Talofa Lava, Tena Koe
At the halfway mark of 2015 we are pleased to bring you updates and news from our Leadership NZ adventures thus far including reflections from our fearless Alumni, and 2015 Programme participants; and recent experiences at the NZ CEO Summit, TEDx Auckland, and XeroCon 2015.
There are great opportunities coming up for you to engage in fearless leadership activities with us including our signature events: Dinner with a Difference – a fearless leadership experience – do you dare! (1 July) and the Reeves Lecture (26 August). We are truly delighted and honoured to have Helen Clark giving the Reeves Lecture this year – a significant, influential and fearless New Zealander leading global development. Make sure to mark those dates in your calendars.
As we explore fearless leadership and think how we can authentically embrace diversity to positively change the world we live in, it seems to me to come down quite simply to our ability to build meaningful relationships across the difference – across the va (space) between peoples.
In order for us to do that, we need to understand ourselves and our life story. Bill George the ‘godfather’ of Authentic leadership believes self-intelligence, self-awareness, self-knowledge is at the heart of authenticity. “The journey to authentic leadership begins with understanding the story of your life. Your life story provides the context for your experiences, and through it, you can find the inspiration to make an impact in the world”.
Over the years I have had the opportunity at various points, to reflect on my life story and the process has really given me insights into how and why I think and behave the way I do, the values, beliefs and biases I carry in my core, and the drivers behind the purposeful work I choose to do. Our true values and principles come to the fore when we are tested and put under pressure and that ‘transformative’ experiences’ (facing our fears!) enable us to reframe events and setbacks, to rise above the challenges, become more self-aware, make sense of our place in the world and discover what’s really important.
AotearoaNZ is a small, connected agile society and we have a huge opportunity to lead the way in building the cultural intelligence (CQ) of our nation in an authentic way. If we can create the space to connect and understand the life stories of others across the diversity of this nation, we will be able to face our fears, create a collective vision, and empower those around us to work together to tackle the challenges and crises. If you are interested in developing as a fearless leader for New Zealand, we have put out the call for applications for our 2016 Leadership Programme.
“Fearless leaders must broaden their horizons, and be prepared to have challenging and courageous conversations” (Ross Buckley, Executive Chairman, KPMG)
I look forward to having those conversations with you during the year!
Soifua ma ia manuia
Sina
Sina Wendt-Moore
Chief Executive