Image of Australian Senators crossing the floor for an energy vote

Regenerating political leadership in a populist age

If Australia’s main parties are to regain popular support they will need some radical thinking, a focus on consensus, and a willingness to listen By Professor Gareth Evans, Chancellor, Australian National University; University of Melbourne alumni There has been a notable decline in the quality of Australian politics and policymaking in recent times, with prime […]

The McKinnon Prize – recognising political leadership in Australia

The McKinnon Prize in Political Leadership aims to recognise political leaders who have driven positive change and encouraged a national discussion about the role of leadership By Michael Gordon, University of Melbourne It began with a chat over coffee in Carlton and culminated in a phone call 12 months ago that might be the catalyst for […]

Close up of a person wearing tartan jeans with straps working on a laptop to test readers to look more closely about their unconscious biases by asking them what their first thoughts were when viewing this image

How unconscious bias shapes your thinking (and what you can do about it)

What was your first thought when you saw the feature image for this article – be open and honest about the specific thoughts that went through your mind. Most Australians believe in values such as fairness and equality – but these can be harder to act on than you would think. All applicants for permanent visas […]

Liz Pommer

What We Got Wrong About Self-Management

People thrive with some certainty and structure – as the crew at buffer.com discovered. When Buffer first moved to a self-management model, we moved to a completely flat structure. We just let loose and the message was “everyone go figure out what you want to do and work on, without too much guidance or leadership.” We talked […]