News & Views
The Directors Message
“Business for Good“
Early last week I posted on LinkedIn about JUNO recently becoming a certified Social Trader. If you missed it – the post went exactly like this:
‘Business-for-good’ has a certain ring to it – don’t you think?
With about as much pleasure as I can muster, my post here is to let you know that JUNO is now a recognised and certified Social Enterprise.
Social Enterprises are ‘businesses for good’; existing specifically to solve complex problems – and make the world a better place.
When I became aware of the Social Enterprise / Social Trader movement I felt given our purpose and reason for being at JUNO, along with the work we do in the corporate, government, and community sectors, exploring certification was a must.
Well, we explored, we applied, we were assessed and tested, and just recently we received news of our successful certification.
‘Certification ensures everyone has confidence that your social enterprise model really is about creating social or environmental impact through trade.’ That’s JUNO through and through.
Our October Journal will be out early next week and we’ll have more on the Social Enterprise journey in that. For now – it’s off to the (certified) future.
I am buzzing with excitement about JUNO being a recognised Social Enterprise. In time I am of course hopeful that it will lead to additional commercial opportunities for us, but right now certification itself is enough to celebrate given the niche that JUNO occupies in the hub between the corporate, government and community sectors. It’s a fitting recognition of the work we do, and have always done, impacting and transforming lives at work and way beyond the workplace.
Rather than explain the whole Social Traders piece here I thought I’d include the link for you to explore, so that you can learn more about the ‘movement’ yourself:
https://www.socialtraders.com.au/
We are definitely off to the social-trader-certified future.
Reads and Listens of the Month
At JUNO we read plenty and we listen to lots connected to Leadership, Leadership Development, Coaching and more. We have too, to stay current.
Each month we’ll include a link (or two or three) to an article or podcast that is topical and timely for you to read or listen to and reflect on. Curating and sharing is just our humble way of contributing to the pursuit of excellence in all things leading and leadership.
For this month:
The festive season is close by and with that come the season of false-urgency right? Ever thought about practising strategic procrastination to combat false urgency? Read more from HBR:
Keep your goals to yourself, or share wisely – read more on this practice in this piece from Inc..
The definitive guide to building a dynamic organisation. This link will take you to a summary and another link. Disclaimer: JUNO has no allegiance or connection to the Josh Bersin organisation. They do produce some quality insight and thought pieces though.
The secret to great teams: ‘It’s easy to think that the best teams are collections of highly accomplished or talented individuals, working under a skilled leader. But that’s no guarantee of success. Psychologist Anita Woolley says the best teams are far more than the sum of their parts, and share certain basic characteristics.’ This link will take you to a Hidden brain Podcast episode.
‘The Voice’ of JUNO Program Participants:
Making a Difference through Human Connection
At JUNO we choose NOT to ‘market’ who we are and what we do. 21 years on and strong our Programs and our legacy speak for themselves. What better way to spread the good word and work of JUNO than let Program participants speak for us…
A couple of entries this month.
First up an unedited update from a Passport to Work participant:
“Hi Kha,
I would like to inform you that I got a job offer from the ATO to work an APS 2 Delivery Service position (casual, 18 month contract). I accepted the offer just now through the ATO website.
My duties will include client information, process correspondence and taxation forms via inbound and outbound phone calls, in person or through electronic interactions, will determine the best outcome for the ATO’s clients, resolve their enquiries or issues, and on the letter of offer also mention that the duties will cover a range of work types processing and debt collection.
JUNO team and Grace, once again thank you so much for all your help and support. I really appreciate it. Stay safe and well.
”
Maria G, Hume Resident Jobseeker
And second up a JUNO / Nufarm milestone
We recently celebrated a three year partnership with Nufarm. In their own words Nufarm’s ‘involvement in the JUNO Adaptive Leaders Program yields substantial growth and development for our employees’.
One of our participants shared their perspective: “Guiding my protégé to push boundaries, recognise her diverse skill set, boost her confidence, and, most importantly, shift her mindset from focusing on problems to outcomes was incredibly fulfilling.”
Another participant highlighted the program’s unique goal: “Realising early on that the program isn’t only about finding employment for my protégé, but understanding their multifaceted journey, was a stand-out feature.”We receive many good-news-stories from past Program participants. It’s these stories that help us stop and reflect on the work we do and why we do it. Helping people inch along taking small steps in a transformative journey.
Tiny Thought, with thanks to Farnham Street
At JUNO we likely read a little more than the average – or at least our chief scribe and editor does – so this Tiny Thought landed pretty well this month: ‘Reading a great book twice is more valuable than reading ten average books.’
Reading time is certainly finite – read well, and read wisely.
How brave are you?
It’s shortly after 10.00AM, in any given organisation, and the HR Business Partner has just started to address ‘the meeting’…
‘You know what? Sometimes you just have to take a stand – hold your ground – speak up for what’s right.
If you see it or hear it, and it isn’t right, then call it out. Do something about it.
That’s why we have a Code of Conduct and a Whistleblower Policy. Some things just shouldn’t happen or be tolerated at work.
You have to be willing to act – to help make our workplaces physically and psychologically safe for everyone.
I should add there’s no need to foolishly launch into an issue or potential problem without knowing all the facts and circumstances – that might be overly risky.
That said though – finding the middle ground – and facing adversity, is definitely the way to go. Be brave.
Does anyone have a question?’
You’ve just read a piece of micro-fiction. As real as it may have felt for you, it’s fiction. Fiction connected to the real world of Character Strengths and their optimal use in everyday situations. Keen to know more about the work we do on Strengths at JUNO? Let’s chat.
JUNO Graduations, Mock Interview Workshops & Client Celebrations for the month
Thank you for reading JUNO Institute’s News and Views
We’ve been helping clients and partners, and transforming lives in the process, for over two decades. We are always ready to help you tackle your next challenge. Please get in contact with us at JUNO at any time on anything and everything connected to your Leadership Development and Coaching agenda.
Contact JUNO here: Phone: +61 3 9866 7993; Mobile: +61 4 0854 3320