This learner has completed ID verification. Find out more.
Wayne Gobert
I am a senior HR professional with experience in both the public and private sectors.
Started as a Naval Officer then evolved into HR. Still a Commander in Reserves.
Finalist HR Director of the Year
Location Sydney Australia
Achievements
Activity
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
I am Registrar of the RSLNSW Tribunal so I seeking more ACNC knowledge.
-
When surveying we need to be careful measuring culture and climate. Q12 seems like an excellent instrument. Few questions asked frequently can help.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
it happens a lot often not through ill intent but blindness and arrogance. Many leaders for example have NEVER received 360 feedback.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Rational drivers like money contribute to a sense of security which can increase retention. Emotional drivers of self actualisation will foster discretionary effort. Both are important.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Engagement brings discretionary effort.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
I believe in the hybrid model this allows some flexibility in making sense of satisfaction in a wide range of contexts.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
People look for emotional and rational engagement. Typically these are; security to live reasonably well, treatment with respect, knowing that they have a development path, having a meaningful role.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Just a point China, Japan and South Korea are NOT members of ASEAN.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Given that interception of communications has been a viable tool of global policy for centuries where does a non governmentally regulated service sit? Moreover in nations where there are dire consequences to not passing on intelligence - where to from there?
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The example of China effectively censoring the internet shows how it can be controlled. The internet also opens up immense possibility for cyber intelligence and attacks. The ban on Huawei by the Us and Australia is another example of concerns in this area.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
An interesting article. A key dynamic in expansion or isolationism is who gains and who loses. That's why colonialism was so attractive as expansion was rebadged and given a civilising mission. It also helped to assume that the original inhabitants simply weren't there. It's more complicated now. Given that Europe has so many relatively small nations, with...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
A great piece on the power of networks.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
I find the conclusion that homogeneity equals peace rather absurd. Firstly the Global Peace index ratings aren't correct. The map from 2016 is completely different to the Figures in the table (not sure what year that is but it's not 2016). next, the GPI uses data like the size of military and internal crime statistics to develop its ratings. Isolated nations...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
There are of a course also a range of multinational agencies involved in the fight against terrorism, particularly in the field of intelligence. Militaries share doctrine and method in dealing with asymmetric threats.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Certainly true regarding Africa. I'm not so sure that the UN is the best lever for other regions of the world. The other point is that not all colonisers left nations in a wreck. It's a bit of a generalisation. Some were left with working infrastructures, effective public services and were resource rich. Several years down the track they splintered due to...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
it's interesting that nationalism is now arising as an integral part of internal politics. Particularly as ethnic groups assume a right to simply cross borders under the guise of refugees. Of course, there are genuine refugees driven from their homes by war or turmoil, but there seems to be another class - the "economic refugee" who cross borders to earn more...
-
Great points David. I think e-commerce is somewhere there already. The debate here is who (or if anyone) pays the taxes that power the nation?
-
Does charity lead to dependence?
-
I struggle with the view that democracy is not linear. Not in terms of accepting that some "democratic" nations slide backwards but in assuming that political structures are the only thing to judge. In my view a nation that democratises then slides backwards was probably never really democratic at all (other than in terms of its structures). Democracy requires...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
It may be a little misleading to assume that falling defence budgets are an expression of less insecurity. There had been a concurrent lift on Border security, cyber security, coast guard etc costs. While some nations can “free ride” under someone else’s military umbrella (eg Norway) others spend on their security to play their part in global security.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Do we consider the outsourcing of white collar industries as part of globalisation? For e ample the outsourcing of IT and Call centres off shore has made a significant difference to some in places like India.etc...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The new dimension of loan indebtedness as a pseudo currency seems to be beyond international regulation. China’s belt and road program is a classic political Trojan horse
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The point at the end is powerful re the problem with profit. However how do you have trade without profit???
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Good points to the reality that trade doesn’t stop conflict. Not sure on what scale China’s poor are better off? No public education, health, no rights, etc.........
