Wow! 2016 came and went. Fast. For instance I had planned for this article to go up in December. Ooops! But it’s not just me.

A new client told me they had all these plans for the year, and he woke up some time in December wondering what had happened. He planned on making Aboriginal employment a priority, but it got pushed for other ‘priorities’. Other matters just seemed more pressing. All year. His plans slipped his mind, and he realised that nothing had changed despite his best intentions. He told me he didn’t want this to happen again this year.

I hear this time and again from new clients. The best of intentions go nowhere without a solid plan and action. Now, I’d argue that more often than not, it’s because we aren’t clear about 3 things: the change we want, where we really are now, and what is stopping us from getting what we want. It was certainly true in his case.

Not knowing these things is like trying to plan a trip without a destination, or a starting point, or mode of transport in mind!

You may have a good time this way, but you’re unlikely to end up where you want. It only works if you’re not tied to a destination or an outcome. And, that’s fine, but you very well may end up someplace you really don’t want to be. Know what I mean?

The clearer you are about these three things, the easier it is to make a plan to get you where you want to be.

So this year, right now in fact, I’m going to encourage you to take 10 minutes to get clear about your Aboriginal employment journey for 2017. Because if nothing changes, nothing changes. Right?

I’m also giving you an opportunity to download the very same worksheet I use with my clients in The Fast Track. You can download The Results-Reality-Roadblocks Worksheet by clicking the button below. This worksheet works for just about everything (I use it before business planning and my triathlon training).

Get the Worksheet

You can use it to work through the 3 crucial questions I quickly outlined earlier. In case you missed it, here they are again:
   1.   What do you want to achieve? What RESULTS do you want?
   2.   Where are you right now? What is your REALITY?
   3.   What’s stopping you from getting there? What are the ROADBLOCKS?

On the flip side, the clearer you are about these 3 things, the easier it is to make a plan that will work. And what’s plan that doesn’t work worth? Absolutely nothing.

Okay, did you download the worksheet? Check your inbox. Your junk folder? Here’s how to use it.

1. Results - Let’s start in the far right-hand column. Imagine 3 years have passed.

What have you achieved in Aboriginal employment? How are things now? What are the results you need for you to be happy with your progress?

How many Aboriginal staff do you have? What proportion of your staff are Aboriginal? How long have they been with your organisation? What policies are in place?
What systems and structures do you have in place to support your Aboriginal staff? To recruit new Aboriginal staff?
Describe the workplace? Does it support your Aboriginal staff? How? Does it support your goals for Aboriginal employment? Have your staff completed Aboriginal cultural awareness? How many?
What’s your reputation like in your local Aboriginal communities? Good? Excellent? What community events do you participate in? Forums? Celebrations?
Do you deliver services to Aboriginal communities? Are they going well? Do you want to?

What else would you want in place?

2. Reality - Now, come back to now. Let’s fill out the left-hand column. What is the current situation?

It’s important to be honest here, brutally honest if need be. Don’t sell yourself short, though. Give yourself partial or even full credit where you deserve it, but take off the rose-coloured glasses. If you had everything in place for Aboriginal employment to succeed, you wouldn’t be doing this exercise. So what is it really like?

Ask yourself the very same questions you just did in the Results section. How are each of these things right now?

Anything else?

3. Roadblocks - And finally, what are the things that are stopping you? This is where you complete the middle column.

What’s slowing you down? Getting in your way? Making it hard?
Is this a priority for everybody who it needs to be?
Is there a lack of internal support? Are the benefits of success clear?
Do you have the resources you need?
Do you know what will give you ‘bang for buck’?
Are you struggling to find Aboriginal candidates?
Are you struggling to keep them?
What else is holding you back?

The clearer you are about these things, the easier it is to formulate a plan to get you where you want to be. You can assign priorities, come up with ideas that will work. So I hope you took the 10-15 minutes now. It will make achieving your Aboriginal employment goals this year so much easier.

Tell me, what do you want to achieve this year, and what's your biggest roadblock?

Get the Worksheet

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Racism in the workplace can manifest in subtle ways, and the impact on Aboriginal employees and clients can be profound. One common pitfall is when non-Indigenous people turn to their non-Indigenous peers to validate their response to feedback on racist behaviours. This creates harmful feedback loops, where lived experiences are ignored, and harmful behaviours are reinforced.

To foster a culturally safe workplace, organisations need to prioritise the voices of those directly affected by racism and seek guidance from Aboriginal staff or cultural experts. By listening, learning, and taking action based on the perspectives of those with lived experience, organisations can break the cycle of harm and build a more inclusive and respectful environment.

