Talofa Lava, Tena Koe
Our core theme for 2014 is Creative Leadership and the year is shaping up to be a very innovative one! Creativity is ‘an electrifying force that defines, shapes, and initiates new ways of being, seeing and transforming the world’. Personal expression, imagination, ideas and the ability to work across diverse contexts, is critical if we are to meet the challenges of this complex, ever-changing 21st century. This year we explore how creative leadership is a real catalyst of change.
The CSCLeaders programme I attended in April provided creative and intellectual stretch and the opportunity to explore the concepts of leading beyond authority, leading across boundaries and in particular the imperative for leaders to build cultural intelligence (CQ) in a global context. The CSCLeaders experience focussed on how as a group of senior global leaders, we can think creatively to bridge cultural boundaries, to innovate and collaborate to tackle complex challenges facing our planet. Learning, growth and transformation are creative processes at the core of global leadership. Seeing connections, building relationships of influence, communicating across diverse boundaries, and engaging our imaginations, are core to creative consciousness and positive collective impact.
I will share more about the CSCLeaders experience in our Leaders magazine (early July). If you are interested in exploring the idea of CQ, I highly recommend a new book published in May this year Cultural Intelligence. CQ: the Competitive Edge for Leaders Crossing Borders, (Bloomsbury) by Julia Middleton (Founder and CEO of Common Purpose and a key force behind the CSCLeaders programme).
In Leadership Week we will bring you another Dinner with a Difference: a Creative Leadership experience, so lock 2nd July into your diaries! The format of the event will be unexpected and thought provoking; an evening of sharing and exploring what creative leadership means. Throughout the evening there will be a mix of inspiring speakers, performances and the collaborative creation of a special installation piece. We will explore how creative leadership can push boundaries, find new ways of doing things, capture imagination and ultimately help lead change. Thanks again to AUT Business School and Curative for contributing their creative genius to bringing this event to life!
Hope you enjoy the new format for this newsletter, and you might notice a subtle change in our LNZ brand. We have enjoyed engaging in a creative design process over the last 6 months with members from across our Leadership network to refresh and re-imagine our image after a decade of Leadership New Zealand. Look out for the big reveal in Leadership Week.
Enjoy reading all our other news and features. And please do stay connected with us - we appreciate getting your ideas, feedback, and for those of you online, you can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @leadershipnz.
Nga mihi nui
Sina
Sina Wendt-Moore
Chief Executive