Stephen Scott in the Media: Articles, interviews, podcasts, social & more.

Entitlement is Toxic to Culture

14th June 2021

A culture of responsibility is one of learned aptitude. When leaders and their employees take responsibility, they prove to others and to themselves that they are capable; that obstacles can be overcome, and that actions lead to results.

Conversely, a culture of entitlement is one of learned helplessness. Entitlement is the belief that you are owed something, and that when you do not receive what you are supposedly owed, it is a failing of your leaders. A culture of entitlement is a toxic one, because it teaches its members that complaining is the extent of their available responses to challenge and adversity.

Leading with Questions

4th June 2021

A significant portion of my work is undertaken at senior executive level. In these forums, I have worked with Board Directors, CEOs, school principals and senior leadership teams. Some extremely wealthy multi nationals are represented alongside some of the smallest and most under resourced small business.

Over many years and many, many board room and executive discussions, I’ve seen patterns emerge. In particular, I’ve observed one approach to these discussions that separates the productive from the unproductive. That difference is the use of open versus closed questions.

How to Choose a Leader

26th May 2021

Clearly, selecting the right leader is incredibly important for an organisation, and doing so can sometimes feel like weathering a heavy storm on open seas without a compass. So if I can at least offer a compass, that might be the first step in offering some security and clarity in making this all-important decision.

Andrew Laming: The Balance of Power and Ethics

5th May 2021

Even ten-year-olds on the netball court can’t escape the tyranny of power.

On April 30, the ABC reported the story of a young girl who, in 2018, was brought to tears listening to MP Dr Andrew Laming tell her mother that he makes the rules, he makes the laws, and so he can do whatever he wants, wherever he wants.

This is a Call Out

6th April 2021

“… call it out for what it is:” said Jeremy Cordeaux, “a silly little girl who got drunk.” This is a call-out. This is me calling out men like Mr Cordeaux, whose wide reach should be used to empower everyone, and right now, especially women, instead of belittling their experiences and diminishing their agency. And this is a call for more men to call out other men. Women in all spheres have been calling out the behaviour of men for many decades.

Responsibility and Consent

18th March 2021

In recent weeks, the news of young women or teenage girls being sexually abused during their time at school has dominated both the social and mainstream media. This tidal wave of coverage comes in the wake of a young woman having the courage to reveal that she was raped within the hallowed halls of the Australian parliament.