Stories that care for Country – the shift that could change everything.
Better World Leaders Episode 32, with Chris Andrew – General Manager of Black Duck Foods.
This is a long yarn towards a specific destination – a place of shared meaning and common ground in devotion of a specific way of being…caring for Country. The pathway we talk upon to arrive at our destination is the roles of stories. How we are as storytellers discloses much about how we view the world, what we consider our role to be and how we intend our actions to impact on those who receive them.
Chris Andrew is…a storyteller who grew up in the most Western of environments as a chemical engineer and investment banker, and who transitioned into playing a role in one of the oldest – working with Aboriginal elders whose storytelling lineage refers back at least 60,000 years.
This early part of this discussion track Chris’s journey and development and he transitioned through these stages, bringing us at around the 33 minute mark to explore in depth his current context working as a leader in an Aboriginal Social Enterprise. From here on in we go in depth into the contrast between the Western approach to questioning and ‘self-serving’ pursuit of answers, to examine the crucial role of storytelling to not only convey knowledge, but to share context, perspectives and define culture.
Key out-takes from this episode;
– How do you relate and use your skills to build a better world?
– We need to broaden the audience by broadening the conversation and expanding the language
– Chris’s take on finding common ground is to seek shared stories
– Telling a story gives richness to the systems we all operate in
– Accept that not everyone is going to change, not everyone is going to listen or share, or work towards common ground. But everyone can in their own way and in their own time come to that point through different pathways.
– Chris’ view on the land of Australia, of Country, being our ‘laziest asset’ (using Investment banking language to broaden the conversation). How can we work collaboratively and inclusively to develop this – once we are invited in to do so having treated this asset with respect.
– That in Chris’ view there really is one solution. To care for Country.
– As we do so, we embed more choice. As we embed more choice, we embed greater value.
You can reach out to Chris via his LinkedIn profile here – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-andrew-75196a18/
You can find out more about Black Duck Foods here – https://blackduckfoods.org/
As always, great thanks and appreciation to the team who contributed to bringing Better World Leaders to you;
To Brendan Ward for mastering, final production, composition and performance of original music throughout each episode.
To Cooper, Pat and the team at RadioHub studios for audio editing, technical support and creative guidance during the episodes that are recorded face-to-face. You can find out about Radio Hub’s services here – https://www.radiohub.com.au/
To NokNok Studios for website design, hosting and advice. Find out about NokNok’s awesome services here – https://www.facebook.com/NOKNOKstudios/
