. This week, Michael joins Ben Bars to discuss the lessons he took from the pool to the boardroom, the changes in store for the next generation of athletes and innovators and ‘what’s next?’ for his career.
Conversation highlights (Show notes)
- The impacts of the last year on Michael, his family and his home in Bali
- The logistics (and the importance) of the impending Olympics
- Responding to change and uncertainty as an athlete
- Transitioning from sportsman to managing a business
- The unseen teamwork behind sports and business
- Finding your purpose beyond retirement from sport
- Marketing: From face of the product to brains behind the product
- Michael’s biggest learning from the business world
- Innovation through product vs innovation through process
- Michael’s leadership style (through his team’s eyes)
- ‘Mastering’ Sleep, nutrition, exercise and mindfulness
- The societal impacts on the next generation of athletes
- The impact of globalisation on competitiveness and personal growth
- The future of Health and Wellness
- What advice would Michael give his 1990 self?
- What’s one thing Michael would like to learn in 2021?
Keen for more?
More and more organisations are recognising the importance of a consciously designed purpose. But simply having a purpose is not enough. For organisations looking to form a meaningful connection with their people and their audience, living your Purpose is key.
Find out more about the We Are Unity approach to purpose on our blog, or start a conversation with us at hello@weareunity.com
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What are the top mindsets and behaviours of truly progressive leaders? And why does the working world need more ‘radiators’ and less ’drains’? Hamish Thomson, CEO and author of ‘It’s not always right to be right’ joins Ben Bars to talk about living a more purposeful life, the greatest lessons (and mistakes) of his career and what inspired him to write his book in our latest Catalyst Conversation.
Conversation highlights
- Hamish’s resignation from Mars and the inspiration for his book
- The power of pragmatism in sharing lived experiences
- The foundational value of being true to yourself
- Finding your passion and finding your talents
- Leading a more purposeful existence
- Nature vs nurture: how to unlock your leadership potential
- Leading change rather than managing change
- The ‘best’ mistake Hamish has made
- Why the working world needs less ‘drains’ and more ‘radiators’
- What you can learn from bad bosses
- The top mindsets of successful leaders
- Nurturing the depth and quality of relationships
- Linking purpose to profitability
- What’s next for Hamish Thomson?
Keen for more?
Hamish Thomson’s book ‘It’s not always right to be right’ is packed with many more insights and learnings from his time in the corporate world. You can find out more about Hamish and his book here.
We Are Unity have been developing a model to help us define what tomorrow’s leaders will need to succeed. Learn more about our Leadership Excellence Acceleration Program here.
Listen to the full discussion, rate, review and subscribe to our new podcast and catch more insightful Catalyst Conversations here.
The future of work is upon us and the reality of the fixed, 9-5 place of employment is yesterday’s news. For the millions of office buildings around the globe, that means a dynamic rethinking of the purpose and function of the workplace.
Paul Edwards, General Manager of Strategy and Customer at Global property heavyweight Mirvac, shares his insights on the work places, work styles and work strategies of tomorrow with Ben Bars on a brand new Catalyst Captions.
Conversation highlights
- What’s worked and what hasn’t in our initial shift to working from home, including:
- The increased viability of task-oriented work
- Finding more time for productivity in the margins
- Necessitating quick decision making
- Learning to separate work and home
- How we’ve lost ‘learning through osmosis’
- Using the office as a place to interact, connect and collaborateShifting focus from performance to output and outcome
- Building trusted relationships at a distance
- The importance of interactions in complex problem solving and innovation
- Redesigning the office experience to supercharge creative thinkingThe role of AI and automation in tomorrow’s workplace
- Balancing COVID-19s positive impacts with burnout, fatigue and mental wellbeing
- Transforming old ways of working through a purely digital lens
- Human centred workplace design & nurturing different work styles
- Discovery sessions: Turn rapid insights into innovation
- Designing flexible work: Space utilisation vs people managementBuilding the right habits to adapt to change
- 3 simple ways to make better use of the office
Keen for more?
