Andrew Gerkens

Getting better at what I do every single day and helping others do the same. Cultural Evolution, Organisation and Capability Development. Views are my own.

[Andrew Gerkens @AndrewGerkens]

@ryantracey Interesting to see the blend of peated an unpeated whisky in this Ryan. My wife likes a whisky source, but isn't a lover of peaty whisky

[Andrew Gerkens @AndrewGerkens]

What does it mean to remain genuinely human in our thinking, learning, leadership, orgs and civilisation as #AI reshapes everything we have built?
https://t.co/kZeh2fWnan…
#AIethics #ArtificialIntelligence #leadership #adaptiveleadership #organizationalculture

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

🚨🇱🇧🇮🇱IDF soldiers have filmed themselves looting Lebanese villages and posted the videos online.

Motorcycles, televisions, paintings, sofas, and rugs are being loaded into military vehicles in broad daylight while commanders stand by and do nothing.

One soldier said: "It's on a crazy scale.

Anyone who takes something immediately puts it in their vehicle.

It's not hidden.

Everyone sees it and understands."

Over 50 villages in southern Lebanon are now under Israeli military control as part of the "Yellow Line," with more than 1 million civilians displaced.

The looting is systematic, the videos are public, and consequences have been nonexistent!

ZeroHedge

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

How many times has Israel violated the Gaza ceasefire? Here are the numbers https://t.co/VDI3x2QLEH

[Phillip Riley @philmupp1]

From the 'Only in Queensland' files comes the story of the University of Queensland Press destroying the books of an Indigenous illustrator due no doubt to Zionist influence. Indigenous land has given way to Greater Israel. Welcome to Censorship Central.

[Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs]

After the right to torture Palestinians, Apartheid Israel claims the right to HANG Palestinians. The shame of the century continues.

Ben Gvir belongs in The Hague.

[Andrew Gerkens @AndrewGerkens]

Wow. I've had a call at 1715, not from @VirginAustralia but from baggage services. They have my bag. I can pick it up from airport or they can deliver it to me TOMORROW. If I have a prob, I can email VA. What email I ask. You can look it up they say. Is this Customer Service?

[Andrew Gerkens @AndrewGerkens]

1 of 2.@VirginAustralia I arrived in DWN via Perth at 1700 yest, after I was tra served from my flight to Bris. I and other Melb pax waited for our luggage. When it didn't arrive I sought out staff, who told me it would come on the next flight. When is that I asked

[Andrew Gerkens @AndrewGerkens]

2 of 2. Tomorrow they said. 23 hours later, I've had no update from VA. I'm still wearing yesterday's clothes in a tropical climate.
Why did staff not meet us at the carousel? Why has VA made no attempt to inform me of situation/next steps/expectations? Why am I still waiting?

[Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם @yuval_abraham]

The army confirms today our reporting from two years ago - when it no longer matters as much to admit this

[Helen Bevan @HelenBevan]

Curiosity is one of the most strategic capabilities that we need at times of profound change & uncertainty.

For leaders of change, I would define “curiosity” as engaging with uncertainty: focusing on gaps in our knowledge, exploring them with others, seeking other possibilities & using what we learn to adapt decisions, relationships & systems for better outcomes.

Uncertainty automatically triggers threat responses in our brains, narrowing attention and pushing us into “fight‑flight‑freeze” patterns that shut down creativity & collaboration. As leaders under rising pressure, we tend to seek quick closure, filter out disconfirming data & dig in with our initial interpretations, which is the opposite of what complex change requires.

​Curiosity creates a different pathway. When we become genuinely interested in “what is really going on here?” we recruit neural networks linked to exploration, problem‑solving & reward. Leaders who show interest, ask open questions & tolerate “not knowing yet” help teams move from defensiveness to discovery. In practice, that can be as simple as shifting the first question in a crisis meeting from “How do we fix this?” to “What might we be missing about this situation?

Research on “information gaps” shows that curiosity is triggered when we become aware of something important we do not yet know; the gap itself generates energy to learn. People often feel most curious at moderate levels of uncertainty—enough ambiguity to stimulate interest, but not so much that the situation feels hopeless.

