These are all topics I'd love to tackle and converse over with you as we navigate our way forward to a brighter, productive, prosperous future.
To begin this 12 part weekly series, I'll be examining a range of theories surrounding the kaupapa of what a good leader should be. Through these posts, I'd love to challenge you on new ways you can become a better leader and how you can contribute to a bigger picture in whatever context you find yourself in.
Firstly - how do we understand leadership? In an article written by Grint (2010), he discusses that leadership has been traditionally understood in four quite different ways.
These are as follows:
-- Leadership as a person [ the who ; biography ]
-- Leadership as results [ the what ; purpose ]
-- Leadership as position [the where ; authority/role ]
-- Leadership as process [ the how ; sense making ]
What Grint really puts emphasis on is how we should focus on the process -- putting 'ship' back into leadership. Again, it's the process, the how we lead in a modern capitalist society.
As a nation built on the back of pioneering voyagers, it's definitely an ode to our tupuna to examine this a little more closely.
What does it really mean to dig deep and ask ourselves this question: how are we leading in our lives?
Further questions are raised by academics Alvesson and Spicer (2012):
- Does leadership mean influencing all aspects, or is it suficient to have more of an influence on one of these variables?
- How is leadership different from other aspects like organisational structures and cultures which also influence outcomes?
- Do we only talk about a positive influence or is resistance also part of the picture?
All of the above are great starting points for conversation. And one I'd love to start with you through this series.
For this introduction, I'll keep it brief, and to conclude I'd like to plant a thought and end of with a quote...
To ponder... How should we, as Aotearoa, do leadership differently to develop and foster a thriving future?
"Leadership is a social construction - the product of the emotional and often unconscious needs, early experiences and group aspirations of the led, as well as the traits and skills of the leader - our contraceptions of leadership are locking in a time-warp, constrained by lingering archetypes of heroic warriors and wise but distant fathers." (Sinclair, 2005)
Do you agree? Disagree? Let's explore the potential for more effective, relational, ethical and inclusive ways of exercising power and authority as we venture into these next 12 weeks together.
Nga mihi e te iwi!
- Atarangi
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