Written by Fiona Parrant, MASH Trust
As I walk to the venue, on a beautiful frosty Christchurch morning, thinking about what lay ahead, walking past beautiful old English buildings knowing that the next few days were going to be special, powerful and full of learning. The introductions showed growth in all of us, like seeing old friends; with the first message received with authority by a wāhine toa was "Stand up in your Kōrero, with mana". That strong message set the scene for the whole of The NZ Leadership Programme Retreat 3 (A Civil Society – Our People, Our Land).
Days start with meditation, time to get into your being, inner self, feel the strength of the team, focus and understand how ‘you show up’.
Lynne Harata Te Aika (Ngāi Tahu) set the picture, the landscape, the history of where we were, Christchurch and the journey of mana whenua over the centuries, as they settled Kaiapoi during the 16 - 1700s.
One of the messages I heard from Lynne, as an effective and authentic leader, you need to build relationships with the local Mana Whenua/Iwi and hapū and know their history. It is important to know who you need to engage with, make it real; we walk into the future with our backs so we know the past - how the past affects the future.
We looked at, discussed, the past, the present and the future. How do we take this knowledge back to our workplace? The main theme - Mana Ōrite: any decision affecting Māori, they need an equal seat at the table, and position - in a mana enhancing way; this needs resourcing and not relying on good will.
Later that day, we got to see, to feel the sights of Central Ōtautahi on a city walk with Joseph Hullen (Ngāi Tūāhuriri/Ngāti Hinematua). We saw some areas where mana ōrite is happening, others where it is not. For example - around the Queen Victoria statue are 6 Pos, the six signatories. At the other end, Te Pae as it is named, another name was gifted by Ngāi Tahu, but was not taken up by the Crown or the Council, they felt it was too hard to pronounce!
Dr. Karlo Mila MNZM took us through an exercise with string to represent the Va – the energy between individuals, groups, and how that ‘looks’ when the energy is flowing positively, with effective communication and relationships. Conflict was then added into the energy, into the space, the Va and the string became a tangled mess! As a leader, what do you do? The usual approach can be restructure the entanglement out, but what can you do as Leader, into the future – restoration?
Karlo then took us on a journey, as we got a taste of our leadership challenge in a global context, through the understanding of the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’. Where she went through a timeline from the 14th Century to now, and how the decisions, values and thinking through time, created Colonisation around the globe, where some cultures were wiped out, and some ethnic groups not thought to be human – the questions were asked, what is the work of our time? How do we go forward with this? What can we heal? This is heavy, but vital work - our homework.
The next day, we spent time leaning into the Doctrine of Discovery, the collective trauma, healing the hurt. How, as leaders, feeling the past trauma; acknowledging the trauma and feeling it is healing; we are all born into trauma of the past, the entanglement of the past. Moving to asking yourself – what can I do? To 'I am the system, I can change - I am the system changing’. There is no place for shame, we need to bring the shame, the entanglement to the surface, to heal.
As a leader, it is my role to lead the change, support others to ensure a culturally diverse organisation, prepare for Mana Ōrite, the entanglement of Māori – know the narrative. On a personal level, know my mokopuna’s story, history of Muaūpoko (Iwi of Taitoko - Levin), talk about it, and support her connection to her whakapapa.
We then changed the energy with the incredible duo of Daisy Lavea-Timo and Dietrich Soakai where they took us through a poetry journey, to be inspired to write our own poem – a highlight, fun, laughter and energy with incredible outcomes. I had the privilege to read my poem “Doctor Karlo Mila”.
The incredible line up of speakers continued, with Hussain Hanif, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Mainland Football/Canterbury Cricket.
It was a privilege to listen to Hussain, as he reflected on his role, where sport is a vehicle of connection for all, creating an inclusive environment through sport with the aim to achieve a socially cohesive community in Christchurch through sport. He comes from a background, taking the Australian Special Olympic hockey team to the Games; if you can get to hear him speak, I highly recommend.
The third day saw us all on a bus to visit Castle Hill - Kura Tāwhiti, an immersive experience of sacred sites. It was pouring with rain, and cold. However, this didn’t stop us as we ventured out to see, touch and feel the huge boulders and rock formations made from limestones with historical significance, that Māori appreciated as a place with special magic.
The final day, we had a choice of three things (all three groups had a fabulous experience).
- Transformation from the inside out – deeper inner work
- Transformation from the outside in – applied active work
- To see the incredible film Cousins where the inspired and talented Tanea Heke had a question-and-answer session.
I choose to work on my inner self, to continue to look at the “Essential, Regressive and Super Ego” model. I observed the essential self, my being while identifying my super ego and know how to redirect and remove the superego without engagement. Practicing listening, leaving the gap, and reflection.
Thank you, Leadership NZ.
Did Fiona’s story resonate with you? This is one of many courageous, enriching and impactful journeys on The NZ Leadership Programme.
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