A Transformational Leadership Journey

How might we empower leaders to create flourishing futures in a way that is uniquely ‘Aotearoa’ – grounded in Te Ao Māori and Western approaches?

Overview 

Te Ara Kahurangi offers a transformative experience for leaders who recognise the need for change in their lives and work and want to find a path to guide that change. Drawing on a unique hybrid of the wisdom of te ao Māori and Western global frameworks, Te Ara Kahurangi takes participants on a journey to reimagine the kind of leaders they want to be and the organisations and futures they want to help create.

Purpose 

We are living through a period of profound disruption that is having an unprecedented impact on our personal and organisational lives. At the executive level, these impacts are evident in chronic work-life imbalances and rising levels of stress, burnout, and cynicism. In such an environment, it is easy for leaders to lose touch with their own identity and purpose, as well as those of their organisations. The present day also contains seeds of future possibilities that can transform our lives, organisations and communities.

Te Ara Kahurangi supports leaders in aligning their life and work purpose with these possibilities and actualising them in their organisations and communities.

Programme Design

Te Ara Kahurangi offers leaders a rare opportunity to step away from their day-to-day life and work and embark on a reflective journey that reconnects them with their core identity and purpose as human beings and as leaders. It is grounded in a kaupapa Māori framework while also drawing on Western leadership research in complexity, systems change, design thinking, and positive psychology.

The core of Te Ara Kahurangi is a transformative, five-day residential intensive, hosted at two iconic venues in Queenstown: Rod Drury’s new Queenstown facility, “Taramea”; the executive Whare meeting house; and Millbrook Resort.

The retreat takes participants on a reflective journey through the four realms of Te Korekoreka. Te Korekoreka is a Ngāi Tahu kawa or framework for future-making. The kawa, drawn from mātauranga Ngāi Tahu and created by Tokona te Raki, will help leaders step outside of the everyday to examine their present, learn from the past, and imagine new, transformative futures.

The five-day retreat in September 2026 leads on to a nine-month supported personal journey, including peer groups and individual coaching sessions, culminating in a celebratory showcase event in May 2027.  

“Te Ara Kahurangi is more than a leadership course—it is a transformative journey designed to equip leaders with cultural depth, strategic awareness, and deep personal insight and alignment. It is designed to foster a new generation of executives committed to responding to the challenges of our time with authenticity, equity, and impact for a flourishing world.”

Target Audience

The programme is designed for senior leaders across all sectors who are “morally compelled about what’s happening nationally and globally” and wish to reimagine, recatalyze and revitalize their leadership practice by drawing on the wisdom of Māori, Pakeha and global frameworks. This includes:

• Iwi leaders
• Business executives
• Senior public sector and local government leaders
• Industry and sector leaders
• Education and Community leaders (i.e., school principals, NGO Managers, etc)
• etc

Te Korekoreka Learning Journey

Te Ara Kahurangi begins with a five-day residential retreat leading to a nine-month supported personal journey and culminates in a final celebratory showcase. Inspired by Te Korekoreka, the programme takes leaders on a journey of reconnection with their deepest purpose and possibilities as human beings and as leaders. It then helps them draw on that purpose as a vitalising force in their organisations and communities. The Te Korekoreka process cycles through four domains as follows;

Te Ao Tūroa (Current State Review)

The journey begins with a pōwhiri and whakawhanaungatanga, setting the foundation for an immersive leadership experience. Participants undertake a strategic review of the global context (environmental and political permacrisis) and reflect on their current leadership state, identifying challenges and opportunities. This shifts leaders out of autopilot thinking, encouraging them to engage consciously with their leadership practice.

Te Kore (Reflection and Insight)

Participants cross the threshold into Te Kore, the space of deep reflection and insight. This phase challenges conventional leadership thinking, guiding leaders to explore their inner voice, values, and purpose. Through exploring lessons and memories from the past, storytelling, and mindfulness, participants embrace uncertainty as a path to growth, setting the stage for transformational change.

Te Pō (Imagining and Innovation)

Building on insights from Te Kore, this domain connects leaders with generative invitations that unlock their highest future potential and that of their organisations. In Te Pō, participants draw on these insights to imagine a new vision and prototype new approaches. This domain nurtures innovation and creative leadership thinking, allowing participants to develop a personal leadership vision and prototype new approaches. 

