Credit Union Times’ Post

The public outcry that led to this week's resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has made many of us ask: How, in today's world, was it possible for unfathomable misery and trauma to be inflicted on over a hundred boys and men for so many years, at the hands of one man - abusive British barrister, John Smyth, who died at home in 2018. It also made us reflect on a moment this summer when our founder and MD, Hannah Kapff, was asked by 'CIPR Influence Magazine' for her views on what constitutes an effective public apology. We've analysed the so-called 'apology' made in 2017 which was made on Welby's BEHALF to state that, “Although the Archbishop worked with him; no one discussed allegations of abuse by John Smyth with him”, adding, “He believes that the safeguarding of children should be a principle priority.” This flies in the face of good public relations practice, which Hannah sums up: “Any quotes need to sound as if they’re coming from that person, and not as if written by a PR team.” Why? Because people need to hear from people - over and above 'the organisation'. Honesty and accountability are all. As she adds, “You need to make it sound like you are sorry, because anybody with half a brain will know what a genuine apology is.” Yet, sadly, apologies are so often a case of 'too little, too late'. Sure enough, it was around 7 years later when Tuesday saw Welby state, “As I step down, I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse. I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and re-traumatising period between 2013 and 2024.” Lessons need to be learned from this case in so many directions - not to mention the need for ACTIONS that will stop any organisation from failing to prevent such widespread life-changing horrors, which are usually known by many. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this time.  Thank you to Christian Koch for including our views. The full article is here: https://lnkd.in/ebWbmYRc #PublicRelations #CrisisManagement #Leadership #PublicApology #PRExperts 

📢 Committed to Listening and Acting! 🦉 At Dickson Decides, we’re always learning how to better support our community. Inspired by Guide Dogs Queensland, based in Bald Hills, we’ve upskilled our volunteers to ensure that future images we share now includes alt text. This means our content will be more accessible to everyone, including those using screen readers. 🌟 The Guide Dogs Queensland Accessibility Toolkit helped us understand the importance of accessibility and how to take practical steps to achieve it. It’s a reminder of what true leadership looks like: listening, learning, and acting. This is the kind of leadership we’re searching for in our future candidate—someone who will take action when the community speaks. If you or someone you know shares these values, let us know: https://lnkd.in/g2UqUiwg Together, let’s make Dickson inclusive, responsive, and community-first. 🫶 #DicksonDecides #AccessibilityForAll #CommunityFirst #GuideDogsQLD #InclusiveLeadership

🔍 DEI Myth-Busting 🔍 There's a lot of misinformation about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and we’re here to set the record straight! In our new series, we’ll tackle the most common DEI myths—starting with one we hear all the time: “DEI lowers standards.” Spoiler alert: It doesn’t. In fact, it raises them by enhancing innovation and performance through diverse perspectives. 🎯 Watch our first video here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gnZNMMPs Let’s work together to build stronger, more inclusive workplaces. 💼✨ #DEI #DiversityAndInclusion #Equity #Leadership #WorkplaceExcellence #Innovation #MythBusting

“All we have to do to create the future is to change the nature of our conversations, to go from blame to ownership, from bargaining to commitment, and from problem-solving to possibility.” - Peter Block Check out these #questions that breathe #possibility into your conversations. #LeaderAsConvener

Most of us want to be accountable allies but it's not easy to achieve. That's why I use the term "aspiring" and offer one-on-one support for those seeking to implement principles of equity into their roles as supervisor, facilitator and more. Learn more: https://bit.ly/44ZiJBM

This week on EthicalVoices, Bill Swanger, APR, Fellow PRSA discusses important ethical issues, including why it is important to ethically address financial mistakes, clarify misunderstandings, and how to effectively and ethically navigate paid and unpaid content. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/e5Xr-Jfq #prsa #prethics #ethicsmatter

Leadership and empathy in action. Hear the following testimony of how a law enforcement professional sees the ease of integration of the Chapman Foundation for Caring Communities' skills taught into her personal and professional life and how it will foster a more empathetic perspective and approach to communication and leadership. Together, we are creating caring workplaces and communities one relationship at a time. #ProfessionalGrowth #EmpatheticLeadership #OurCommunityListens

Happy that our article found a great home! In this article, Wood, Holt, and Marques review transparency in different formats and contexts of human performance, examining its advantages and disadvantages and considering various manifestations of the phenomenon in voluntary versus involuntary forms, as a source of mistrust and social shaming, as a performance booster, as a way of exerting control, as a public relations mechanism, as a revenue enhancer, and as a moral quandary.

When everyone who has a stake in solving social problems also has a voice, better ideas emerge. We believe strategic communications is a powerful tool to build community and create more effective, long-lasting change. Read more: https://ow.ly/7EyP50UIuCm

𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗘𝗜 (𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻) 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝙳̲𝚒̲𝚟̲𝚎̲𝚛̲𝚜̲𝚒̲𝚝̲𝚢̲ refers to the range of visible and invisible characteristics—whether inherited, attained, or chosen—within a group or organization. It also addresses how this diversity is distributed. For instance, is the diversity concentrated in specific roles or levels, or is it spread throughout the organization? It's essential to note that diversity reflects group characteristics rather than individual traits. 𝙴̲𝚚̲𝚞̲𝚒̲𝚝̲𝚢̲ involves recognizing how structural advantages or disadvantages influence the distribution of opportunities and resources, thus affecting individual, group, or societal outcomes. 𝙸̲𝚗̲𝚌̲𝚕̲𝚞̲𝚜̲𝚒̲𝚘̲𝚗̲ is the outcome of deliberate efforts to foster a sense of belonging for all individuals. Organizations, behaviors, environments, and policies exist on a spectrum of inclusion, meaning they can be inclusive concerning one characteristic while potentially excluding others. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴? Here are some actions companies take that fall under DEI initiatives: • Establishing structured hiring processes (e.g., defining criteria for roles, aligning interviewers on these criteria, developing rubrics for evaluating interview responses). • Implementing a formal onboarding program. • Offering resources for professional development. • Analyzing promotion rate disparities among different demographics. • Documenting career progression paths, and setting established pay ranges. • Clearly communicating policies and benefits to employees. • Having a designated team for handling discrimination, harassment, and retaliation complaints. • Providing parental leave and mental health benefits. • Analyzing how people who hold different identities experience your culture differently. Having shared various initiatives that companies may adopt that fall under DEI, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝙰̲𝙽̲𝚈̲𝙾̲𝙽̲𝙴̲ 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝑰’𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝗮𝘁 Paradigm 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑪𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. I would really enjoy the opportunity to hear your thoughts and talk about your goals! 🗣️𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦. #diversity #equity #inclusion #belonging #culture #paradigm