Powerco appoints general manager – people, safety and culture. 

Detected Manipulations & Suggested Changes

Biased language

Use of positive, promotional wording that presents one side in a favorable light without neutral framing.

1) “This is a critical role in helping us realise our potential and achieve our vision of being Aotearoa New Zealand’s most customer-focused infrastructure owner and operator,” said Franklin. 2) “Working with great people and watching them achieve is a huge motivator for me. Bringing together people, safety, and culture creates a real opportunity to strengthen how we support our teams and enable them to do their best work.” 3) “developing high-performing teams in complex, high-risk environments.” These phrases are subjective and promotional, emphasizing importance, opportunity, and high performance without evidence or balancing perspectives.

3 suggestions

Rephrase subjective claims into neutral descriptions, e.g.: “Franklin said the role is intended to support Powerco’s strategy and growth, including its goal of being a customer-focused infrastructure owner and operator.”

Attribute clearly and avoid endorsing value judgments, e.g.: “Stewart said he is motivated by working with colleagues and aims to use the combined people, safety and culture functions to support staff performance.”

Replace or qualify promotional descriptors, e.g.: “His experience includes leading organisational change, stakeholder engagement, governance, and managing teams in complex, high‑risk environments,” omitting “high-performing” unless supported by specific evidence.

Unbalanced reporting

Presenting only one positive perspective without any neutral or critical context.

The article only includes statements from Powerco’s chief executive and from Craig Stewart, all of which are positive about the role and the company’s vision. There is no independent context (e.g., why the role was created, any challenges in people/safety/culture, or external assessment of Powerco’s customer focus). While this is typical for a corporate appointment notice, it still means only one side (the company’s self-presentation) is represented.

3 suggestions

Add neutral context, such as: “The new role follows a period of [growth/regulatory change/incidents] in the sector, which has increased focus on health and safety and organisational culture.”

Include independent or factual benchmarks where relevant, e.g.: “Powerco currently serves X customers and has Y safety record according to [regulator/industry body].”

Clarify the nature of the piece at the top, e.g.: “Company announcement: Powerco has appointed…” to signal that it is a one-sided corporate communication (the note at the end partly does this; moving it to the top would improve clarity).

Appeal to emotion

Using emotionally positive language to create a favorable impression rather than providing evidence.

“Working with great people and watching them achieve is a huge motivator for me… enable them to do their best work.” This language is designed to evoke a positive emotional response about leadership style and company culture, without concrete examples or data.

2 suggestions

Reframe emotional language into descriptive, evidence-based statements, e.g.: “Stewart said he plans to focus on staff development and support, including [specific initiatives or programs].”

If emotional motivation is included, pair it with specifics: “He said he is motivated by supporting colleagues and cited previous initiatives such as [example] that improved staff engagement or safety outcomes.”