Te Ao Mārama (Action and Implementation)

This domain focuses on bringing leadership vision to life. Leaders refine their action plans, develop implementation strategies, and identify support mechanisms to ensure effective execution. Leaders reaffirm their commitment to leading with impact and share this through powerful group reflection.

Partners and Sponsors

Te Ara Kahurangi is a partnership between Leadership Lab and Tāke Tuia. Together, these two organisations provide an immense range of leadership experience to this initiative.

Leadership Lab is a Tiriti o Waitangi-led, impact-focused leadership consultancy. Our vision is to support leaders in Aotearoa, New Zealand, in developing equitable and flourishing communities and organisations. This vision is realised through partnerships with organisations in the community, government and business sectors, focusing on connecting and nurturing collaborative leaders. Leadership Lab comprises a collective of experienced consultants from Whāngarei in the north to Tāhuna Queenstown in the south. Emphasising collective approaches, Leadership Lab co-designs impact projects that address complex challenges while giving effect to the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The values of mana ōrite, kotahitanga, and manaakitanga shape our approach to every project.

Tāke Tuia is a cultural competency training and consultancy focusing on Māori narratives and Māori engagement and guidance.

Key partners committed to the programme’s success include: 

• Murihiku Regeneration – Hokonui Rūnanga established Murihiku Regeneration to work closely and collaboratively with the Crown, giving voice and meaning to local Treaty obligations to Ngāi Tahu, and ensuring a clear, coherent plan for a prosperous and more sustainable Murihiku/Southland. https://www.murihikuregen.org.nz/

• Mana Tahuna are a kaupapa Māori Charitable Trust committed to and leading positive systemic change for the community and the Taiao.
• Patron and ‘Taramea’ venue sponsor: Rod Drury

These partnerships ensure the programme will be deeply rooted in local communities and connected to national and international leadership networks

Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce has agreed to support this initiative as a Network Partner.

Scholarships to partially subsidise the registration cost for this programme are being confirmed.  

Venue and Dates

Te Ara Kahurangi begins with a five-day retreat in Queenstown based at Millbrook Resort and Rod Drury’s new Queenstown facility, “Taramea”, the meeting house, which ensures a serene and inspiring environment that enhances the programme’s reflective and immersive nature. The natural beauty of Queenstown Lakes provides a powerful backdrop for reconnecting with self, purpose, and the principles of Te Ao Māori.

The leadership journey starts in August 2026 and finishes in May 2027 

• August – Virtual welcome experience
• Monday September 21st – Friday 25th 2026 – Queenstown Retreat – Millbrook Resort (4 nights)
• November, Jan, March, April  – Virtual peer group meetings (4 x 90 mins)
• Oct, December, Feb– Coaching (3 x 60 min sessions)
• May 2027 – Celebration showcase experience – 1-day workshop in Queenstown

Note: The retreat begins with a Pōwhiri at 1pm on Monday September 21st at Rod Drury’s new Queenstown facility, “Taramea”, the meeting house.  The retreat then finishes at 12 noon on Friday September 25th 2026 at Millbrook Resort.

Facilitators

• Darren Rewi
• Dr Peter Cammock
• Alice Dimond
• Dr Chris Jansen

This team brings collectively over 100 years of leadership experience, facilitation expertise and academic rigour to this programme. Our identities as Tangata whenua (Māori) and Tangata Tiriti (Pākehā) weave together to provide diverse perspectives and seasoned life experiences that ground this work in our own personal leadership journeys.

Cost

The following costs cover facilitation, venue and catering. Participants will arrange their own flights and transit costs to and from Queenstown.

• $12,000+GST/person

Note:

• Retreat accommodation will be at Millbrook Resort for 4 nights (Monday September 21^st to Friday September 25^th).  We have booked several four-bedroom resort homes, which allow individual privacy in a shared executive home. 
• The Celebration Showcase event will also be in Queenstown (May 2027 TBC)
• We will provide breakfast, lunch and dinners except for the Thursday night dinner, which will be self-funded at a local restaurant.
• Some scholarships may be available on application.

Application process

If you are interested in being a part of the “Te Ara Kahurangi 2026” or learning more about what is involved, please fill out this Expression of interest

We will then provide follow-up information and logistics that will allow you to complete any necessary approvals to participate in the programme.

Any queries, please email Chris Jansen on chris@leadershiplab.co.nz or Darren Rewi darren@taketuia.com