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Anamata Graduation Keynote Speech Transcript Delivered 05 March 2009 Kaupapa: Personal Leadership Ko Whakapounakau te maunga Ko Rotorua-a-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe te moana Te Arawa te waka Te Arawa te iwi Ko te Uenukukopako / Rangiteaorere te hapu Te Ruamata te marae Ko Candy Louise Ramarihi Hera Cookson tōku īngoa Tēna koutou, tēna koutou, tēna koutou katoa Distinguished guests: Anamata graduands; ladies and gentlemen: It is indeed a pleasure to be amongst you, and I feel particularly privileged to have been invited to address you on this your special day. I trust that what I have to say may provide you all with something to reflect upon, something to take away with you and more importantly something to leave behind as a gift for others. Today we are gathered to bear witness to the triumph and success of our sons and daughters, old and new who descend from the ancient lines of Mātaatua waka, Mātaatua tangata, Mātaatua iwi – tēna koutou, tēna koutou, tēna koutou, tēna koutou katoa. I also recognise and acknowledge the diverse peoples of Aotearoa present amongst us today – ngā mana, ngā reo, ngā mātaawaka – tēna koutou, tēna koutou, tēna koutou katoa. When asked to address you all today, I was consciously aware that some of you are not graduates of a Health or Social Service programme, graduating instead from a number of other disciplines such as business administration and computing. Upon reflection however, it became clear irrespective of what we study, the journey along the way begins to resemble a common set of struggles with no one group claiming more or less success than the other. Because of this, the simple message I bring with me this morning and pass on to all of you is yours to do with as you please – this is my gift to you. Having said that, I would like to focus your attention on the concept of leadership, but more importantly on personal leadership and what that might mean for us as Māori in the 21st century. While we engage in the constant pursuit of tino rangatiratanga at all levels of the life matrix, what we need to understand first and foremost is that an integral part of that mandate is concerned with personal leadership, and the implications of this upon one’s individual and collective endeavour. For instance, we understand that leadership and all of its recognised characteristics has certainly been keenly contested and scripted for decades. Governments of the developed world hold symposiums every year where leaders are paraded and promoted and some even parodied; it is also a time where leaderships debates, policies, and positions on global issues are exposed in an attempt toward global consensus and unison. Cultural leadership like personal leadership is no different, it is just as keenly prescribed, described, protected, preserved and proclaimed to nations of the developing world, it’s integrity is closely examined, modified and changed in an effort to occupy the most enduring of all levels. In short, good leadership is highly sought and no less than amongst Māori in Aotearoa. Unfortunately for many, we witness the replacement of good leaders and leadership with the legacies of ill timed, poorly prescribed, inappropriate decisions, weak leaders and ineffectual leadership; a situation that each and every one of us has experienced time and time again. For the most part cultural leadership like personal leadership continues to remain a hugely complex issue and one which is constantly reflected in the changing milieu of social practises. Whether it is leadership at the strategic and planning level; leadership in whānau, hapu and iwi affairs to name a few, much of the debate continues to suggest the need for more of it not less. Whilst it is acknowledged by Māori that we live under colonial jurisdiction and that the fall-out of this colonisation process has been lamented as the root cause of all our problems which has socially, economically and culturally marginalized and removed from our lands; the time has come for us to stop playing the victim, to stop casting ourselves in the vanquished role and to stop seeking the answers to our problems in the equations of others. Instead I would like to propose another way forward, another way of interpreting a possible resolution, another way of illuminating our future, another way of looking at leadership, in particular Māori leadership with a view to taking charge and ownership of what amounts to our issues, our concerns, our people and our destiny. Let us stop expecting others to assist us to regain our life’s independence, and let’s stop blaming others for what amounts now to our demise by our own hand. Let’s stop visiting and hiding inside the house of others, the house of corruption, crime and careless disregard, the house of negative and pessimistic attitude, laziness and neglect; the house of chaos, pain and violence, the house of untimely death, unfinished dreams and lost potential. Let us return instead to our own special house and here let us find solace, let us find strength and resilience and above all let us find ourselves. Once there, let us reflect for a moment upon our own kind, our own journeys, our own history and our own heart-song; let us look to a time past where personal leadership was visible, clear, strong, evident, demonstrated, tested and triumphant, and where its enduring nature worked to hold our whānau, hapu and iwi together. The type of personal leadership and leaders who for generations were seen as no less and no more a part of the fabric of Māori society; ordinary men and women who lived amongst us, worked beside us, shared the same passion and desires as us and yet through all their ordinariness did such extraordinary things. Men and women of our blood who stood fast to the land, fast to each other and fast to their dreams. People who against all adversity through out the ages still managed to find celebration in life’s breath; men and women who could not be beaten down; who could still stand tall and make it count where it was needed; men and women who could not be beaten down; who could still stand tall and make it count where it was need; men and women who aspired to the same glory and believed ‘impossible is nothing’. Your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents, the ones you call your tūpuna, the ones who are the reason you exist at all. That is the call of the heart I now see, for I, like many of my peers are no longer interested I hearing about our failings, our deficits, our shortcomings, our gaps, and, further, we are no longer interested in blaming others; and nor are we interested in seeking the answers to our issues, our problems in the script of those who are alien to our heart-song. What I am interested in is celebrating the leaders of our past, with a view to recognising the leaders of the present and promoting the leaders of the future. But in order to do this, we must first recognise that personal leadership is an essential element in building strong, stable and culturally relevant governance. That is we are to achieve long tern sustainable success across all facets of our daily lives then meaningful leadership is required, and the responsibility for this rests with all of us not just a select few. For too long now personal leadership has remained an elusive concept, something that appeared to require greater definition than people were willing to give it. What is a good leader? What kind of leadership contributes to success amongst Māori? How can we support the emergence of our new leaders? What holds us back from being the leaders we want to be and What inspires us to be the leaders we can be? These are the questions we need to dwell upon, for these are the questions that must rise foremost in our search for autonomy. According to theorists, such as Gardner (1983), Williams, Salovey and Meyer (1990) the six leadership qualities found in all great leaders of the world include;
Further, they recognise that all the emotional dimensions such as, empathy; care; humbleness; sensitivity; self-awareness, self-management; social awareness, tolerance, and humour to name a few go hand in hand with the elements as described above and all represent the true qualities of a leader. Secondly, these same qualities know no boundaries such as title, status, position, education, financials, age, gender, ethnicity or race. As I look around this room, I am struck by the fact that those qualities as described above abound in each and every-one of you. And whether you acknowledge it or not, YOU are the elusive leaders of which I speak and of which we seek, no and in the future. YOU are the answer to all that Pākeha and Tauiwi grapple with, you are the gap-fillers, you are the change agents, you are the decision makers, you are the role models needed, you are what will improve the plight of Māori who need you; you are what will make the difference. YOU are the heart-song and You have the power. In conclusion, my challenge to you all is to step up and take personal responsibility for all that is represented in your life, your career, your organisation, your family, your hapu, your iwi, your nation. Now is not the time to leave it ANY LONGER to others; to people with strange accents, strange cultures, and strange ways of behaving, believing and valuing, for our people are struggling now and in need of you today. In the words of a Te Arawa educationist Dr Angus McFarlane: “In every profession there comes a time when it is important to stop and evaluate the progress that has been made and to determine the changes that will be necessary to engage in new times to meet new demands” I say that time is upon us now; for all of you to become the leader you most admire, for all of you to accept this personal challenge and slowly but surely together we can make a difference. |