Leaders are important. Someone has to make decisions, speak on behalf and facilitate and guide actions and strategy.
We have leadership in all parts of our lives: in our workplaces, in our clubs and groups, in our families.
We are seeing leaders of all sorts in the months leading up to the general election.
I dislike these periods of the three-year election cycles, and there is only one year out of the three when I do not have to witness the shenanigans, the jokes that are only funny to some and be exposed to people making public their egos and arrogance.
Unfortunately, this year is not the gap year, and thus the leaders and candidates who, if elected, will have roles in our central government.
Some of these people who have stood up to be elected, these leaders and candidates, are given opportunities to talk about matters they seem to have no clue about, demonstrating their privilege, narrow worldviews and lack of knowledge of the history of others in their same communities and societies.
There are notable exceptions to my all-encompassing cringe list; some who demonstrate their commitment to justice and fairness, who acknowledge power imbalances and the impact of historical events on people today.
While I am unimpressed with many of the leaders and candidates fronting our general election, I don’t deny that it is difficult to be a leader and to be in the public constantly. There are opportunities to learn, however.
A few months ago, I was given a copy of Te Kai a te Rangatira, a book about leadership. There are wonderful narratives in this book, and they have many points that can be incorporated into those everyday moments of family, work and opportunities to contribute to community and society.
One of these narratives is relevant for my recent moments of despair about potential leaders with a candidate from a certain party talking about bathrooms in schools and who should access them.
I don’t know if the person talking about that topic was just projecting their assumptions of other people’s lives in this situation or just being horribly provocative.
It was heartening to see a couple of other candidates at that event demonstrating Joe Williams’ challenge. They stood up and fiercely disputed those statements. Ka rawe (excellent).
The words of Annette Sykes are also relevant for candidates who seem to have interesting interpretations of identity.
For me, identifying as Māori has been a long journey, along with exploring leadership, but reminds me that sometimes we have to do what we are asked, even if it is uncomfortable and isn’t agreed to by all others.
Annette shared being asked to speak on the paepae (orators podium). Her story demonstrated how shared knowledge makes those uncomfortable occasions more doable, along with support from others, with her words resonating, that " ... the values of caring and manaaki [respect] and whanaungatanga [kinship] ... should guide us".
Stand among allies and friends seems to be good advice.
The third leader who made sense for this piece was Tiahuia Kawe-Small.
For Tiahuia, my interpretation of her statements is that leadership is about love for the environment, the language, our ancestors and their work and for generations yet to arrive in this world.
These are words to reflect on as the three-year election cycles barely encourage our central and local government leaders to strategise and enact in ways that are effective in five to 10 years, let alone more future-focused thinking.
Finally, for me, Tina Ngata had the last words for this time. We are the tīpuna (ancestors) of our grandchildren. Caring for our environment, knowing our ancestors and being respectful about what our future generations will inherit are the characteristics of leaders.
Notwithstanding the wonderful words and pictures of more than 100 people documented in Te Kai a te Rangatira, the way the book was created was also an opportunity for learning. Young people volunteered to interview, transcribe and share the words that were meaningful for them from these inspirational people from all over New Zealand.
We all have opportunities to lead. Some have more visible opportunities than others, particularly this year.
But we can all demonstrate respect, reciprocity and relationships in our actions. We can be empathetic to others’ situations and not harm them in our push to appeal to voters who are less aware.
Reading widely can support knowledge growth, expose us to other stories and provide opportunity to integrate our experiences with those of others.
Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu (although it is small, it is greenstone). While the stories of each leader may be brief, they are precious.
May Te Kai a te Rangatira be a resource that the leaders emerging from this election use to guide the things they say, their strategies and their actions.
■Robin Quigg is a lecturer on Māori Health at the University of Otago. This is the Mana Wāhine column, which would normally run in The Weekend Mix.
