A Transformational Leadership Journey through Te Ao Māori

Overview and Purpose 

Te Ara Kahurangi offers a transformative executive leadership experience.  It adopts Te Ao Māori as an indigenous lens to empower executives to reimagine the kind of leaders they want to be, and the kind of organisations they want to create.  

Grounded in Te Ao Māori, this immersive experience fosters connected and grounded ecosystem leadership rather than competitive corporate models.  It 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 purpose as human beings and as leaders. This equips executives with the insight and confidence to exhibit culturally grounded leadership that addresses the diverse and complex challenges each leader faces in the contemporary contexts, communities, and markets they work in.

The centre piece of Te Ara Kahurangi is a transformative, five-day residential intensive, hosted in two iconic venues in Queenstown: Rod Drury’s Executive Whare meeting house and Millbrook Resort. It will combine theoretical learning with practical experiences, allowing participants to develop as leaders within a kaupapa Māori framework. This leads to a nine-month supported personal journey, finishing with a celebration showcase.

Te Ara Kahurangi is more than a leadership course—it is a transformative journey designed to equip leaders with cultural depth, strategic insight, and the confidence in their leadership practice. It fosters a new generation of executives committed to leading with authenticity, equity, and impact for a flourishing world.

Purpose and key focus areas

This initiative responds to a growing need for senior executives to:

• Engage in a transformational personal leadership journey to align their passion and purpose with impact.
• Experience a process grounded in Te Ao Māori values to allow them to reconnect with themselves and reconnect with others.
• Deepen their understanding of the wisdom of indigenous frameworks and their relevance to the ‘permacrisis’ of our time.
• Develop strategic thinking, and a deeper connection to whenua (land) and whakapapa (ancestry).
• Build respectful and strategic relationships with iwi and strengthen indigenous partnerships. 

Target Audience

The programme is designed for senior leaders across all sectors who wish to reimagine and revitalize their leadership practice by drawing on the wisdom of an indigenous lens. This includes:

• Business executives
• Senior government leaders
• Entrepreneurs
• Industry and sector leaders
• School Principals, NGO Managers
• all leaders working with indigenous communities
• ie Murihiku Regeneration partners
• etc….

Partners and Sponsors

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

Leadership Lab is a Tiriti o Waitangi-led, impact-focused leadership consultancy. We grow leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand who develop equitable and flourishing communities and organisations. is

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

Mana Tahuna are a kaupapa Māori Charitable Trust committed to and leading positive systemic change for the community and the Taiao.

Key partners committed to the programme’s success include: DARREN TO FINALISE

• Murihiku Regeneration https://www.manatahuna.co.nz/ 
• 
• Patron and venue sponsor: Rod Drury 
• Potential sponsors: KUMA Network (Te Kupeka Umaka Māori ki Āraiteuru) – Southern Māori Business Network, Queenstown Chamber of Commerce, QLDC Economic Development, Central Lakes Trust. 
• National

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

Programme Structure – The Korekoreka Journey

Te Ara Kahurangi consists of a five-day residential intensive as part of a nine-month supported personal journey, finishing with a celebration showcase.  It is based on the Te Korekoreka Framework, a Ngai Tahu kawa for Future making which “can help you examine your present, to learn from your past, imagine a new future, and commit to a deliberate course of action that will enable you to shift from your current reality to a better one”. Inspired by Te Korekoreka, the programme focuses on the inner condition of leadership—reconnecting leaders with their more profound sense of purpose, passion, and Te Tiriti-centred impact. By blending strategic leadership skills with inner transformation, Te Ara Kahurangi offers a holistic approach to executive development.

Day One: Te Ao Tūroa (Current State Review)

The journey begins with a pōwhiri and whakawhanaungatanga, setting the foundation for an immersive leadership experience. Participants reflect on their current leadership state, identifying challenges and opportunities. This day shifts leaders out of autopilot thinking, encouraging them to engage consciously with their leadership practice.

Day Two: 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 karakia, storytelling, and mindfulness, participants embrace uncertainty as a path to growth, setting the stage for transformational change.

Day Three: Te Pō (Imagining and Innovation)

Building on insights from Te Kore, this day nurtures innovation and creative leadership thinking. Participants develop a personal leadership vision and prototype new approaches. Guided by kaupapa Māori principles, they explore strategies for sustainable leadership impact, aligning individual and organisational aspirations with Te Tiriti-honouring leadership.

Day Four: Te Ao Mārama (Action and Implementation)

This final day focuses on bringing leadership vision to life. Leaders refine their action plans, develop implementation strategies, and identify support mechanisms to ensure effective execution. A final session reaffirms their commitment to leading with impact, closing with a powerful group reflection.

Distinctive approach

While developing personal leadership capability and future action plans is an outcome of this programme, far more important is exposure to a process where participants reconnect with themselves, with a sense of passion and purpose, heart and spirit-based listening that supports personal creative breakthroughs. This capacity to “listen” deeply will ideally be a powerful practical “tool” that they can use back in their leadership roles. The journey through Te Korekoreka, connecting to the whenua, karakia, Mau Rakau, mindfulness, poetry, and the practices and spirit of Te Ao Māori, will add an essential dimension to their experience. These elements will combine to provide a unique experience and differentiate the workshop from others offered in Aotearoa. There will also be opportunities for long-term mentorship and ongoing collaboration beyond the programme. Read here about Our Leadership Philosophy.

Venue and Dates

Te Ara Kahurangi begins with a five-day retreat in Queenstown based at Millbrook Resort and experiencing Rod Drury’s new Queenstown facility – the meeting whare, 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 February and finishes in November 2026.

• Virtual welcome experience (February) 
• Queenstown Retreat (April 13th -17th 2026 or April 20th-24th TBC) – Rod Drury’s Executive Whare meeting house and Millbrook Resort (4 nights) (Note: Another option is start in Spring 2026)
• Virtual peer group meetings (4 x 90 mins, May, July, September, October) 
• Coaching (3 x 90 min sessions – March, June, August).
• Celebration showcase experience (? November – 1 day workshop in Queenstown).

Facilitators

• Darren Rewi – add bios
• Dr Peter Cammock – add bios
• Dr Chris Jansen – add bios
• ? Alice Dimond – Tokona te Raki add bios
• ? Lexie Rueben – Ngai Tūahūriri rūnaka

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 (Pakeha) 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 need to arrange their own flights and transit costs to and from Queenstown

• $11,000+GST/person (Chris is creating a budget for this)

Note:

• Retreat accommodation will be at Millbrook Resort for 4 nights (Monday, April 13th – Friday, April 17th). Hotel/marae?
• November celebration event will also be in Queenstown
• We will provide breakfast, morning tea, lunch and afternoon teas. Dinners will be held at various local restaraunts (own cost)

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 TO ADD

We will then provide follow up information 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