If your organisation is serious about creating a culturally safe workplace, understanding these feedback dynamics is essential.

Proofreading Your Workplace: How Cultural Capability Prevents Harm

Most people wouldn’t send a report without proofreading it, so why ignore the cultural capability of your workplace? Small mistakes in how we talk about and engage with Aboriginal people may seem harmless, but they can cause real harm and create unsafe environments. Just like with grammar, cultural capability requires continuous learning and a commitment to getting it right. In this article, I explore why every organisation needs a ‘proofreader’ for their cultural capability and how this can build safer, more respectful workplaces for Aboriginal people.

Beliefs that could have led to a Yes vote: Lessons from the 2023 Referendum

Almost a year on, the 2023 referendum on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament is still a topic worth revisiting—not to analyse why people voted one way or another, but to explore what beliefs might have led to a different result. Imagine if the message had truly resonated. What values would have inspired a ‘Yes’ vote, and what can leaders learn from this for their own workplaces? In this article, I break down the beliefs that could have shifted the outcome and show how these same values can help build safer, more respectful workplaces.

Read the full article to find out what those beliefs are and how they can shape change in your organisation.

Mentoring Aboriginal Staff: How to Avoid Gaslighting and Be a Better Ally

When a young Aboriginal woman told her non-Indigenous mentor that her employer was racist, his first reaction was to explain that they weren’t. This response is common—and problematic. It's called racial gaslighting: dismissing or undermining someone’s experience of racism. By listening without defensiveness, recognising lived experience as expertise, and questioning our own biases, we can avoid this pitfall. Becoming a better ally means standing with those facing discrimination, not explaining it away. If you’re serious about building a safer and more respectful workplace, it starts with listening deeply and challenging your own assumptions.

Expanding the Understanding of Aboriginal Employment

When people think of Aboriginal employment, they often focus on recruitment and placement services. While these are important aspects, Aboriginal employment encompasses a much broader range of activities and strategies that go beyond simply filling jobs. People who work in Aboriginal employment could have experience in any or all of these areas. Understanding the full scope of Aboriginal employment can help organisations make a meaningful impact and create lasting change.

I've listed 16 areas that people might mean when they say Aboriginal employment.

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The “It's Not Just Culture" Principle

I've developed a set of principles over more than 20 years working in Aboriginal employment. These principles form an important part of my Aboriginal employment philosophy.

This article series introduces you to two of my three of these principles.

My Three Principles:

It's not me, it's you
It's not just culture
Look good, feel good, do good principle

This article covers the second principle.

I use these principles when working with clients to help guide their best intentions towards things that work. Each of my products has been designed with these principles in mind.

These principles will help you work out if what you're doing or planning to do with Aboriginal employment is going to get you where you want to be with Aboriginal employment.

Reading Recommendation: Radical Candor by Kim Scott

The ideas in this book, Radical Candor, resonated strongly with me. As I read, I realised how relevant the core framework was to my work in Aboriginal employment.

I had a very clear idea in my mind what kind of supervisor was best, but no framework - and barely any language - for what it was.

Here’s a very quick introduction to the framework and how it applies to Aboriginal employment.

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3 ways to get internal support for Aboriginal employment and the 1 way that works

Have you ever tried to get internal support for an Aboriginal employment program or initiative and failed?

Ever struggled to get your board, senior leaders, hiring managers, or staff to get on board with a important initiative?

You either can't find the message that works, or you can't get the message to the right person to make a decision. If you can't get support for an initiative, how can you expect it to succeed?

This article looks at why you need a strong rationale, three kinds of arguments you could use, and the most effective kind to use to bring staff on board.

How do I find someone who can do a Welcome To Country in my area?

Do you need to find someone who can deliver a Welcome to Country?

The below information is meant to be a starting point for you to identify and connect with Traditional Custodians in your area. It is not a comprehensive list, and may be updated from time to time.

It is important that you check whose country your meeting/event is being held.

We talk about Welcomes to 'Country' and Acknowledgements of 'Country', but what do we mean by 'Country'?

Over the last few years, so many workplaces have introduced Acknowledgements of Country. Rising community expectations to acknowledge Traditional Custodians and First Nations people have meant my most popular downloads and blog posts are about this modern take on a traditional custom.

But, what do we mean by ‘Country’?

Here's an explanation from Professor Mick Dodson OA.