Kotahitanga at the core of Leadership Lab

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to deliver a short keynote at the Involve National Conference for Youth Health and Development in Aotearoa in Ōtautahi, Christchurch. True to the conference theme of Kotahitanga, our Leadership Lab team members who were attending joined me on the stage, Tayla, Dan, Mahlon, Libby, Erica, Jay, Patariki, Wiki, Amy, Cooper, Judy, Manz, Shiloh, Tyler, Daisy and Atarau. It felt important to be sharing a little of our Leadership Lab story and the shared beliefs that bind us together.

Leadership Lab is a collective of passionate humans and experienced consultants. Over the last 11 years we have been committed to ongoing wānanga around who we are and what we believe. We represent these in the metaphor of Te Pou Herenga – the post that our individual and collective waka are lashed to. As a group of people working in multiple spaces, with diverse identities, upbringings and experiences, we can all confidently traverse these spaces knowing that we can at any time refer back to our Pou Herenga, our shared beliefs.

The first and lowest lash around the post is whakapapa – who we are. We are mana whenua, tangata whenua, tangata tiriti. We intentionally create space to develop our collective identity which mirrors the equitable communities we seek to develop. We acknowledge each individual’s stories, pepeha, whakapapa and as Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti we are actively exploring the synergies we have as Te Tiriti partners. We also stand with leaders who identify with groups that experience discrimination and marginalization because of their identity (ethnicity, gender, ability, sexual identity, age, class etc).

The second lash is whanonga pono – our values. We are guided by our values of mana ōrite, kotahitanga and manaakitanga. Mana ōrite is important because of our commitment to fighting for equitable access and outcomes. We actively support rangatiratanga and self-determination for Tangata whenua. We amplify marginalised voices for advocacy to provoke system change. Kōtahitanga doesn’t mean we are all one – or are all the same. It does mean that we stand together and are not isolated as we work in complexity – we find courage through standing together back to back. In collaboration with communities and agencies we grow collective impact around shared aspirations. Through Manaakitanga we nurture the hauora and mana of ourselves and others in tangible ways. We prioritise connections between people across a system. We host spaces for belonging, meaning and transformation and are committed to the time and intentional focus this requires.

The third lash is tikanga – the practice of our values. Our practice is informed by a wide range of frameworks which include; Pōwhiri is a process designed to weave (whiriwhiri) two groups of people together and is a traditional practice that acknowledges the tangible and intangible. The pōwhiri model creates space for engagement and relationship through principles that are guided by tikanga. ‘Showing up differently’ – is an approach where we work alongside communities and organisations to identify issues, engage with others, co-design possible ideas, then test and fine-tune to develop unique solutions.

Our final lash is whāinga – our intent and vision. As an Aotearoa New Zealand based organisation we are committed to giving effect to the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi which describes the relationship envisaged by the Rangatira of the hapū with the British Crown. We are a Tiriti o Waitangi-led, impact focussed leadership consultancy. We grow leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand who develop equitable and flourishing communities and organisations.

During the Involve Conference, two significant publications were launched that a range of our Leadership Lab team members contributed to. Their depth of insight and wisdom in these articles are well taking some time to savour and explore:)

1. Mahi Tūturu – The Landscape of Youth Work in Aotearoa (Tyler Ngatai, Stephen McConnachie and Judy Bruce worked on this)

2. Kaiparahuarahi (Vol.2 No.3) Part 1 – Kotahitanga: Understanding identities through intersectionality – (Tyler Ngatai, Kath Harrison, Atarau Hamilton, Amanda Smith, Tayla Taylor, and Amber Paterson)

You can read more stories of impact as well as thought-provoking pieces from across our Leadership Lab ecosystem by signing up for this monthly pānui (see bottom of www.leadershiplab.co.nz) or by connecting with us on our Leadership Lab LinkedIn and Facebook . You can find an incredible library of resources that you can read, listen or watch on our website here.

Thanks heaps for your interest.