ORGANIZATIONS BUILDING TRUST, COHESION, FRATERNITY, AND FRIENDSHIP OUTSIDE THE FAMILY AND WITHIN THE COMMUNITY

The author is managing director of Our Community, an Australian social enterprise. He provides context on what it’s like being a leader in that country. He describes Our Community as “basically a support organization for not-for-profit organizations (NFPs) and a software vendor to government.” In relating its origins, he writes that “I wanted to break new ground in this country with a new thing that would reward its employees, that I could make some money from, and that would do good in the world.” He also explains that “without support from investors who are poised precisely between commerce and philanthropy, leadership would simply be beside the point. From the beginning, Our Community was for-profit, but not for-profit only. A lot of our offerings were free, subsidized by our profit centers.” He also points to the pivotal role of ethics for him, and that he was “awarded a Vincent Fairfax Ethics in Leadership scholarship 30 years ago and it was a seminal moment in my career.” A separate sidebar explains, “What We Believe,” “What We Do,” and “How We Work.” For instance, in the latter: “We believe in a work environment that allows for an authentic life balance.”