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The idea that rationalist views surrounding economics and wealth somehow trump more emotional fears over security and loss of cultural identity seems to fly in the face of history. Prior to both World Wars Europe was happily trading. The Democrats on the USA, anti Brexiteers. and recently Greens/Labor bloc just couldn’t understand why people were so “stupid”...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
I have trouble agreeing that there are fewer national entities post WW2. A simple count reveals the opposite. Even the EU shows signs of fraying. The belief that nations are forming legalistic unitary blocs seems to only be true in Europe. The supposed US view of coalitions seems to apply everywhere else.
Possibly Europe has this view given that Europeans...
-
Probably a reflection of the "first past the post" electoral system, that in the absence of only 2 choices and low voter turnout will almost certainly produce that result. the blame lies with those who perpetuate the system and those who don't vote.
-
Wayne Gobert replied to Rebecca Mahmood
Hi Rebecca...that's why some nations have no problems ratifying treaties and international agreements. They never plan to honour them anyway!
The US and North Vietnam happily agreed to settle South Vietnam's sovereignty never intending to mean it.
-
Wayne Gobert replied to Wayne Gobert
Hi Claire I can't wait to hear Cornish!I It's interesting that occupiers who try to take away a peoples' language create an opposite effect. Australia is now trying to reconstruct Aboriginal languages, the difficulty is that they were never written down and there were over 700 languages.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The problem withdrawing boundaries on maps is that it’s a compromise. Most indigenous peoples had a different sense of boundaries and land ownership.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The observation that music unites and language divides is wonderful. I think of China under the first Emperor where eh introduced money and writing as unifiers. The pictorial nature of Chinese explains why Chinese that speak different languages often read the same text. A little like numbers.
Not so sure about the selfless nature of nations in giving...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Mediation is critical in providing a circuit breaker to a tense situation. I'm not so certain what it means to be "an experienced diplomatic negotiating nation". Diplomats, as was noted, are acting on behalf of a government and are rarely empowered to make decisions, instead taking views back to decision makers. It's helpful to have a detached nation as...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Although cultural differences may be less of a barrier in diplomacy and business there is a world beyond. Organisations that outsource functions like call centres and multicultural nations particularly illustrate this. I think it really depends on the culture. The children of immigrants from some cultures (China/India) seem to integrate successfully. Other...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Foreign aid is sadly the football in domestic politics when local economies struggle. The other dimension is the political where aid is provided (particularly money) to gain influence in less wealthy nations. The Chinese belt and road program is widely suspected of being a trojan horse for the provision of debt indebtedness to countries that can't finance...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Talking of individuals - regarding the article summary - there are also a few famous women out there!! Despite the opposition to non-gender specific language it rankles at the individual level to be excluded by gender.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
I agree that the world is not so easily sliced into "civilizations". Have the major clashed we have seen throughout history been caused by cultural clash - or political interests? I suspect it's the later. We are seeing turbulence within nations as cultures merge and are forced to reevaluate what the concept of the nation is. This is playing out within nations...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
A great thread of logic. I don't agree that Europe's view of the rest of the world is coloured by an arrogance. However, I'd call it an unconscious bias that leads to Eurocentricity. The US/Canada/Australia/New Zealand have been melting pots of European nations long before the EU was invented. Now, this is altering as multiculturalism melds with first peoples...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Really great points. The observation that people are drawn to converge is very powerful. It would seem that the art is in understanding what the forces are that create cohesion and reduce what creates repulsion. That needs work!
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
As an Australian, I find the North-South terminology a little Eurocentric. If I'm one eight Aboriginal - what am I? If my parents were born in China - what am I? The need to embrace a multicultural state has been a reality for new world immigrant-absorbing nations for a century. Certainly, there was colonialism beforehand however this has shifted.
-
Hi Richard, you are spot on. The coalition is a formal centre-right wing with a long-standing dating back to the 60's. Labour technically has no coalition partner although Greens support generally goes their way. Some other more right minor parties have also formed and as you say are popular in QLD and Western Australia.
