Exploring Perspectives, personal traits and people within systems.

Kia ora everyone, here's a peek into the themes we explored in response to this week's question:

What is a strength you bring to the system/s you're working in, and how is it utilised or honoured in your role?

Keywords: #leadershipdevelopment #systemicchange #intercultural #culture #wellbeing #equity #decolonisation #communitybuilding #collectiveaction

Empathy, Connection, and Potential

We delved into the significance of empathy and connection, acknowledging the enrichment that stems from understanding diverse cultural perspectives. One narrative shared recounted the journey of a young athlete's ascent to the Olympics:

“I remember a young girl when I was coaching judo, just super keen, but terrible at Judo, but super keen. She ended up going to the Olympics representing Australia because of that keenness. There's all kinds of opportunities at the individual level to just build relationships with people that help them reach their potential. Nurturing and empathetic ways of supporting those around you can unlock potential that may not surface if we are hyper-focused only on outcomes rather than bringing process to the forefront.

Being Māori within the System: Learning from Te Ao Māori

We touched upon the concept of kinship parenting within Te Ao Māori, wherein collective responsibility is deeply ingrained within whānau, hapū, and communities. This collective ethos offers observable wisdom insights into addressing ongoing challenges and embracing opportunities for growth and evolution.

This took us to candidly discuss the struggle of seeing oneself as Māori within existing systems, where outcomes often fall short for Māori communities:

“Māori are still facing extreme poverty, educational outcomes that are below those of their counterparts, really poor education outcomes, really poor justice outcomes, really poor health outcomes. But we still keep working in it across those generations. For things that we won't ever realise ourselves…it’s cutting to the heart of what it is to be a person within a system. Which the system doesn't tend to enjoy because it's, it doesn't move us towards that dollar or that profit or whatever it is that we're extracting.”

We reflected on inclusive systems rooted in cultural heritage and drawing from kinship systems as examples, as potential models for reimagining societal structures.

Examples of Hybrid Models

We explored examples of hybrid models, such as the example shared of Open Source initiatives, where collaboration transcends monetary incentives:

"I work in Open Source organisations where people collaborate without monetary incentives, but when money enters the picture, everything changes. Some organisations manage money collectively, offering a glimpse into alternative systems. Can we challenge traditional structures tied to capitalism and replace them with microstructures focused on collective well-being? Late-stage capitalism seems unsustainable, and we're witnessing its decline."

From here discussions on democracy prompted reflections on its impact on Māori, highlighting that while useful for universal basic rights such as healthcare, education etc, instances where blanket solutions are the default tended to overlooked unique cultural and Tangata Whenua status:

“I think we are seeing the fall of that empire [Capitalism] and it's these competing needs with individual holders of wellness, and the kind of drive for profits, there's only so much you can take out of the system for it to collapse.”

As one person shared; “democracy, while striving for equality, has often failed Māori by imposing blanket solutions that overlook our unique needs and cultural identity. It's a system that doesn't always align with our cultural values, and its impact on Māori over time has been not favourable’

Our Cup of Tea conversations provide a platform for candid dialogue and collective learning. As we navigate the intricacies of leadership, culture, and systemic change, walking through it together helps bring things back into perspective outside of the day to day Business-as-Usual.

Join us for our upcoming sessions as we delve deeper into these critical topics and collectively chart a course towards positive transformation.

Next Week’s Cuppa Topic: Offered by one of our manuhiri when putting forward a topic for the next cuppa, or next few cuppa sessions: I like Dave's korero of being in that middle place. There's a whakatauki - proverb 'Titiro ki Muri, Kokiri ki Mua' - So let's look backwards to move forwards. It is that we know nothing's new, it's all a cycle. Maybe we could identify where we're at in the cycle and perhaps some of the mahi-work that we need to do to maintain people's integrity, their Mana in all of it would be super cool to explore.

A heartfelt thank you to all participants for enriching our discussions with your insights and perspectives. Stay tuned for updates on our next Cup of Tea session, and let's keep the conversations alive!

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