​For change leaders, this means uncertainty gets reframed as a shared learning agenda: “Here is what we know, here is what we don’t, & here are the questions we need to explore together.” This approach treats ambiguity as a resource rather than a personal failure of leadership & invites collective sense‑making instead of people waiting for instructions or answers.

How to build a culture of curiosity in uncertain times:
1. Model visible curiosity every day: Regularly say “I don’t know yet”, “Tell me more” & “What am I missing?”, signalling that questions are welcome, not a weakness.
​2. Design meetings around questions, not updates: Start sessions with 2–3 priority questions (e.g. “What’s the most important thing we don’t understand about this issue?”) instead of long slide decks.
​3. Actively encourage questioning & learning: Publicly thank team members who raise awkward issues or ask clarifying questions, & link this to your values/behaviours framework.
​4. Create simple learning & experimentation routines: Encourage small, safe‑to‑try tests of change & make it explicit that “failed” experiments are successes if they generate useful learning.
​5. Bring in diverse perspectives by design: Mix roles & disciplines in problem‑solving sessions & deliberately ask “who else needs to be in this conversation?”.

​Building a culture of curiosity is not about adding extra components on top of an already overloaded change agenda; it’s about changing the way we pay attention. In an uncertain world with shifting demands, shared curiosity is no longer a “nice‑to‑have”; it can be the difference between repeatedly coping & continuously improving.

See e.g., https://t.co/VkDEV5UBYS Performance Frontiers.

Post by inspired by this graphic from by @tnvora

[Aaron Smith @aaronsmith]

While mainstream media breathlessly recites statements put in the mouths of Grant Hackett and Dawn Fraser - statements they didn’t even write - Michael West Media has published the most forensic analysis of the Bondi attackers so far.

This IS journalism👇
https://t.co/JqasBXBh3h

[Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs]

"The affiliation was thus removed -- not because of (false) accusations of antisemitism -- but because U.S. institutions are prohibited by federal law from affiliating with individuals subject to U.S. sanctions." (@Georgetown)

Amen.

[💧Mary Kostakidis @MaryKostakidis]

Australians for Humanity demand the invitation to Israel’s President be withdrawn immediately
‘The Israel President cannot be welcomed in Australia. The government he represents has been found by the International Court of Justice to have breached international law: the Netanyahu regime has committed a range of international crimes against humanity including war crimes, apartheid, illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing…
Is the government blind? Is it sensitive only to grief and fear experienced by one community?
President Herzog has presided over brutality and has approved the destruction of a people whose rights he does not respect. In December 2023 he was pictured signing bombs due to be dropped on Gaza. At a news conference following the October 7 2023 attack, he commented, ‘It’s an entire nation that is out there that’s responsible’, words subsequently cited in the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Instead of Australian governments rushing to appease only one group by passing laws to erode free speech and the right to protest, obligations under the Genocide Convention and the rulings of the International Court of Justice should be implemented.
Such a change of attitude and policy will require courage and should encourage all politicians to realise fundamental truths, that state violence of all kinds can be ended by observing international law and by achieving justice for Palestine.
If the invitation to Herzog is not withdrawn, there should be massive protest against the prospect of a likely war criminal being welcomed in this country.’
https://t.co/T0Cv5GRoZT

[Andrew Gerkens @AndrewGerkens]

@ryantracey My wife is in strong agreement with you Ryan

[AAP FactCheck @aapfactcheck]

The Bondi Beach terrorist attack has become fodder for foreign-based engagement operations using AI-generated fake news about reactions to the tragedy to drive clicks online.

https://t.co/jqsExOfiY9

[Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs]

Why does Israel destroy livelihoods including access to water in illegally occupied territory? War criminals through and through.

[Jonathan Cook @Jonathan_K_Cook]

Rome news agency Nova sacks a journalist for asking the European Commission why it isn't insisting Israel pay for the rebuilding of Gaza when it demands Russia pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Colleague says pro-Israel censorship in Italy is rife.
https://t.co/tjH20dl4vn

[Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs]

Israel: where the story isn’t the gang rape of a detainee, but the leak that exposed it and “tarnished” the country’s reputation.

[AAP FactCheck @aapfactcheck]

The word “apartheid” has been used a lot online in discussions about Victoria’s Treaty with First Peoples, but it has a very specific historical and legal meaning that doesn’t apply here.