Interestingly the rural city thing...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The challenge with the term "world government" is what does government mean. If the term means giving up the right to control the living standard of national citizens then that's a very long way off. Even long stable federations (USA, Canada, Australia) have limits on national (Federal) authority let alone a world body.
Ultimately;y the greater the gravitas... -
Hi Richard, Australia has had preferential voting (referred to as a Brithg Columbia experiment) since 1915. We also have compulsory voting. We've also churned through a few PM's which I think the UK's about to do as well.
Dissatisfaction with the traditional left and right wing parties has led to an interesting phenomenon. They both command about a third each... -
Wayne Gobert made a comment
What happened to Constitutional monarchies?
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
I wonder if this is blurring as we globalise. Is it really a west vs east thing? The growing debate over global warming is an interesting example. I was reading about a Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg and her quest to shame people who fly. Apparently travelling by train is more virtuous. The argument looks substantial (save the planet) but the reality is...
-
Hi Richard Brexit is a great example. The progress depends on what you voted for! In this case, no matter who you voted for it may be seen as negative progress. Almost no one got what they wanted.
From an Australian point of view, the rejection of a referendum result would be unconstitutional. However, a referendum here needs 66% of the vote in 2/3rds of...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Progress is a highly subjective term. It depends on interpretation by the receiver and transmitter. I would also argue that it often is seen as being positive - ie" "great progress". However, progress can have negative outcomes - progress is really just a state of change from a to b.
-
Thanks Anna@AnnaJessen
-
Excellent point Richard. being felt right now in hong kong!
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
It will be interesting to see what impact social media has on the world into the future.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
"liberalism" can strike troubled times when it buts up against highly collectivised, authority respecting cultures.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Interesting to use the term "Chinese culture". With over 100 official minorities China is anything but culturally homogeneous. The west is Islamic, Tibet Buddhist and the Hmong animist. Not to mention many different variants of Chinese which are;t just dialects but different languages. Hence modern China's obsession with one state.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
I think it's a little misleading to depict Australia/NZ/Canada as decolonised after 1945. That happened almost 5 decades before. Nonetheless, that doesn't change the displacement caused to others by settlement.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
This all draws attention to the wicked problem faced in dealing with the rights of aboriginal people. The four states who did not ratify due to "self-determination" have the biggest challenges. What does self-determination mean? From this stems the concern over land ownership. Nations who have no indigenous people are able to happily vote in favour. A little...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
A powerful presentation. When you are confronted by two opposing camps who only see right and wrong the reality of parallel worlds hits.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
This is a symptom of the leadership lacking eh courage to have honest and frank conversations with their people. Either the workloads are unreasonable or their needs to be tighter performance management.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
this is a marginal case. No aggression is really shown, just a poor example. If the company has an open and inclusive culture the behaviour should be called out. If there is an environment of fear an anonymous complaint should be made. Some jurisdictions allow this. Either way higher leadership is failing as well.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
That's why we have the law. In most cultures, a company can't just choose to opt out of the law. I'd assume that this company was violating the law.
It gets messy when industries self regulate. Even more so when the act is legal but unethical. This is a major part of the military ethic.
-
The challenge with using misbehaviour and dare I say right and wrong- is the potential for it to be interpreted subjectively. Hence the problem with glossy Values statements that don't mean much.
Then there's context. There are some cultures where bribery isn't misbehaving - it's normal! In others, sexual harassment isn't an issue. That's why an...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Australia has just completed a Royal Commission into Banking and Finance uncovered fraud after fraud. People often aren't aware that they are misbehaving, they are often doing what they are either told or see as "OK". The normalisation of deviance is an insidious thing.
People often fail to stand up and say something because;
1 they tried to but...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
I've changed several. Gossip and chatter are normal - so is resistance to change. To succeed there needs to be a clear and easily understood direction and endpoint. When confronted by change around 13% get it straight away, 13% will always be negative and the rest wait until there is something in it for them. Change is a project like any other project. People...
