What does our ancestry have to do with leadership?

Over the last year or so I have been exploring my family tree.  It’s been a great journey and I started out thinking I would create a “tree” and be satisfied. What has happened, though, is that I have uncovered a richness in stories that I could never have hoped for.  Finding out where I have come from has been for me, very therapeutic. 

This afternoon I received a paper written by Colin Knox entitled “Maori Leadership in Te Ao Maori”:  “The most important difference [between Maori and Pakeha leadership models] is its source of inspiration and motivation, which is its common ancestry and history…..Another difference is the relative importance of family over individuality”. 

The concept of Whakapapa is relating to “people with whom we have a common ancestry, cherishing places such as marae as the symbolic home and sharing on the basis of kinship rather than legal responsibility or ownership, acknowledging the importance of our ancestors”.

I couldn’t help but relate what I read here with my own journey.  Appreciating where I have come from, learning the family stories and history has, I am certain, made me feel more authentic.  Whether I appear that way is for others of course.  Something switched in me when I read Colin’s paper: an instantly deeper appreciation of what Maori mean when they say Whakapapa. Why had I not grasped this previously? Secondly, the relationship between our ancestry – where do I come from? – and our own journey is stark. 

In my desire to develop authenticity, there is only one place to start – myself – and my ancestry has been, as I am certain it is for others, a deep and valuable part of that journey. My insights have come from my own work and, as is often the case, from an unexpected source, adding richness and depth all round.


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Where is the peace?

Front page of the NZ Herald today features a story about the Peace Foundation. It seems that anything other than peace is reigning at an organisation dedicated to promoting peace – internal fighting, resignations at the top and public excluded from meetings. For some time, I have been helping someone with a significant and painful dispute. Today an important and public step was made to resolve the dispute by my friend. There will be consequences for him (and more work still to be done), but he has been left with a sense of lightness and hope for the future. As I looked to the other party I wondered as did others: Will they have peace? Will what my friend has done pave the way for them to be peaceful. We all hope so, but we’re not sure.

Today was a beautiful day in Auckland. The sun shone and it felt like spring was close. As the sun set out the west side of my home I reflected on the day. Would what my friend has done bring down this painful dispute for everyone. I sincerely hope so as does he. Could he have done more? Not really, but actually I realised a truth that I already knew.

Peace is internal. No person or thing can give it to us. Lotto, a new job, a new house or car are great but will they give us peace? It might feel like it, for a moment. But the place to go is for many a scary and less travelled place than the lotto shop or the lawyer. It’s inside. Have a go. It’s got all the answers for you.

That will be the real Foundation of Peace.

Is there really such a thing as Leadership?

The other day I was the Airport. Looking through the various management/leadership/inspiration books there is a book by Bob Jones – Jones on Management – with a section on Leadership. Jones, as many will know is one of New Zealand’s most successful property developers and investors with a lifetime of experience. His proposition is that Leadership is all fluff; that all you need is a general manager who does a good job managing and other people will see this, and if they are properly rewarded, will also perform well. He suggests that many of the so-called great leaders were managers who happened to be in the senior position at the right time – Churchill and Mandela are two examples given. Could Jones be right? Could it all be spin? I do know that there are many who are attracted to such a proposition. So what defines leadership against its practical and straightforward brother management? Jones is at least partly right. A good manager can do a good job if properly resourced and in the right position – this is what his proposition is – that positional power is really what leadership is. Really? Do we all need to have “position” to lead others – is leading necessarily just being “the boss”? Do you lead because of what your title is? Or do you lead because of other things? I know there are what I would call leaders amongst us who can drive their team’s performance though their energy, their deep understanding of colleagues, and appreciating their unique differences. Of course such people can become the boss and probably rightly so.

What meaning will I bring to those that I lead? How will my leadership help? Will performance improve because of me? Why should anyone be led by me?

Have you been making deposits in your Trust Bank?

I recently attended my Uncle Stan’s 80th birthday in Christchurch.  My cousins of a similar age to me who I had had virtually nothing to do with for over 30 years were there.   I suddenly became aware that we had gone from the usual pleasantries to something much deeper and more meaningful – in about two minutes flat.  The amazing thing was that it was entirely nature and, for us all, safe.  Why?  Could it be more than just a family connection I asked myself?  Tucked away in Stephen Covey’s books is the concept of the trust bank.  We make deposits of trust through our own actions in any relationship.  Sometimes, regrettably, we make withdrawals, but it’s the balance that counts.  There is no visible central banking record to check your balance with anyone – as we practice and work on our trust banks a growing awareness of whether the balance is healthy or not is clear.  In fact, we all know it don’t we?  “I trust her” or “I feel safe with”, “I wouldn’t say too much to him”.  It’s not complicated but unlike the banks and finance companies of the current global crisis, those deposits stay there.  Sometimes for years.  Thanks Cousins!

We can have all the flash leadership theories, smart looking degrees and positions, but where are we without a trust and its close relative safety?  What are you doing to look after your account?