Growing the leadership in you

I’m a strong believer in community-led change – where local residents, community groups, organisations and agencies work together to create solutions that genuinely meet the needs of their place. But community-led change only happens when local residents and community groups have a vision for their own life and mahi, and the strategies to sustain themselves while pursuing it.

Whenever there’s a natural disaster, critical incident, or social issue, there are always residents and leaders willing to step forward. Yet burnout remains one of the biggest risks to overcoming adversity and achieving community goals. Many of us know the feeling: the imbalance between life and work, the self-doubt, the pressure of carrying others

A turning point for me was participating in Leadership Incubator (formerly LinC – Leadership in Communities Project), a nine-month personal development journey that redefines what leadership can look like in community settings. The programme helped me shift from agency-based service delivery into community-based roles that grow community-led change. It gave me the clarity and confidence to use my natural strengths and leadership style in work that aligns with both passion and purpose.

The Leadership Incubator programme offers content and approaches that centre personal leadership and group leadership in our communities. It’s facilitated in a way that harnesses the ideas, skills, and lived experience of each participant – creating a collective perspective that strengthens individual thinking, problem-solving, and awareness of strengths and talents.

Leadership Incubator is framed by the whakataukī:
“Whakarongo ki te tangi i ngā manu e karanga nei” – Listen to the call of the tūi.

It invites participants to step away from day-to-day demands and reflect deeply on their lives and work. To listen to the inner voice that calls for alignment between personal needs and meaningful purpose.

Leadership Incubator is built around three intertwined aspects, Wānanga to explore our concept of self and leadership, CliftonStrengths to understand our natural talents and how to apply them, and Action Learning Groups to gain insight from outside perspectives:

• Wānanga help participants see alignment is more than life/work balance. It’s the meeting point between your natural leadership style, your personal fulfilment, and the contribution you want to make in the world. That contribution might be how you show up for others, involvement in a community project, or tackling a social issue. Whatever it looks like, alignment is about being authentically yourself and using your strengths (CliftonStrengths) in ways that benefit your community while also nourishing your own wairua/wellbeing.
• Participants often talk about the empowerment they gain from the CliftonStrengths coaching sessions – understanding what they naturally do well, how to intentionally place themselves in roles that align with their strengths, and how to dial strengths up or down to suit different situations.

The Action Learning Groups offer a chance to get “off the dance floor and onto the balcony” – gaining new perspectives from peers. These small, safe-space groups allow participants to voice internal thought processes and explore relational or situational challenges they can’t discuss elsewhere. The clarity gained often leads to new approaches, renewed confidence, or the courage to make changes that bring them closer to alignment.

Consider these questions:

• Do you have alignment of passion and purpose? What does alignment look like for you?
• If a newspaper article was written about you today, what would the headline be — and is what you want to be remembered for?
• Everything you say ‘Yes’ to means you are saying ‘No’ to something else. Are you saying ‘Yes’ to the right things?

Reflections from the latest Leadership Incubator cohort:

“I think it is so important to keep the notion of community alive. It sometimes feels like so many things in our society drive us apart. Leadership Incubator is a great opportunity for connection, sharing, as well as personal growth.”

“I can lead! I can lead my own life and help others lead theirs by applying my strengths. I have a voice and I’m more confident in how to use it in my mahi and my personal life.”

“Whakarongo ki te tangi i ngā manu e karanga nei” — Listen to the call of the tūi.
What is the call you need to be listening to right now? 

The next cohort for Leadership Incubator is open for applications now. I hope to see you there.

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This reflection piece was written by Steve Jones-Poole – Leadership Incubator co-lead