-
Leaders set the tone.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Musk needs to communicate and connect continually, have a really clear cultural position and drive people towards the company identity he seeks. He also needs to have great leaders who live and breathe what he aspires to.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Musk is human. Whatever his personal traits and nuances, he also needs to adapt to changing circumstances. The larger and more complicated an organisation gets the CEO's message and ability to directly impact diffuses.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Leadership and culture are organically linked. Senior leadership impact on long term culture and an employee view of the world. Local leaders can impact on climate in the immediate workplace. Anyway you slice it culture is changed via leadership.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
All three typologies overlap. A person has a set of traits created by their life span journey. These are then confronted by situations- the result is behaviour. A powerful leader has the ability to understand what is happening, adapt as required and get results.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The quick survey and word balloon were telling in terms of commonality of desired cultures.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Most orgs I worked with or for are; structured, have rules and clear roles. They often lack a long term vision and purpose living for the immediate task ahead. They almost always deny the existence of the informal and deviation from what’s stated vs the actual.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
My top five were:
Leadership
Clarity of vision
Respect
Inclusion
Flexibility -
It seems to be in the centre of the word cloud!
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Culture variation is normal. My view has been to listen and try and understand - why? Once this is understood I try and explain why and break expectations down to a relevant level. I try to convince the indifferent via w.i.f.m. The absolute resistors generally become compliant if there is enough peer pressure. Otherwise they may have to go.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
A culture where everyone’s role is clear, we celebrate and reward success whilst having honest conversations on sub optimal performance. Everyone has a chance to grow with us and leaders are fair and competent.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The three typologies are just effects of deeper causes. If poorly led, poorly trained and in the wrong job or organisation people can reflect all three. Sometimes in one day! I know people who are anything but “x” until a certain leader comes along.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Motivation sits at the heart of all of us. The vast majority of people want; a job that matters, to be allowed to be the best they can be, and a decent working environment. Culture overarchs all of these. If it doesn’t fit you end up with; compliance without care, high turnover or presenteeism/ absenteeism.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Handy's model is very useful in that it focuses on the human element within cultures. However, I would argue that really effective organisations are ambidextrous and have the ability to operate in whichever sector is applicable at the time. This is critical for an agile organisation. Trouble comes when the org has one default setting.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
My other concern is with values based typologies. Values are completely subjective - eg: a corrupt police officer can be certain they are honest if they follow their own logic. Is honesty in the Philippines the same as honesty in Norway?
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
An interesting model that allows a very broad brush assessment of org cultures. I have two concerns. The first is that orgs can reflect all of these simultaneously;y. For example the military - it's clannish, hierarchical and if we assume market is not just commercial it's there as well. Yet when under fire the culture can adhocracy when communications...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
No wonder it's from the early 1980's! A lot of the world has moved way past this super simple way of thinking. I can be in any of these cultures in my organisation in a day.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
As a post script, the other issue I have with Deal is that it takes on a task aspect which is fine in a binary (right and wrong) environment. However, in a VUCA world how people go about doing things can be more important than what they do.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The shortcoming with both Deal & Kennedy and Schein is that they almost assume a fixed unchanging nature or org culture. Deal is very process focussed. I like the Hofstede view as the most flexible and adaptable. Particularly in more multicultural parts of the world where there is a greater churning of cultures entering organisations.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Find out exactly what's happened with the people effected.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
An excellent program. Deanne did a great job and the international scope and flavour of the program was really powerful. Gave me a lot to use in my present role right now.
-
Thanks Ian your right - autonomous weapons are hugely dependent on what's loaded into them. Not many are almost completely free of human input - maybe CWS.
The point of difference is that if we accept the reality that input can be faulty then there will always be a point with autonomous weapons were a "point of no return" is reached. I think of a MK48...
-
Hi Travis absolutely right. Your comment on the USA is absolutely correct. The wicked problem with focussing on intent is exactly what you've outlined. Intent is opaque and multi layered. Objectives whether clear or deceptive are based on observed behaviour - we can see it. Intent is based on much deeper constructs.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Biological enhancement of physical performance is a reality of the world we live. Sport is an exemplar - loook at Gatorade. In the Army in particular physical endurance is very important - less so at sea or in the air. If we however extend enhancement to mental capability and resilience it is relevant to both military and naval forces.