The workplace is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Future of Work. Jump over to our blog for more Future Ways of Working insights, and be sure to leave your details here to receive our full published report in February.
When hospitality is at the core of your brand, your people are your measure of success. But how do you ensure your employee culture is driving commercial success? And how might that change in an increasing digital (and distanced) world?
Antony Ritch, CEO of global hospitality group TFE hotels, joins Ben Bars in our latest Catalyst Conversation.
Conversation highlights
- How COVID-19 has impacted the group in surprising ways and how they’ve driven success through
- Building an adaptive business to manage innovation and new technologies.
- The shifting perception of travel- from destination to experience
- Engaging with your community and building a brand that champions ‘local.’
- First impressions and the role of employees in delivering your brand to the customer
- People as product: the role of brand in hospitality vs consumer goods
- Matching your internal culture with your external culture promise to build brand authenticity.
- Leading by example and reflecting the values you want from your team
- The importance of transparency, clarity and context in achieving common goals
- Consistency with flex- building a group culture of diverse brands
- Australia and New Zealand’s opportunity to transform travel
- The next big thing in hospitality.
Keen for more?
TFE Hotels have a brand new careers site that does an exceptional job of articulating their purpose, culture and people promise. We’ve been have been lucky enough to collaborate with TFE hotels on a number of projects, including the people stories featured on the site.
For an in depth look at how we worked with TFE to develop their EVP and help them pivot their Employer Brand during COVID-19, check out our Uncovered Case Study.
Please rate review and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue to reach as many people as possible with our inspiring guests.
Follow We Are unity on LinkedIn
Rate review and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue to reach as many people as possible with our inspiring guests.
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/weareunity
The necessary tension between culture and performance with David Webster
The race is on to redesign the workplace, and culture is the word on everyone’s lips. But what good is culture if it doesn’t translate into performance and commercial success?
David Webster, David Webster, President of Cloud HCM and Financials software organisation, Workday talks the future of the office, rethinking communication and the fallacy of ‘engagement’ with Ben Bars on the latest Catalyst Captions.
Conversation highlights
- The evolving Purpose of Workday (0:30)
- Putting people at the centre of enterprise software (1:00)
- Turning data into action and insight into innovation (2:35)
- Are engagement surveys a waste of time (5:19)
- Using trends, data and context to find the ‘why’ in anything (6:38)
- The necessary tension between performance and culture (10:15)
- The role of the office and the future of work (13:35)
- Changing our perspective on communication (16:08)
- Gender equality in technology and the workplace (20:45)
- The power of listening to your people (26:11)
Keen for more?
Like David, Ben Bars never misses an opportunity to hold engagement surveys to task. Catch his provocative piece ‘Don’t let the engagement score be your white whale’ on our blog.
How do you design a workplace culture that resonates with journalists and entertainment media alike? What role can work subcultures play in a dynamic and diverse working environment?
Director of People & Culture for Nine, Vanessa Morley joins Ben Bars in our first podcast edition of Catalyst Conversations.
Conversation highlights:
- Why Nine Australia saw Vanessa as the perfect fit for her role within the group
- The difference in pace between FMCG and a Media organisation
- The critical value of risk taking in a fast moving industry
- Setting the right conditions to foster and inspire creativity in a commercial business
- The subtle difference between guidance and direction
- Establishing a flexible approach to balancing Journalism and entertainment media.
- Nailing internal comms in an organisation full of writers and creatives
- The new role of Nine’s new office ‘campus’.
- The significance and impact the Nine/Fairfax merger
- Establishing a strong foundational work culture in a highly diverse workplace
Keen for more?
What role does culture play in driving your organisation’s commercial success? We Are Unity organisational psychologist Nick Tucker shares the method and the impact ofputting culture at the centre of your brand strategy.
Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to our new podcast and catch more insightful Catalyst Conversations here.