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Some secondees saw their careers progress into

leadership roles

following their secondment.

Melanie Evans was working as Director of Customer

and Product for BT Financial when she went on

secondment to Cape York. She is now General

Manager Service Revolution & Transformation at

Westpac and said the Jawun experience played a

key part in her advancing into a leadership role:

My Jawun secondment had a huge impact on

my career. I don’t think I would have been as

effective or progressed in this environment. In my

twenties I was very hard, very black and white.

I thought, ‘As long as we get the right outcome

from a customer, shareholder or an investment

perspective, we can deal with the people impacts

later.’ I think most organisations have worked out

that that culture is not the right culture for big,

complex organisations that want to be service led

and attract talented leaders. Perhaps that ‘hard’

style might still work in certain workplaces …

but I wouldn’t have become a leader in the

Westpac culture.

Jaimes Adlington now leads a larger team at

Westpac following his secondment in 2013. He

reflected: ‘I’ve got a broader portfolio and a bigger

team now and I think part of that transition has

been the positive feedback I’ve received from a

general community involvement and leadership

perspective from having done a secondment.’ He

also believes the Jawun experience influences his

style of leadership: ‘My decision-making is a bit

more considered. You’ve still got to make a call, but

now I think more about, “Where does that person

come from? Why are they acting that way? Why

are they communicating to you in that way?”

and then try to work through it.’

Intercultural competency increases

Growth in intercultural competency is one of the

most commonly reported outcomes of a Jawun

secondment.

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Intercultural competency is about

our will and actions to build understanding

between people, to be respectful and open to

different cultural perspectives, and work towards

equality in opportunity. Relationship building is

fundamental to cultural competency and is based

on the foundations of understanding each other’s

expectations and attitudes, and building on the

strength of each other’s knowledge to build on

their understandings.

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While a Jawun secondment takes place within

Australia’s Indigenous community, intercultural

competency is applicable in a global sense.

Cross-cultural experiences are considered essential

to building ‘cultural agility’, which is recognised

as a global leadership competency for business

leaders who can operate successfully in today’s

global environment. In a culturally competent and

inclusive organisation individuals function at full

capacity, feel more valued and feel included in the

organisation’s mission. Interculturally competent

individuals typically demonstrate inclusive

behaviours at work that enable the culture to

shift to a higher-performing organisation where

motivation and morale soar.

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In 2011–12, a number of Jawun secondees

participated in an intercultural competency

study designed by Winthrop Professor Cristina

Gibson and her team from the University of

Western Australia’s School of Business. The study

measured changes in intercultural experience

for secondees pre- and post-secondment. The

findings of the study indicated that Jawun

secondees had experienced statistically significant

improvements in all three major competency

domains (perceptions management, relationship

management and self-management) necessary for

effective intercultural interaction.

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The study also

showed that the intercultural development that

occurred in secondees through the six-week Jawun

secondments surpassed the development that

occurred in a two-week intercultural project

or ‘classroom only’ program (see Figure 7).

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Professor Gibson’s research was borne out in

interviews with secondees, with many testifying

that their intercultural competency had increased

and they behaved more inclusively after their

secondment. Rachel Yang explained that

the experience of working in an Indigenous

organisation highlighted to her the importance

of being culturally aware: ‘The experience taught

me to be more observant, emotionally responsive

and culturally sensitive in different situations

and environments.’

Sara McDonald agreed: ‘You become more aware

of the way you approach people as a result of

the secondment. I travelled through communities

where English was the second, third or fourth

language, and with these cultural and language

differences you become very aware of how you’re

interacting with people. You consider why you are

there and what you’re seeking to achieve.’

Others attested that their improvement in listening

and application of empathy and patience had

contributed to growth in intercultural competency.

CREATING VALUE FOR CORPORATE AND GOVERNMENT PARTNERS 25