The deep concern is...
-
Ian has really nailed the this. The drug PERVITIN became very widespread across Germany through the 30's into the war. It was the drug used not by the military but the wider population. Although it started as a physical enhancer the side effects were not immediately obvious.
The insidious nature is when drugs effect judgment almost every application of the...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
My concern is that our definitions of warfare start to become so broad they diffuse. Once they diffuse they become more abstract and of less relevance. Cyber warfare although it has an impact on war capability is in the main more indirect. For example are economic sanctions and act of war? Generally they are considered as a step in escalation towards war....
-
Wayne Gobert replied to Ian Bertram
Less lethal is right on the money. Nonetheless the more less lethal weapons that are available risk ; should be reduced - but things will always go wrong. Itss all an exercise in risk management.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The key point is that these weapons are not "non" lethal they are "less" lethal. As with any weapons system they need to be deployed and operated within the same constraints as any other weapon system - the only issue is that the risk should be less.
As an aside not all non lethal are aimed at people. The USN is about to deploy Laser cannons to sea - LaWs....
-
Hi Robert Great post. I'd add that nation's do have the right to kill their own citizens - if they are part of the military. This is clearly a list resort however laying fire on one's own troops or ordering a ship to be a sacrificial decoy (radar enhancing to protect a carrier) is just that.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Autonomous weapon use needs to be considered against the situation they will be deployed in. Autonomous weapons have been a feature of naval warfare for decades. Remotely laid sea mines that trigger to certain cues, fire and forget missile systems, and CIWS are examples. The notion that there is no accountability is difficult to sustain as somewhere in the...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The concept of the media needs to shift gear to the modern world of social media. Social media is rapidly replacing traditional media particularly for politicians and newer generations. Given that there is more chance of working with "the media" there needs to cooperation to the best degree possible.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Ignoring the media and social media is dangerous. Social media now easily bypasses any controls and cannot be disregarded. Doctrine needs to adapt to the new world of transparency and instant information. ISIS's use of social media is an exemplar.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Forget the media! Now let's add social media which has brought a whole new dimension to the world of conflict. Whilst the maritime environment is more easily controlled AFGHANISTAN and IRAQ have illustrated the huge issues associated with Twitter, Facebook, etc. These are completely ungoverned, no editors or negotiations here, we need look no further than...
-
It really depends on the threat and environment. Maritime powers generally have less use for conscripts at sea and in the air given the nature of the warfare. Reserves are much more useful. Land powers however if faced with threats driven by large numbers of possibly hostile troops may have a different need. This is where numbers count.
Nations like...
-
It saves ethical "clutter" to not see people as humans. A great point by Tom Frame!
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Australia has a quite different position on conscription. Australian forces have generally been committed for political rather than defence reasons - excepting the Pacific War. Therefore the threat to survival is generally rhetorical.
Australia has never allowed the death penalty in the military - Breaker Morant help bring this to a head. The British found...
-
Wayne Gobert replied to Ian Bertram
Hi Ian, I believe that it extends to all service people and has been tested during the Liberation of Kuwait.
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
The ethics of conscription needs to be weighed against a nation's geo political context. This blends time, place, threat etc: A right vs wrong response does it no justice.
The linking of conscription to nation building is a really interesting proposal. Indonesia did the same via PANCASILA, and Tito to bind diverse nationalities together (as long as he...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
Some aspects of the civilian military gap are not merely confined to democracies. Stalin and Hitler kept a very tight reign on their military which were never in a genuine position to challenge the authority of the state. As in Louis XIV the leader was the state.
In several Asian countries the military plays a massive role in the economic life of the nation...
-
Wayne Gobert made a comment
An observation in the Australian (and some Commonwealth) context. The military does not technically owe allegiance to the government of Prime Minister. It's to the monarch (via the Governor General) who of course is not elected.
