1. #CQ: insium's Courage Questionnaire (CQ): We are excited to inform you that after a rigorous pilot, we are launching our Courage Questionnaire in July! Our aim is to collect data on workplace courage from around the world; from those in the C-Suite, leaders, managers, team members and individual contributors; and from a diverse range of industries.
Thank you to those who participated in our pilot and provided invaluable feedback, making the questionnaire more robust. A special shout out to Peggy Kern, Rachel Taylor, Matt Mallia, Coralie Lockwood, Dani Traum, Jeremy Welton and Brian Truman.
Thank you also to those of you who have registered to participate, and to the teams who are participating too. If you and/or your team would like to participate, please register your interest by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. As a recipient of the ensuing report, you will have access to informed data about workplace courage. We would be thrilled for you to participate - as an individual or as a team member.
Thank you to those who participated in our pilot and provided invaluable feedback, making the questionnaire more robust. A special shout out to Peggy Kern, Rachel Taylor, Matt Mallia, Coralie Lockwood, Dani Traum, Jeremy Welton and Brian Truman.
Thank you also to those of you who have registered to participate, and to the teams who are participating too. If you and/or your team would like to participate, please register your interest by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. As a recipient of the ensuing report, you will have access to informed data about workplace courage. We would be thrilled for you to participate - as an individual or as a team member.
2. #STEMsidebyside: Recently we facilitated a "Leading Self with Courage"workshop with 40 inspiring women in STEM. This workshop is part of the STEM sidebyside program which supports women in STEM industries, and is led by veski and Monash University, with the support of the British Consulate General Melbourne.
The aim of the workshop was "to discover past courageous acts to lead self courageously in future." A bespoke appreciative discussion, titled "A Valued Contribution," was developed to build courage in these already amazing and inspiring women. Some speedy connecting and Keala Settle's This is Me rehearsal created an environment of energy, support and determination. I am grateful to all of the participants who were all courageous in their vulnerability and authenticity, and in their willingness to explore and share their stories of a valued contribution.
The twittersphere went off! You might like to check #STEMsidebyside and see what all the fuss was about! Also, give us a call as we would love to share our excitement with you.
Making just one small change to the lyrics, I would like to say, "Look out cause here THEY come!"
3. #CourageousLeaders and #CourageousBloggers: Thus far, we have published 18 interviews with courageous leaders which can be found here. We know that courage is not just the domain of heroes ... "we all have courage within, we just need a light shone on it," and so our interviewees include a student, a scientist & practitioner, academics, a recent graduate, CEOs, and more. Interviewees over the next few weeks include a journalist, "the footy lady" (can you guess who?), and a freelancer. The interviews are published at 8am on Wednesday mornings, so that you can be inspired to courage as you head into your day ahead.
We've also have a few guest blogs, for which I am grateful. Our recent courageous guest bloggers include Trevor Neal, Emily Biasotto and Rebecca Jennings who was inspired to share her perspectives on courage by Emily!
As you read the interviews and the blogs, you might like to reflect on the following questions:
- What themes have you noticed?
- What points of difference stand out?
- What resonates most with you? What do you disagree with?
- How have these interviews shaped your thinking about courage?
- How have these interviews shaped your willingness to act with courage?
4. #SelfMotivatedEmployees: Would you like to lead self-motivated employees? Then read this article by Lara Mossman and Gavin Slemp of the University of Melbourne. Based on the recently published meta-analysis (Slemp, Kern et al, 2018) of more than 30,000 employees worldwide, Lara and Gavin offer that "intrinsic motivation is regarded as the highest quality form of work motivation because it tends to foster greater workplace wellbeing, proactivity, engagement, and performance. It is also more sustainable because when employees are intrinsically motivated, they are self-motivated."
They share practices that leaders can use to foster intrinsically motivated employees, including:
- Enabling employees to make their own choices and have input into decision-making
- Showing an interest in the perspectives of your team members
- Encouraging ownership over goals
Hope you are as excited as we are!
